Is the Golden Globes Comedy Race the New Home for Category Fraud With 'Obsession'?

'Category fraud' is having a moment. It happens every year in film and TV awards cycles. Campaigns submit films, shows, and individual performances in categories they have no business competing in, such as a drama recast as a comedy or an obvious lead role pitched for a supporting category. Industry reaction to […]

Awards Circuit column: Will the Globes enforce their rules to prevent heavy dramas from being passed off as comedies?

"Classification fraud" is having a crossover moment.

This happens every year in film and television award cycles. Campaigns submit movies, shows and solo performances in categories they have nothing to do to be in, such as a drama that turns into a comedy or an obvious lead that's suggested for a supporting category. However, industry reactions to some of these bold decisions are louder this year. Related stories "The Mummy 4" with Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz officially titled "The Mummy: Book of the Dead"

This creative maneuver happens with batch submissions for a reason: to improve the perceived odds of winning a prize. Increasingly, however, misrepresentations are spilling over into wider industry discourse. (Just Google the limited series "The Beast in Me," which was greenlit for a second season by Emmy winner Matthew Rhys.) Popular in Variety

It seems that this year, these so-called crimes have targeted comedy categories. Carrie Barker's "Obsession," which was made for $750,000 and has now grossed more than $500 million worldwide, was submitted by Focus Features as a musical or comedy for the Golden Globes and featured star Inde Navarre in the comedy competition. Yes, there is laughter. But in general, the audience was exposed to the horror of a woman who had lost control of her mind and body.

Not long after, Bleecker Street submitted Mike Lee's "Love Care" in the same comedy categories. Hardly anyone blinked, perhaps because few saw it. The film involves drunken singing and dancing in the family kitchen. It also includes hospital visits and elderly parents coping with the final seasons of life. It's hardly funny to someone who has seen loved ones slow down.

Laughter is not the same as comedy. Strategists and Globes know this too. What is missing is the nerve to define it and, more importantly, execute it. This is not a new problem. A decade ago, Ridley Scott's "The Martian" won the Golden Globe Award for Best Comedy. You know, the guy stuck on Mars trying not to starve. Laughing guts! I wonder if Globe remembers that when MGM's Amazon Hail Mary project arrives, Ryan Gosling and an adorable alien rock are each trying to save their civilizations.

Universal entered "Get Out" as a comedy in 2017 and succeeded. Focus tried it in 2020 with "Young Woman of Promise," about a woman who avenges a friend's rape. At the time, voters said no and moved it to Drama.

The current Globes rulebook states that a film that is "originally designed to have a serious or dramatic tone" with "comedic elements or elements" is a drama.

Globes do not consider intent, but make all decisions using their "discretion" and their final rulings are not subject to an appeals process.

When a submission is called into question, a committee assembled by the Golden Globes reviews the file and rules for potential disputes, whether they involve genre classification or advocacy campaigns against leaders. Some strategists, anticipating that the committee might raise flags, are now trying to get ahead of the curve by providing additional documentation, including filmmaker quotes and source material, to explain why a film belongs in the category it does.

One of the top awards campaigns says that despite the efforts, the truth usually wins.

"You have to be honest with your filmmakers," says one awards strategist. "It's about what sets the film up for success as a whole. And if you think both categories are too competitive, 'faking' your film won't make it any easier. The opposite will happen."

Musicals can be just as difficult to categorize. "Ray" and "Walk the Line" competed in the Globe Musical or Comedy category. However, in recent years, the organization has emphasized that songs must advance the story, rather than appear as performances, to qualify. This distinction sent "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Elvis" to the play category. By that standard, Michael's classification remains an open question. Jafar Jackson performs many of Michael Jackson's biggest hits in this biopic, but whether these musical sequences are integral to the storytelling or simply recreations of the King of Pop's performance could determine where the film lands.

Globes can revise their rules, but as the awards campaign tells you: there's always a way to moonlight around them.

Below are the updated forecasts for this week.

(In alphabetical order. There are ranked selections on each separate category page)

Best Picture "Artificial" (Neon) "The First" (A24) "Dune: Part III" (Warner Bros.) "Fiord" (Neon) "The Invitation" (A24) "Labula Negra" (Netflix) "Odyssey" (Universal Pictures) "Project Hail MaryGM" (Hormazin Studios) (Searchlight Pictures) "You Can See Everything" (A24)

Directed by Javier Ambrosi and Javier Calvo, Labula Negra (Netflix) Martin McDonagh, Nine Wild Horses (Searchlight Pictures) Christopher Nolan, The Odyssey (Universal Pictures) Denis Villeneuve, The Dune: Part 3 (Warner Bros.), Olive Inuit (24) Willwitt.

