2018 is nearly a week old, and here at Academy of Art University, we’ve got one thing on our minds—gold.

The 75th Golden Globes—the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s annual awards extravaganza—takes place this Sunday, Jan 7, at 5PM PT / 8PM ET. Held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Hollywood, CA, NBC’s Seth Meyers assumes hosting duties this year.

The Golden Globes let the world know that awards season is officially on. And if history is any indicator, you won’t want to miss one minute of what’s sure to be an entertaining and unpredictable ceremony.

While we love buzzing about the parties, the big-name celebrity nominees, and even the controversies, we watch the Golden Globes to celebrate the work of our alumni.

We take pride in knowing that the journey from classroom to international awards stage is made possible by the Academy’s specialized schools in art and design, as well as the faculty’s continuing connections to the film industry.

This year, more than 50 Academy alumni played leading roles in the creation and production in many of the nominated categories, including Best Motion Picture.

The majority of former Academy students who worked on nominated films studied in the Schools of Animation & Visual Effects and Motion Pictures & Television.

These skilled alumni grew their careers and shined in their roles as Lead Graphic Designer, Lighting Technical, Supervising Animator, VFX Producer, 3D artist, FX Artist, Compositor, Modeler, Lighter, Character Shader, and Generalist, among others.

The Academy offers courses and degree programs in nearly every aspect of the performing arts, including Acting; Animation & Visual Effects; Motion Pictures & Television; and Writing for Film, Television & Digital Media.

Finally, if you’re wondering if the event will be weird because of all the controversy in Hollywood right now, the answer is probably, yes!

“We’ve got a lot to talk about,” Meyers teased in a Globes commercial promo, so you know the host won’t be shying away from the “elephant in the room” when he takes the stage on Sunday.

In fact, even before Meyers delivers his opening monologue you may notice a more somber vibe on the red carpet, as actresses and actors will be wearing all black to protest Hollywood’s culture of sexual harassment.

In the meantime, we look forward to watching the results and seeing which alumni and their professional teams take home the Gold.

Academy Grads Nominated for Golden Globe Awards

Here’s a full list of the nominated films in which Academy alumni were involved.

The Boss Baby

Nominated for Best Animated Film

• Nikhil Sinha, Image Finaling Lead
• Jonathan Gomez, Character Generalist Technical Assistant
• Randy Tecson, Image Finaling Artist
• Shannon Thomas, Modeler
• Charles Ellison, Modeler
• Minyu Chang, Senior CG Modeler
• Mark Roennigke, Character Animator / Character Lead
• Malia Russel, Department Manager
• Sondra Verlander, Lead Lighter
• George Ho, Lighter
• Jaewon Lee, Artist
• Jayanta Mahapatra, Trainer
• Yogesh Lakhani, CG Supervisor

Coco

Nominated for Best Animated Film

• Daniel Arriaga, Character Art Director
• Mimia Arbelaez, Lighting Technical Director
• Nicole Ridgewell, Animator
• Maria Lee, Character Shader
• Guilherme Jacinto, Animator
• Joseph S, Technical Director
• Ryan Lynch, Feature Film Development Manager
• Jenna Huerta, Lead Graphic Designer
• Frank-Joseph Frelier, Executive Assistant
• Amy Allen, Technical Director/Artist
• Jae Hyung Kim, Animator
• Erin Onstine Stereo, Technical Director
• Kevin Chesnos, Animator

Ferdinand

Nominated for Best Animated Film

• Dave Vasquez, Animator
• Min Jin Park, Rigger intern
• Scott Caroll, Supervising Animator
• Nimisha Kumar, Production Assistant
• Joon Song Fur, Technical Director
• Anthony Merola, Production Assistant – Story
• Tamara Lusher Stocker, Freelance Storyboard Artist
• Aimee J., FX TD
• Daniel Paul, Character Animator

Loving Vincent

Nominated for Best Animated Film

• Elizabeth Szymczak, Animator

Big Little Lies

Best TV Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for TV

• Jonathan Reid, Dailies Colorist
• Larissa Mills, Asst. Dailies Colorist/Operator
• Vonti McRae, Project Team Lead

Feud: Bette and Joan

Best TV Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for TV

• Stephanie Woo, Compositor

Black-ish

Best Television Series – Comedy and Drama

• Zhe Chong, Compositing Supervisor
• Gregory Harrington, Digital Compositor
• Junior Aredo, Compositor
• Han Cao, Compositor
• Yiwen Ding, Compositor
• Fei Chen, Compositor
• Patrick Bramley, Digital Compositor

Master of None

Best Television Series – Comedy and Drama

• Heather Howard, Additional Costumer
• Best Picture Drama

The Crown

Best Television Series – Comedy and Drama

• Cassie Tregellas, Sr. Manager, Global Creative Marketing

Stranger Things

Best Television Series – Comedy and Drama

• Nick Giassullo, Generalist
• Nick Fang, FX Artist
• Steve Suh, 3D Artist
• Ethan Zhao, Digital Artist
• Anwei Chen, VFX Producer
• Jinhwan Choi, FX Artist

Good luck, Alumni! We’ll be watching… with fingers crossed!

(Featured Image Courtesy: Billboard.com)