The Substance, Coralie Fargeat’s darkly funny film about an aging Hollywood movie star, who is played unforgettably by Demi Moore, has been submitted for Golden Globes consideration as a musical/comedy, rather than a drama, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
Ahead of the Globes’ Nov. 4 submission deadline, the classification of the MUBI release was the last remaining question mark among top-tier contenders. (Last week, THR shared the classifications for all of the others.) This is because there was debate even within the film’s and Moore’s camps about how the film should be entered.
On the one hand, The Substance a very disturbing horror flick, with levels of blood and gore that would make David Cronenberg blush. On the other hand, though, it’s a biting satire of a business in which youth and beauty are often prioritized above all else.
In the end, a deciding consideration may well have been where Moore will stand the strongest shot at a nomination, or even a win. Had the film been pushed as a drama, Moore would have been pitted against — among others — well-established veterans such as Maria’s Angelina Jolie, Babygirl’s Nicole Kidman, The Outrun’s Saoirse Ronan and The Room Next Door’s Tilda Swinton.
On the comedy side, however, Moore’s strongest competition will come from a pair relative newcomers, Anora’s Mikey Madison and Emilia Pérez’s Karla Sofía Gascón, as well as, perhaps, Wicked’s Cynthia Erivo, Nightbitch’s Amy Adams and Challengers’ Zendaya.