I wanted to follow up on Belerofonte’s post about Natalie Portman’s Golden Globes controversy. Running the site’s social accounts, I’ve seen a lot of the anger firsthand and thought I’d add my two cents.

To those who feel that Natalie stepped over the mark and ruined the moment for the directors:

It’s the Golden Globes. A show where celebs get drunk, lob jokes at each other on stage and generally push the boundaries in ways they wouldn’t at more formal awards shows. In short, chill out. I’m sure the likes of Steven Spielberg and Ridley Scott couldn’t care less.

To those who feel that Greta Gerwig and other women directors were excluded because of their gender:

Maybe. But if the voters were so against someone like Gerwig, they sure showed it in a very strange way – 4 big nominations and winning Best Comedy. The idea that “well, it won best film so it has to be best director as well” has always struck me as a silly argument. If there was no difference between Best Director and Best Film then there wouldn’t be two categories.

Everyone has their own idea of what Best Director means. I haven’t seen Lady Bird but it seems genuinely considered to be one of the best screenplay’s of the year – that’s the sort of thing that can count against a Best Director nomination or win.

Basically, I find myself somewhere in the middle. Where did you come down?