Nominations for the 2021 Golden Globes won’t be announced until February, but the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) is already under fire after reportedly shutting Lee Isaac Chung’s “Minari” out of the Best Picture race.
As first reported by Variety, the A24 drama will be relegated to the Best Foreign Language Film category because it is primarily in Korean. A similar situation happened last year with Lulu Wang’s “The Farewell,” which was barred from competing in the Best Picture category at the Globes because of its mostly Mandarin dialogue.
The HFPA did not immediately return TheWrap’s request for comment.
Also Read: ‘Minari’ Film Review: Steven Yeun Leads Charming Drama About Korean Transplants in 1980s Arkansas
News of the “Minari” decision prompted a wave of outrage from film critics and from celebrities like Wang, Daniel Dae Kim and “Shang-Chi” star Simu Liu.
“Just for the record, ‘Minari’ is an American movie written and directed by an American filmmaker set in America with an American lead actor and produced by an American production company,” Liu pointed out on Twitter.
Just for the record, Minari is an American movie written and directed by an American filmmaker set in America with an American lead actor and produced by an American production company https://t.co/6fbI7ppBPB
— Simu Liu (@SimuLiu) December 23, 2020
Kim likened the HFPA’s decision to “the film equivalent of being told to go back to your country when that country is actually America.”
The film equivalent of being told to go back to your country when that country is actually America. https://t.co/kwEf8eO9v8
— Daniel Dae Kim (@danieldaekim) December 23, 2020
“I have not seen a more American film than ‘Minari’ this year,” Wang, director of “The Farewell,” said. “It’s a story about an immigrant family, in America, pursuing the American dream. We really need to change these antiquated rules that characterizes American as only English-speaking.”
I have not seen a more American film than #Minari this year. It’s a story about an immigrant family, IN America, pursuing the American dream. We really need to change these antiquated rules that characterizes American as only English-speaking. https://t.co/1NZbkJFE9v
— Lulu Wang (@thumbelulu) December 23, 2020
In “Minari,” Steven Yeun (“The Walking Dead”) plays Jacob, the father of a group of Korean-American immigrants who find a new start in rural Arkansas in the 1980s. Chung wrote his period drama based on his own childhood growing up in the Midwest.
“Minari” won Sundance’s top two prizes — the narrative feature jury prize and the audience award — when it premiered at the festival earlier this year.
Below, see more reactions to Wednesday’s “Minari” news.
Checks “Inglorious Bastards” English to German, French & Italian ratio—-roughly 30:70 #Minari is an American film. https://t.co/rO6bjpNHQO
— Harry Shum Jr (@HarryShumJr) December 23, 2020
Minari is the most/best American movie I saw this year. This is complete bullshit. https://t.co/Raufj2QtMG
— Angry Asian Man (@angryasianman) December 23, 2020
This is racist. It was made by Americans. It was shot and set in Arkansas. https://t.co/jt1NWcdTEP
— Hanna Ines Flint (@HannaFlint) December 23, 2020
MINARI is a beautiful film about coming to america in search of the american dream. it has a writer-director-producer and many cast members who are asian-americans. yet the only thing being noticed here is the asian part. the korean part. the otherized part. this is so wrong. https://t.co/5ZPwpopcZJ
— Alyse Whitney (@AlyseWhitney) December 23, 2020
Not surprising. As a 4th generation American of Asian descent I still have to explain to people that my books are not the same as Japanese manga. (Amulet is not even published in Japan) As long as you look a certain way, you will always be considered a visitor in your own home. https://t.co/dkdP8LOiYf
— Kazu Kibuishi (@boltcity) December 23, 2020
A sad and disappointing reminder that a movie about the American dream, set in America, starring an American, directed by an American, and produced by an American company, is somehow foreign. #Minari https://t.co/u8VVfp0Sf4
— Andrew Phung (@andrewphung) December 23, 2020
In case you don’t think this is racist, Inglourious Basterds got a Golden Globe nom for Best Picture and is only ~30% in English https://t.co/Ptz4OEbxhR
— Jacob Oller (@JacobOller) December 23, 2020
Let us not forget that Inglorious Basterds was mostly not in English and was not classified the same way. https://t.co/HjMktWUV8F
— Franklin Leonard (@franklinleonard) December 23, 2020
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