Five things to note before the Golden Globes (other than Tina Fey and Amy Poehler)

It seems that Hollywood (or at least the Hollywood Foreign Press Association) is finally getting wise to the fact that actresses over 50 have more to offer than botched Botox stories. This year’s best dramatic actress nominees are all of a certain age – Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine) is 44, Gravity’s Sandra Bullock, 49, and Emma Thompson (Saving Mr. Banks), 54. At 38, Kate Winslet (Labour Day) is the baby of the bunch, but based on recent average age numbers in the category – 37 in 2010 and 33 in 2011 – she’s Dame Judi Dench (79, nominated for Philomena).

Both actors portrayed characters in the advanced stages of AIDS and both scored Golden Globe nominations for their efforts, though the winner of this year’s Christian Bale Award for Extreme Weight Transformation still goes to Christian Bale, who gained 43 pounds for his role as the pot-bellied conman Irving Rosenfeld in American Hustle.

In the Golden Age of Television even great shows get shafted, and the descent can be sharp. Last year, Homeland scored a near sweep with best drama, best actor (Damian Lewis) and best actress (Claire Danes), plus a nomination for Mandy Patinkin. Mad Men’s Globe fortunes have cooled in recent years, though you’d think Don Draper’s long-awaited fall from grace would have been enough to score a nomination for his real life counterpart, who, by the way, will not be attending the awards. Thanks a lot Golden Globes.

In the grand (and slightly creepy) Miss Golden Globes tradition, one of the progeny of a notable celeb takes the stage to … okay, so the purpose of Miss Golden Globes isn’t entirely clear, but this year the honour goes to 21-year-old Sosie Bacon, daughter of Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick. Dad Kevin will attend as a presenter (despite scoring zilch for his new 2013 TV drama The Following). Bruce Dern earned a best dramatic actor nomination for Nebraska, while daughter Laura Dern (snubbed for her wonderful work in Enlightened), is another presenter. And Jon Voight, nominated for his performance in TV’s Ray Donovan, might just have a reunion with famously estranged daughter Angelina Jolie, who may bring her star power to the Globes in support of partner Brad Pitt’s 12 Years a Slave.

Both stars have had “breakout” years despite the fact that both have been working steadily on the big and small screens for the past decade. In the best actor (drama) category, both are nominated for portraying real-life civil rights heroes – Elba as Nelson Mandela in The Long Walk to Freedom, while Ejiofor is Solomon Northup in 12 Years a Slave. In the best actor in a TV mini-series category, both are recognized again: Ejiofor in the 1930s-era jazz series Dancing on the Edge and Elba for his work as the crankiest cop on Luther. Ejiofor is the favourite for the dramatic movie trophy. In the TV category, both actors will probably lose to Liberace. Michael Douglas in a baby-pink paisley tux will be hard to beat.