Okay, maybe not skin …
Australia’s best shot at taking home a trophy probably lies with the hundreds of little plastic people who starred in The Lego Movie.
The Lego Movie was the biggest movie of 2014, taking a little under $500 million at the box office. That makes it a monster hit, and it was pretty much made in Australia, by the animation specialists, Animal Logic, who at one point had 300 people working on the film.
Kids love the movie, but anyone who knows anything about animation is also in awe.
Animal Logic not only made those little Lego bricks come alive – it made them loveable. The film is up for an award in the Best Animated Film category.
It’s a great result for Animal Logic, which started out with just 10 people, 25 years ago.
Their breakthrough moment probably came with Babe, but they’ve done visual effects and animation for plenty of other big films, including The Great Gatsby and the Matrix, and famously, for Happy Feet, which won an Oscar.
They are based at Sydney’s Fox Studios (but also have a base in Burbank, California.)
Australians should also keep an eye out for Frances O’Connor, who plays Emily Hughes, the mother of the missing boy in the British crime series, The Missing.
Hot on the heels of a controversy sparked by Russell Crowe, who recently advised Hollywood actresses to give up trying to play the sex bomb and take on more mature roles, Frances – who is 47 – plays the mother of a boy who goes missing while the family is on holiday in France.
Frances O’Connor is the star of The Missing.
The storyline is very similar to that of the case of Madeline McCann, who went missing while on holiday with her parents in Portugal.
Although born in England, Frances moved to Perth when she was two years old. She attended Mercedes College, and Curtin University. This is her second Golden Globe nomination, after being nominated for her role as Emma Bovary in Madame Bovary in 2000.
Also flying the local flag is Sia (real name, Sia Furler) who has been nominated for an original song, Opportunity, on the soundtrack for Annie.
Sia has been nominated for for an original song, Opportunity, on the soundtrack for Annie.
In announcing her nomination back in December, Forbes magazine described Sia as a ‘reclusive Australian’. She’s 39, from Adelaide; her parents are musicians. She has suffered from ill health, including Graves disease, which led to the cancellation of some concerts some years ago, but she battles on, exuberantly: her latest single, Chandelier, was nominated for four Grammy Awards, and sold around the world.
Golden Globe hosts, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.
The 72nd annual awards ceremony will start around noon, Australian time, with the first look at the frocks.
For the third time, the hosts will be Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.