Actor Matt Damon, "Odyssey" (World Pictures) John Malkovich, "No Wild Horse" (Searchlight Pictures) *** Pedro Pascal, "Behemoth!" (Searchlight Pictures) Andrew Scott, "Elsinore" (Focus Features) John Turturro, "The Only Pickpocket Alive in New York" (Sony Pictures Classics)

Actress Marion Bailey, Loving Care (Bleecker Street) Julianne Moore, The First Game (A24) *** Inde Navarre, The Obsession (Focus Features) René Rainseau, The Fjord (Neon) Olivia Wilde, The Invitation (A24)

Supporting Actor Andrew Garfield, "Artificial" (Neon) *** Paul Giamatti, "The First" (A24) Guitarricadelafuente, "La Bola Negra" (Netflix) John Leguizamo, "Odyssey" (Universal) Sam Rockwell, "Wild Horse" (Searchlight Pictures)

Penelope Cruz, Supporting Actress, The Invitation (A24) Anne Hathaway, The Odyssey (Worldwide Films) *** Sandra Holler, The Hail Mary Project (Amazon MGM Studios) Samantha Morton, The Odyssey (Worldwide Films) Kate O'Flyland (T Flynn Street)

Original Screenplay "Artificial" (Neon) - Simon Rich "The First Game" (A24) - Jesse Eisenberg "Fiord" (Neon) - Christian Mongeau "Tender Loving Care" (Bleecker Street) - Mike Lee "No Wild Horse" (Searchlight Pictures) - Martin McDinagh

Adapted Screenplay The Dune: Part 3 (Warner Bros.) - Brian K. Vaughan, Denis Villeneuve The Invitation (A24) - Rashida Jones & Will McCormack *** Labula Negra (Netflix) - Javier Ambrosi, Javier Calvo, Alberto Cangi The Hail Mary Project (Amazon MGM Studios) - Drew Goddard

Actors: Being Heumann (Apple Original Films) - Adam Caldwell and Bernard Telsey "Fiord" (Neon) - Hannah Chukron-Foldoy "La Bola Negra" (Netflix) - Eva Lira and Yolanda Serrano "Odyssey" (Universal Pictures) - "John Papsiderae Pictures" (Universal Pictures) *** Finn

The Forgotten Island (DreamWorks Animation) - Joel Crawford, Januel Mercado and Mark Swift Ray Gunn (Netflix) - Brad Bird, Jon Lester, Lisa Broad, David Ellison and Dana Goldberg Tangles (Indie Film Co., Lea Nelfoer, Jules, Lea Nelson, Jules, Jules, Lea Nelson, Jules, Jules Rogen and Evan Goldberg "Toy Story 5" (Pixar) - Andrew Stanton, Lindsey Collins and Jessica Choi "Wildwood" (Leica) - Travis Knight and Sam Wilson ***

Production Design "Dune: Part Three" (Warner Bros.) *** "La Bola Negra" (Netflix) "The Odyssey" (Universal Pictures) "Project Hail Mary" (Amazon MGM Studios) "Werwulf" (Focus Features)

Filming "Artificial" (Neon) "The Dune: Part III" (Warner Bros.) "La Bola Negra" (Netflix) "Odyssey" (Universal Pictures) *** "The Hail Mary Project" (Amazon MGM Studios)

Costume Design "Dune: Part Three" (Warner Bros.) *** "La Bola Negra" (Netflix) "Michael" (Lionsgate) "The Odyssey" (Universal Pictures) "Sense and Sensibility" (Focus Features)

Film Editing "Dune: Part Three" (Warner Bros.) "The Invite" (A24) "La Bola Negra" (Netflix) "The Odyssey" (Universal Pictures) *** "You Can See Everything" (A24)

Makeup and Hairstyling "Other" (Warner Bros.) "The Dune: Part 3" (Warner Bros.) *** "Michael" (Lionsgate) "Odyssey" (World Pictures) "The Mat" (Black Bear Pictures)

The sound of "Behemoth!" (Searchlight Pictures) "Dune: Part Three" (Warner Bros.) "The Mosquito Bowl" (Netflix) "The Odyssey" (Universal Pictures) *** "Project Hail Mary" (Amazon MGM Studios)

Visual Effects "Dune: Part Three" (Warner Bros.) *** "Godzilla Minus Zero" (GKids) "Project Hail Mary" (Amazon MGM Studios) "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" (Sony Pictures) "Wildwood" (Laika)

Original Soundtrack "Artificial" (Neon) - Damon Albarn "Behemoth!" (images of the search light) - Behemoth! Collective "Dune: Part III" (Warner Brothers) - Hans Zimmer "Odyssey" (Universal Pictures) - Ludwig Goransson *** "Wildwood" (Leica) - Dario Marianelli

Original Song "This City May Have Up Me Up (But It Hasn't Spit Me Out)" by "Debut" (A24) *** "La Nieve" by "La Bola Negra" (Netflix) "Let Me Sell You a Dream" by "Musk" (Bleecker Street) "I Knew It, I Better The Bettery of You" "Courage" by "Wildwood" (Pixar)

Feature Documentary "14th" (Netflix) "Musk" (Bleecker Street) "Naza" (The Guardian and MK2) *** "Once Upon a Time in Harlem" (Neon) "Rehearsals for a Revolution" (Sony Pictures Classics)

International Film "Fredere" from Romania (Neon) "La Bula Negra" from Spain (Netflix) *** "Minotaur" from France (Mobi) "Possible Love" from South Korea (Netflix) "Unknown Woman" from Denmark (US distributor TBD)