LOS ANGELES (NYTIMES) - Crazy Rich Asians may have bombed when it opened in China last week, but its winning streak elsewhere continues, this time at the Golden Globes.
On Thursday (Dec 6), voters nominated its star Constance Wu for best actress in a musical or comedy. The film - which has been described as a Hollywood breakthrough for its all-Asian principal cast, a first in 25 years - is among five contenders for best movie - musical or comedy.
Wu, the first Asian woman in 44 years to contest in her category, told E! Online: "I feel very lucky and grateful. But if it is a torch, it's one I'm not carrying alone."
The last person of Asian descent nominated in the same category was Yvonne Elliman - for her role in Jesus Christ Superstar in 1974, according to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which is behind the Globes.
"It's insane," said Crazy Rich Asians director Jon M. Chu of the nominations. "It's been a wild ride. To be honoured by the very community we're trying to push the boundaries of, and to open their eyes to new types of stories, it means even more."
"I've been around long enough to know that moments like this don't come around all the time," added Chu, who is reportedly set to shoot the sequel in 2020 in Shanghai.
Crazy Rich Asians, which has many scenes shot in Singapore, has netted US$238 million (S$326 million) worldwide. The movie has made $7.3 million in Singapore, where it is still showing.
On Thursday, the voters also pulled contentious comedy Green Book and still-to-be-released biopic Vice, about former US vice-president Dick Cheney, deeper into the Oscar race while embracing critically acclaimed A Star Is Born and The Favourite.
The largest number of movie nominations - six - went to Vice, including for best musical or comedy, director (Adam McKay) and actor (Christian Bale).
Hit romance A Star Is Born, period drama The Favourite and Green Book each had five nominations.
But there were also prominent snubs.
Damien Chazelle's cerebral space-race drama First Man got the nod for Claire Foy's acting and Justin Hurwitz's score, but was otherwise passed over. Ethan Hawke (First Reformed) and Hugh Jackman (The Front Runner) got the cold shoulder.
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association also supported a large number of films with diverse casts and racial themes.
Foreign-language films are ineligible for the marquee best picture categories. So the nominations did not offer much guidance on the Oscar fortunes of Roma, Alfonso Cuaron's blissfully reviewed epic.
Movie fans may also be confused by the inclusion of A Star Is Born in the best drama category. The 1976 version, starring Barbra Streisand, won the Globe for best musical.
But its producers wanted to compete in the dramatic category, which is seen as having more heft.
A parade of films (Beautiful Boy, Eighth Grade, A Quiet Place, The Old Man & The Gun) ended up with a lone nomination.
Walt Disney, despite its box- office brawn, has never been much of an awards force outside of animation. This year, however, it has Mary Poppins Returns. It does not arrive in theatres until Dec 19, but has been generating advance buzz.
It received a nod for best musical or comedy, along with acting nominations for Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda.
In addition to best drama, Disney's Black Panther got attention in the song and score categories.
In the best television drama category, newcomers dominated, with nominations going to thriller Killing Eve, starring Sandra Oh as a security services operative; the boisterous Pose, the latest hit from Ryan Murphy; Homecoming, a cerebral thriller starring Julia Roberts; and pulpy British thriller Bodyguard.
Two stalwarts, Game Of Thrones and Stranger Things, were not eligible because no new episodes aired this year.
The FX limited series, The Assassination Of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, led all shows with four nominations, including for best TV movie or mini-series.
Among television snubs, the twisty HBO sci-fi western Westworld received just one nod, for Thandie Newton's acting, and the creators of NBC's sentimental hit This Is Us, known for inspiring buckets of tears, might be shedding a few of their own. It was totally shut out.
The Globes ceremony will be held on Jan 6.
