The Golden Globes, for past eight years or so, have been notorious for making uninspired choices, even downright mind-boggling exclusions in their lineups. The Best Picture winner of the Globes and Oscar haven’t matched up in quite sometime. They’ve chosen Brokeback Mountain over Crash, Atonement or No Country for Old Men, and more recently, The Social Network over The King’s Speech. You can’t say their opinions don’t matter but as time goes on, they’re becoming less relevant and more of a pit stop on the way to the finish line.
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association are notoriously called “star f****” because of there usual nominees, especially in the acting categories. Think nominations such as Will Ferrell for The Producers, Renee Zellweger for Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, and Scarlett Johansson for A Love Song for Bobby Long. All performances many weren’t really considering for any type of recognition but the HFPA continuously invites to the ceremony. Though I will say, the HFPA award show as a whole is immensely entertaining. The actors are much more loose and give very funny and entertaining acceptance speeches. Even the inclusion of a host which for the past two years has been the eyebrow raising Ricky Gervais always gets a chuckle.
This year, I don’t expect the HFPA to grow some balls are change up their formula. As you will see the predictions after the jump, I made some very ballsy and near stupid exclusions such as The Artist not being nominated in nearly every category. I feel the HFPA won’t have any idea what to do with a film like that. They’re not a big voting body like the Academy, they are 90 or so international press members trying to recognize the “best.”
There is massive potential to hear a few names called twice this year a la Leonardo DiCaprio with Blood Diamond and The Departed, two very nomination worthy performances. Of course, Jessica Chastain is in contention for a few pieces and I chose her to be recognized for Tate Taylor’s The Help for the Globes. Malick isn’t a favorite with the group and I don’t expect them to warm up to The Tree of Life with the exception of a possible lone director mention for Malick. The logic doesn’t make much sense but the Globes never do. Ryan Gosling also has a shot a double nomination in both Lead Actor categories for Crazy, Stupid, Love, The Ides of March, and Drive. I expect co-star Steve Carell to take him out of the running for his comedic work this year but Crazy, Stupid, Love could be a hit with the group. Drive seems like the kind of film HFPA loves to nominate. Hard-hitting action-drama with a central character study that invokes the audience and critics alike. It’ll be interesting to see how this turns out.
Some wonderful things I noticed when putting the predictions together is how clear Kristen Wiig seems a frontrunner for her terrific work in Bridesmaids. With her scene-stealing work on Saturday Night LIVE, this will be a great notice for her.
The predictions are below. Winners in BOLD. Please make sure to comment and include your own. We’d love to know your thoughts on this year’s contenders.
Best Motion Picture (Drama)
The Descendants
Drive
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
J. Edgar
War Horse
Others: Moneyball, The Ides of March, The Help, The Artist, The Tree of Life
Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy)
Bridesmaids
Crazy, Stupid, Love
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
We Bought a Zoo
Others: 50/50, Win Win, Young Adult, Larry Crowne, The Hangover II
Best Actor (Drama)
George Clooney – The Descendants
Leonardo DiCaprio – J. Edgar
Ryan Gosling – Drive
Gary Oldman – Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Brad Pitt – Moneyball
Others: Tom Hardy – Warrior, Michael Fassbender – Shame, Michael Shannon – Take Shelter, Ralph Fiennes – Coriolanus, Ryan Gosling – The Ides of March
Best Actor (Musical or Comedy)
Steve Carell – Crazy, Stupid, Love
Matt Damon – We Bought a Zoo
Johnny Depp – The Rum Diary
Paul Giamatti – Win Win
Joseph Gordon-Levitt – 50/50
Others: Asa Butterfield – Hugo, Ryan Gosling – Crazy, Stupid, Love, Tom Hanks – Larry Crowne, Adam Sandler – Just Go With It, Justin Timberlake – Friends with Benefits
Best Actress (Drama)
Glenn Close – Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis – The Help
