When the Golden Globes nominated"The Martian" for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy, people were outraged.
Judd Apatow, a director known for blockbuster comedies like "Bridesmaids," complained about the choice in an R-rated rant at the Critics' Choice Awards.
"The comedy designation will offer ['The Martian'] the ability to compete against lighter fare,"Nicole Sperling wrote for Entertainment Weekly. "That's all good news for 'The Martian.' It's bad news for the pure comedies that are looking for a little love, especially since they are consistently ignored by the Academy when it comes time to vote."
Paul Feig, who directed "Spy," (which was nominated for the same category) tweeted his displeasure:
A comedy's a film whose #1 goal is to make people laugh. If that wasn't the filmmakers' top goal, it's not a comedy. https://t.co/ikuWK14FJh
— Paul Feig (@paulfeig) November 13, 2015After the film won the category, people got snarky:
The Martian wins best comedy at #GoldenGlobes - also, Trainwreck nominated for best foreign documentary pic.twitter.com/4CmxHXOELa
— Paul Nazareth (@UinvitedU) January 11, 2016
Someone Added A Laugh Track To THE MARTIAN To Make It A Comedy! https://t.co/yjhG2Xq4BJpic.twitter.com/Ghs1m2ywba
— Superhero Feed (@SuperheroFeed) January 22, 2016
Drink every time someone makes a joke about The Martian being a comedy #GoldenGlobes
— TV Guide (@TVGuide) January 11, 2016In April, the Hollywood Foreign Press (which runs the Globes) even updated its rulebook to read:
Motion pictures shall be entered in the category that best matches the overall tone and content of the motion picture. Thus, for example, dramas with comedic overtones should be entered as dramas.
Dramadies like "The Martian" will probably have steeper competition next year.
At Smithsonian's Future Is Here Festival on April 24, Tech Insider asked the book's author Andy Weir and the movie's producer Aditya Sood what they thought of the backlash.
Tech Insider: How did you both feel about The Martian being classified as a comedy, and everybody’s reaction to that?
Aditya Sood: Yes, this is the big thing. "The Martian" won the Golden Globe for best musical or comedy. All I will say is this: "Birdman" was nominated for musical or comedy the year before, and we are way funnier than "Birdman."
Andy Weir: If you look up what the other nominees were, there was only one of them that really falls into that category, and it was "Spy." ... That was clearly a comedy. But all the rest of them just weren't either of those things. And actually since then, the Hollywood Foreign Press has changed the rules of how movies get categorized. This is kind of like Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize when he had just taken office; he's like, "Well, uh, thanks…?"