NEW YORK -- Guillermo del Toro's Cold War-era fairy tale The Shape of Water swam away with a leading seven Golden Globe nominations Monday, and the HBO drama Big Little Lies picked up six nods.
But no one made landing a Globe nomination look easier than Christopher Plummer.
Just two weeks after shooting his scenes in Ridley Scott's All the Money in the World, Plummer was nominated for best supporting actor -- a nod that was once considered a possibility for the actor he replaced, Kevin Spacey. An unfinished version of the film was screened last week for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which puts on the Golden Globes.
"They pulled off a miraculous feat over the last month, and I'm delighted to have been a part of this unique experience," Plummer said in a statement.
The nomination for Plummer -- which was joined by nods for Scott's directing and Michelle Williams as best actress -- was the latest twist in an awards season that has been rocked by the industry's continuing sexual harassment scandals.
The Globes shunned previous favorites like House of Cards, on which Spacey starred before harassment allegations surfaced, and Transparent, which remains in limbo after allegations against star Jeffrey Tambor.
Instead, the Globes lavished nominations on some tried-and-true favorites -- Meryl Streep scored her 31st nomination -- and new faces like Timothee Chalamet, the 21-year-old breakthrough star of the romance film Call Me By Your Name.
Setting itself apart from the pack was the monster fable The Shape of Water, which stars Sally Hawkins as a mute cleaning woman who falls in love with a captive amphibious creature. No film was more widely celebrated by the press association, including nods for del Toro's directing and Alexandre Desplat's sumptuous score.
"We are really in need of believing in something other than the headlines and the skepticism and the cynicism that we're getting so used to reading in every arena, politically in terms of fearing the other, not being able to believe in love or hope," said del Toro. "It's beautiful to be able to do it, to believe in it by disarming that skepticism with the words 'Once upon a time.'"
Several films followed behind The Shape of Water, including Steven Spielberg's Pentagon Papers drama The Post, which has six nominations, including best actress for Streep and best actor for Tom Hanks. Martin McDonagh's revenge drama Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri also received six nominations, including best actress for Frances McDormand and supporting actor for Sam Rockwell.
Along with The Shape of Water, Three Billboards and The Post, the nominees for best drama are Call Me By Your Name and Christopher Nolan's World War II epic Dunkirk.
Although some predicted and feared an acting field lacking diversity, the nominees were fairly inclusive. Among the 30 film acting nominees were Denzel Washington for Roman J. Israel, Esq.; Mary J. Blige for Mudbound; Hong Chau for Downsizing; and Octavia Spencer for The Shape of Water.
In the television categories, the Emmy-winning Big Little Lies earned a host of acting nods -- for Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Shailene Woodley, Alexander Skarsgard and Laura Dern -- as well as best limited series. HBO, which recently announced a second season for Big Little Lies, led TV channels with 12 nominations overall; Netflix followed with nine.
The Golden Globes, hosted by Seth Meyers, will be held Jan. 7.
Information for this article was contributed by Lindsey Bahr, Sandy Cohen and Ryan Pearson of The Associated Press.
A Section on 12/12/2017