Ava DuVernay Is Golden Globes’ First Black Female Director Nominee

With the 72nd Annual Golden Globe nominees announced this morning, the entertainment world rejoiced as Ava DuVernay became the first black female director to be nominated.

Live and direct from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Kate Beckinsale, Peter Krause, Paula Patton, and Jeremy Piven joined the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in announcing the nominees for the awards ceremony. Selma, which stars David Oyelowo as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was nominated four times — Best Picture, Drama; Best Actor, Drama (David Oyelowo); Best Director (Ava DuVernay); and Best Original Song, Motion Picture (John Legend, “Glory”).

As an entertainment rule of thumb, whomever the Golden Globe nominees are, historically, are what the Oscar nominees. Although this isn’t 100% accurate, it is interesting to note that Ava DuVernay, who has had a string of hits lately, could possibly be the first black female Oscar-nominated director. Hopeful cinephiles will have to wait until Jan. 15,  for those announcements. The key takeaway is that Ava DuVernay, 42, makes history as the first black woman director to be nominated for a Golden Globe Award.

Previous nods went to Steve McQueen for his stellar pic, 12 Years a Slave, and Spike Lee for his comedy-drama Do the Right Thing. This means

it marks 24 years that there was no black director (male or female) nominated in the Best Director in the Motion Picture category. In addition to the distinction, young starlet in the making, Quvenzhane Wallis, earned a nod for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Comedy/Musical, pegged to her role in Annie. Viola Davis snagged a Screen Actor’s Guild and Golden Globe nomination (Best Actress in a TV Series) for her role in How to Get Away With Murder.

Don Cheadle (House of Lies) and Uzo Aduba (Orange is the New Black) round out the other nominees for their performances.

On the next page, you can see the full list of nominees and share your thoughts on Ava DuVernay’s distinction in the comments section.

Best motion picture — drama
“Boyhood”
“Foxcatcher”
“The Imitation Game”
“Selma”
“The Theory of Everything”

Best motion picture — musical or comedy
“Birdman”
“The Grand Budapest Hotel”
“Into the Woods”
“Pride”
“St. Vincent”

Best actress in a motion picture — drama
Jennifer Aniston, “Cake”
Felicity Jones, “The Theory of Everything”
Julianne Moore, “Still Alice”
Rosamund Pike, “Gone Girl”
Reese Witherspoon, “Wild”

Best actor in a motion picture — drama
Steve Carell, “Foxcatcher”
Benedict Cumberbatch, “The Imitation Game”
David Oyelowo, “Selma”
Eddie Redmayne, “The Theory of Everything”
Jake Gyllenhaal, “Nightcrawler”

Best actor in a motion picture — musical or comedy
Ralph Fiennes, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
Michael Keaton, “Birdman”
Bill Murray, “St. Vincent”
Joaquin Phoenix, “Inherent Vice”
Christoph Waltz, “Big Eyes”

Best actress in a motion picture — musical or comedy
Amy Adams, “Big Eyes”
Emily Blunt, “Into the Woods”
Helen Mirren, “The Hundred-Foot Journey”
Julianne Moore, “Maps to the Stars”
Quvenzhane Wallis, “Annie”

Best supporting actor in a motion picture
Robert Duvall, “The Judge”
Ethan Hawke, “Boyhood”
Edward Norton, “Birdman”
Mark Ruffalo, “Foxcatcher”
J.K. Simmons, “Whiplash”

Best supporting actress in a motion picture
Patricia Arquette, “Boyhood”
Jessica Chastain, “A Most Violent Year”
Emma Stone, “Birdman”
Meryl Streep, “Into the Woods”
Keira Knightley, “The Imitation Game”

Best animated feature film
“Big Hero 6”
“The Book of Life”
“The Boxtrolls”
“How to Train Your Dragon 2”
“The Lego Movie”

Best director
Wes Anderson, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
Ava DuVernay, “Selma”
David Fincher, “Gone Girl”
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, “Birdman”
Richard Linklater, “Boyhood”

Best screenplay
Wes Anderson, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
Gillian Flynn, “Gone Girl”
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, “Birdman”
Richard Linklater, “Boyhood”
Graham Moore, “The Imitation Game”

Best original score
Alexandre Desplat, “The Imitation Game”
Johann Johannsson, “The Theory of Everything”
Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, “Gone Girl”
Antonio Sanchez, “Birdman”
Hans Zimmer, “Interstellar”

Best original song
“Big Eyes,” from “Big Eyes”
“Glory,” from “Selma”
“Mercy Is,” from “Noah”
“Opportunity,” from “Annie”
“Yellow Flicker Beat,” from “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part I”

Best foreign language film
“Force Majeure Turist” (Sweden)
“Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem Gett” (Israel)
“Ida” (Poland/Denmark)
“Leviathan” (Russia)
“Tangerines Mandariinid” (Estonia)

TV

Best TV series — drama
“The Affair”
“Downton Abbey”
“Game of Thrones”
“The Good Wife”
“House of Cards”

Best actor in a TV series — drama
Clive Owen, “The Knick”
Liev Schreiber, “Ray Donovan”
Kevin Spacey, “House of Cards”
James Spader, “The Blacklist”
Dominic West, “The Affair”

Best actress in a TV series — drama
Claire Danes, “Homeland”
Viola Davis, “How to Get Away With Murder”
Julianna Margulies, “The Good Wife”
Ruth Wilson, “The Affair”
Robin Wright, “House of Cards”

Best TV series — comedy
“Girls”
“Jane the Virgin”
“Orange is the New Black”
“Silicon Valley”
“Transparent”

Best actor in a TV series — comedy
Louis C.K., “Louie”
Don Cheadle, “House of Lies”
Ricky Gervais, “Derek”
William H. Macy, “Shameless”
Jeffrey Tambor, “Transparent”

Best actress in a TV series — comedy
Lena Dunham, “Girls”
Edie Falco, “Nurse Jackie”
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, “Veep”
Gina Rodriguez, “Jane the Virgin”
Taylor Schilling, “Orange is the New Black”

Best TV movie or mini-series
“Fargo”
“The Missing”
“The Normal Heart”
“Olive Kitteridge”
“True Detective”

Best actor in a mini-series or TV movie
Martin Freeman, “Fargo”
Woody Harrelson, “True Detective”
Matthew McConaughey, “True Detective”
Mark Ruffalo, “The Normal Heart”
Billy Bob Thornton, “Fargo”

Best actress in a mini-series or TV movie
Maggie Gyllenhaal, “The Honorable Woman”
Jessica Lange, “American Horror Story: Freak Show”
Frances McDormand, “Olive Kitteridge”
Frances O’Connor, “The Missing”
Allison Tolman, “Fargo”

Best supporting actor in a series, mini-series or TV movie
Matt Bomer, “The Normal Heart”
Alan Cumming, “The Good Wife”
Colin Hanks, “Fargo”
Bill Murray, “Olive Kitteridge”
Jon Voight, “Ray Donovan”

Best supporting actress in a series, mini-series or TV movie
Uzo Aduba, “Orange is the New Black”
Kathy Bates, “American Horror Story: Freak Show”
Allison Janney, “Mom”
Michelle Monaghan, “True Detective”
Joanne Froggatt, “Downton Abbey”

The 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards, hosted by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler for the third year in a row, will air on Jan. 11, live on NBC with the pre-show at 7 p.m. EST. The main telecast will air at 8 p.m. EST from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills.