“Hamilton”, “The Prom”, and “The Boys In The Band” during Awards Season

[quizking101]

Hey everyone,

I know this has been discussed in various, disparate threads, but I wanted to condense the conversation here.

Thinking about a tweet from Variety that predicts Leslie Odom Jr. would get a nod for Best Actor - Motion Picture (Comedy/Musical) at the Golden Globes, I thought that “Hamilton”s eligibility for “motion picture” awards (GG-Film and Oscars) was already declared against them and that they could compete in the Television categories (GG-Television and Emmys). I’m wondering if there is going to be a united decision on this or is every different body going to make it’s own consideration.

Variety also tweeted that Meryl Streep and Jo Ellen Pellman would get nodded for Best Actress - Motion Picture (Comedy/Musical) at the Golden Globes. Though my question is not whether it’s eligible as a motion pictures, it would be that if Odom Jr. isn’t eligible, does that open up a spot for James Corden to be nominated? (pending the feedback of his performance, but bolstered by his appeal with international audiences). Additionally, could Jim Parsons also fit that category with “The Boys In The Band”?

Which connects me to my final question: Is “The Boys In The Band” going to do an awards push for motion picture categories and, since the Golden Globes seem to be the focal point of my extended query, would it fall into a comedy/musical or drama category. Considering that both acts are distinctly different in tone, I would still overall classify it as a Comedy. (I don’t think the original sets any precedent since it was only nominated for New Star of the Year - Male for Kenneth Nelson).

Lots of thoughts here, but hope to hear yours as well.

[BrodyFosse123]

Golden Globes honors both motion picture and television work. The Academy Awards/Oscars is solely motion pictures.

[JBroadway]

It's unclear at the moment whether Boys in the Band or The Prom will be eligible for the Oscars. If I understand correctly, the Oscar rule change about streaming movies only applied to films that were slated to have a limited theatrical release - which in a normal year is a requirement for Oscar eligibility (more specifically, at least 2 weeks of screenings in LA). So in other words, if they weren't planning to submit the film for eligibility pre-COVID, they can't do so now just because of the rule change. At least that's how I understand it - happy to be corrected if I'm wrong. And so I believe both The Prom and BITB are ineligible for that reason, but will be eligible for the Emmys instead. 

And yet, some prediction sites like Gold Derby have them listed as eligible, so maybe I've missed something. 

Hamilton on the other, is likely going to be ineligible for other reasons. 

I'm not as familiar with the Golden Globes as I am with the Oscars, so I don't know what their rules are. But I do know that they have separate categories for Television movies as opposed to "theatrical" releases ("theatrical" in quotes because they've almost certainly adjusted the rule for COVID, similar to the Oscars). So if the GG's current 2020 rules are similar to the rules that separate the Oscars from the Emmys, then movies like The Prom and BITB would likely be in the "Television movie" category. 

[CT2NYC]

According to the trailer, THE PROM will play in select theaters in December, before it's released on Netflix.

[JBroadway]

CT2NYC said: "According to the trailer, THE PROM will play in select theaters in December, before it's released on Netflix."

Ah, ok! If that's the case, then I guess that answers that question. It probably is Oscar-eligible, and probably eligible for the theatrical categories at the GGs (again, not as familiar with their rules, so I'm not sure).

As far as I'm aware though, I don't think Boys in the Band played any theatres, or intended to

[Jarethan]

Re Boys, if it involves spending money to do an awards push, the producers should save their money.  I enjoyed Boys, but it did not seem award worthy to me, in a field where there is so much more competition.  For example, there are about 6 people in Chicago 7 who I would argue are better than anyone in the cast of Boys.  What else would it really be qualified for.  

Re James Corden, I personally always enjoy him, so I am expecting to enjoy him in The Prom.  I am pretty sure that I read that the Globes ARE making Hamilton eligible, unlike the Oscars.  If that is the case, it will be interesting to see.  I really don't want Hamilton to be eligible (I argued on multiple subject threads that it is not a movie; rather, a well filmed capture of the theatrical performance).  I want to see the real movie version of Hamilton.

Since the Globes have a separate category for musicals, I would expect The Prom to do quite well.  No matter how well executed the movie is, I can't imagine that it will be Oscar-bait, unless 16 more movies decide not to open in 2020.  Right now, the competition still looks potentially formidable to me, even with a number of postponements into 2021

[Sutton Ross]

I sincerely don't think you need to worry about any of these films being nominated for anything. 

[CT2NYC]

At the very least, THE PROM is likely to get a Best Original Song nomination, since a new one is being added for the film.

[Ledaero]

It's interesting discussing Boys in the Band for eligibility. The Academy rules state, as of the addendum on Oct. 6th, that a film must either have been released in theaters or have been intended to be released in theaters to be eligible. I'm thinking that "intended" is going to lead to a big grey area because producers should be able to claim intention with little-to-no evidence. Drive-ins also enable qualification, so I assume if anyone wants to do a last minute push they'll run a film at a drive-in in LA for a few days.

I'm assuming Boys in the Band will be eligible, and I think they should and will do a campaign for it with how tiny the competition is this year. In any other year, I'd say it wouldn't have a chance for nominations. But with all of the studio films delaying their releases, it could easily snag some nominations with the GGs and the Oscars. It has classic Hollywood studio bait, and there aren't many others like that this year. As for GGs, I think Boys in the Band will compete as Comedy/Musical for competition reasons. Drama is stacked with Trial of Chicago 7, Mank, Hillbilly Elegy, The Father, Da 5 Bloods, and Nomadland already. So competition is much lighter over in the comedy area, and I think they can justify it by being a stage adaptation (I don't agree with the justification, but producers always BS reasons to steer their category). One Night in Miami may do the same.

The Prom will also be eligible, and they'll push hard for a GG campaign. And always with the Oscars, don't ever count Meryl out for a nomination. 

GGs have not released a statement regarding Hamilton's eligibility, but I assume that it will be deemed ineligible for film and may be eligible to compete for TV. If not TV, they may give it some honorary award.