Columbia Alumni Nominated for 2023 Golden Globes; 'The Fabelmans' Wins Best Picture

Update: January 11, 2023

The Fabelmans, co-written by alumnus Tony Kushner (CC '78) and director Steven Spielberg, was one of the winners at last night’s Golden Globe Awards.

The film, on which Kushner also served as producer, was named “Best Motion Picture, Drama,” with Spielberg also picking up the win for “Best Director of a Motion Picture.”

“Wow, I’m shocked,” Kushner said when accepting the award. “Thank you very much, Hollywood Foreign Press and the Golden Globes. We’re really thrilled.”

“Kristie and Tony. . . produced this with me,” Spielberg added, “and got me through it.” 

This win marks the first time Kushner will take home a Golden Globe, though he has been nominated previously for his screenplays of Munich and Lincoln. 

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Original: 

Nominations for the 2023 Golden Globes were announced this past December, a list which includes several productions that feature the work of Columbia University alumni. 

This year marks the 80th presentation of the Golden Globe Awards. Nominees were selected by 96 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and, for the first time, by 103 international voters, with the aim of recognizing outstanding achievements in filmmaking and focusing wide public attention upon the best in motion pictures and television. The annual Globes have enabled the HFPA to donate more than $45 million in the past 26 years to over 70 entertainment-related charities, as well as funding scholarships and other programs for future film and television professionals.

Winners will be announced at the 80th Golden Globe Awards ceremony, which will air on Tuesday, January 10, 2023, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT from The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, on NBC and Peacock. 

Read more about the Columbia alumni nominated for Golden Globes below:

Television: 

Hacks 
Alumna Lucia Aniello (CC '04), Co-creator, Producer, Writer, and Director

Hacks, a bawdy comedy which follows the complicated mentorship of an aging Las Vegas comedian and a young comedy writer, has nabbed three awards, including “Best Television Series, Musical or Comedy.” Series star and acting legend Jean Smart is nominated for “Best Actress in a Television Series, Musical or Comedy,” and Hannah Einbinder is up for “Best Supporting Actress, Television” for her role as the entitled millennial up-and-comer. Aniello, who was a Film and Media Studies major at Columbia College, is one of the creators of the show, in addition to her work as a producer, writer, and director on the series. 

Only Murders in the Building 
Alumnus Chris Teague '06, Director of Photography and Director
Alumna Cherien Dabis '04, Director
Alumnus Jamie Babbit (BC ’93), Director
Alumnus Ben Philippe (CC '11), Writer

The second season of Only Murders in the Building picks up with the arrest of the three heroes, denizens of a New York apartment building who have built an audience–and made a few enemies–with their true-crime podcast. Now, the three podcasters find themselves neck-deep in yet another murder. The comedy is nominated for “Best Television Series, Musical or Comedy,” with Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez each receiving nods for “Best Actor/Actress in a Television Series, Musical or Comedy.” 

Film:

The Fabelmans
Alumnus Tony Kushner, (CC '78), Writer and Producer

The Fabelmans, Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical ode to filmmaking, is nominated for “Best Motion Picture, Drama.” Spielberg co-wrote the film—which follows a young filmmaker from his very first experience in a movie theater to his first job in cinema—with award-winning playwright Kushner, a partnership which has resulted in a nomination for “Best Screenplay, Motion Picture.” The film is also up for “Best Original Score,” for music composed by John Williams, and Michelle Williams has received a nomination for “Best Performance of an Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama” for her role as the talented, complicated mother of the young protagonist.

Where the Crawdads Sing
Alumna Olivia Newman ’12, Director

Where the Crawdads Sing, Newman’s adaptation of the bestselling novel by Delia Owens, is nominated for “Best Original Song, Motion Picture” for the Taylor Swift song Carolina. “I knew that was. . . the emotional feeling that we were going to end the movie with,” Newman said of the song. “[Swift's] music was just so honest, it was just such a perfect fit.”