Felicity Jones – Like Crazy
Meryl Streep – The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams – My Week with Marilyn
Others: Jodie Foster – Carnage, Elizabeth Olsen – Martha Marcy May Marlene, Anne Hathaway – One Day, Tilda Swinton – We Need to Talk About Kevin, Charlotte Rampling – The Eye of the Storm
Best Actress (Musical or Comedy)
Marion Cotillard – Midnight in Paris
Cameron Diaz – Bad Teacher
Julia Roberts – Larry Crowne
Charlize Theron – Young Adult
Kristin Wiig – Bridesmaids
Others: Sarah Jessica Parker – I Don’t Know How She Does It, Melissa McCarthy – Bridesmaids, Mila Kunis – Friends with Benefits, Natalie Portman – No Strings Attached, Julianne Moore – Crazy, Stupid, Love
Best Supporting Actor
Kenneth Branagh – My Week with Marilyn
Albert Brooks – Drive
Jonah Hill – Moneyball
Philip Seymour Hoffman – The Ides of March
Christopher Plummer – Beginners
Others: Nick Nolte – Warrior, Brad Pitt – The Tree of Life, Jim Broadbent – The Iron Lady, John Hawkes – Martha Marcy May Marlene, Viggo Mortensen – A Dangerous Method
Best Supporting Actress
Sandra Bullock – Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Jessica Chastain – The Help
Judi Dench – J. Edgar
Vanessa Redgrave – Coriolanus
Octavia Spencer – The Help
Others: Jessica Chastain – The Tree of Life, Carey Mulligan – Shame, Keira Knightley – A Dangerous Method, Shailene Woodley – The Descendants, Scarlett Johansson – We Bought a Zoo
Best Director – Motion Picture
Stephen Daldry – Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Clint Eastwood – J. Edgar
Terrence Malick – The Tree of Life
Alexander Payne – The Descendants
Steven Spielberg – War Horse
Others: George Clooney – The Ides of March, David Cronenberg – A Dangerous Method, Michel Hazanvicius – The Artist, Bennett Miller – Moneyball, Woody Allen – Midnight in Paris
Best Screenplay – Motion Picture
The Descendants
The Ides of March
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
War Horse
Others: The Ides of March, A Dangerous Method, Win Win, J. Edgar, Young Adult
Best Original Score
The Artist
J. Edgar
Rango
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
War Horse
Others: The Ides of March, The Adventures of Tin Tin: The Secret of the Unicorn, My Week with Marilyn, Coriolanus, Hugo
Best Animated Feature
The Adventures of Tin Tin: The Secret of the Unicorn
Cars 2
Happy Feet 2
Rango
Rio
Best Original Song
???????????
Best Foreign Language Film
???????????
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4 Comments
Interesting…
Would “Carnage” really qualify as Drama? I was almost certain it would be considered in the Comedy/Musical category… And if that´s the case, I´d expect both Foster and Winslet to be nominated for Best Actress Comedy/Musical. By the way… Wouldn´t Marion Cotillard be supporting in “Midnight in Paris”? Either way, I don´t think she will make the cut.
I also sense a bit of category confusion for “The Help”… Viola Davis may even be nominated for Best Actress Drama, but if Jessica Tandy won for Best Actress Comedy/Musical in “Driving Miss Daisy” – which is much more of a drama (in my point of view), than I´d expect Davis to also be included in this category… Same for “The Help” – in the Best Motion Picutre Musical/Comedy race.
How about “Like Crazy” for Best Motion Picture Drama? Who knows, maybe they will include a wild card and have 6 nominees… It has happened before.
If Vanessa Redgrave really wins, I´ll be absolutely thrilled… Love her to death. Octavia Spencer is a threat, though.
I pretty much agree with your other picks and choices, although having “War Horse” win only one award – solely the “most important” one, does look a bit strange… Maybe it could win Best Original Score… That would give it more sustain.
Finally, how about Christopher Plummer – for Best Actor Drama – in “Barrymore”? Has anyone seen an excerpt from the film yet? He looks excellent… Just the kind of performance the Academy/critics love… He could end up scoring a double nomination – not only at the Oscars, but at the Globes too.
This could be THE YEAR for Alexander Payne.
I think The Help will bet a Best Motion Picture – Drama nomination. It has the mass appeal and the box office, and the subject matter. Think about when they made room for The Great Debaters back in ’07
What, Brenden Gleeson can’t get in for The Guard?