Nominations for the Golden Globes were announced this morning, and while Heath Ledger's portrayal of The Joker earned him a nod in the Best Supporting Actor category, "The Dark Knight" itself was conspicuously absent from the list of projects nominated for awards. Over at MTV's Movies Blog, you can read the full list of Golden Globe nominations.
[UPDATE: Heath Ledger's family has issued a statement about the actor's Golden Globe nomination.]
So what does this mean for "The Dark Knight" and its award campaign? The absence of Christopher Nolan's record-breaking blockbuster is certainly a surprise, given that the only film to do better at the box office, "Titanic," cleaned up in the 1997 Golden Globe nominations.
Not only did "Titanic" receive a nomination for Best Film in 1997 (a category it later won), it received nominations in seven other categories -- including Best Original Score, where "The Dark Knight" has had its share of obstacles. Currently, "The Dark Knight" is ranked just behind "Titanic" as the top-grossing film of all time, and the gap between the two films is expected to narrow significantly when the film is re-released to theaters next month.
Interestingly enough, Ledger's nomination for "The Dark Knight" pits him against another actor celebrated for his role in a comics-inspired blockbuster this year. Robert Downey Jr., who owned the role of Tony Stark in "Iron Man," also received a nod for his supporting role in "Tropic Thunder."
However, while the success of the "The Dark Knight" and "Iron Man" has been celebrated as a sign that films based on comics have finally found mainstream acceptance, one has to wonder whether the Golden Globe nominations indicate that this year's success was just the first step of many toward critical approval of comics as source material -- or if the rumors of "The Dark Knight's" demise have been greatly exaggerated and the Academy Awards will correct the Golden Globes' mistakes in February.
What do you think about Heath Ledger's nomination and how "The Dark Knight" fared in the Golden Globes? Was it a travesty? Let us know in the comment section!
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