Today would've been the day when all of us Movie buffs and cinephiles pulled out our awards season bingo cards and sat anxiously awaiting every shiny celebrity as they approached the tall, slender microphone and announce each winner for the Hollywood Foreign Press Associations Golden Globes Awards ceremony.
That is until the Mean, Ugly, Nerds ruined it all. Thanks Ben Silverman, you said it best.
The Golden Globes aren't just any other ceremony to movie fans. If the Oscars are the super bowl of movie awards, the Golden Globes are its Playoffs. Sure their a joke in some circles, but they're the last culmination of preceding critics circles awards and such and people still set their watches to it. At least in this household.
But will people still get as excited by a.....press conference?
Maybe, maybe not.
You see, this whole WGA writers Strike is putting quite a sour taste in the mouths of awards ceremony. In a nutshell, here's why we get a press conference instead of a glorified Gala, televised Awards show.
the HFPA (Hollywood Foreign Press Association) wanted an interim deal to allow writers to write for the awards show. The WGA declined that interim agreement, so the HFPA wanted to have a closed ceremony so celebrities and nominees could still attend without the threat of striking writers marching out front with their picket signs. However, Jeff Zucker (head of NBC) said no deal and basically said, if it ain't televised, it ain't happening. So that's why we get a great and multi-network covered press conference. Would it be any different if stations merely ran a crawl at the bottom of screen as if it were some minor weather alert? What's been even more fun than anticipating the winners is seeing the "celebrity" channels scramble for a backup plan now that there's no ceremony. E! had been running commercials out the yin yang harping about their red carpet coverage for the Golden Globes, sadly, the only interviews Ryan Seacrest and Guilliana (married an apprentice winner) Rancik would get are the day laborers who have to pack it all in or themselves - which I'm sure they wouldn't mind at all. So instead they've got "stay at home Sunday" planned with a glorified cut-in to cover the winners announcement.
So whose going to win anyway? I'm going to go ahead and go out on a limb, put myself in harms way and guess who I think deserves the award and who will most likely win. As an aside, and going back to the whole "Golden Globes are a Joke" thing, many industry trade papers and pundits are of the belief that the HFPA are nothing more than a bunch of glad-handers and backslappers who, when it comes down to it, are only in it to make the BIG NAMES happy. Hence Julia Roberts nomination for Charlie Wilson's War. So with that in mind, some films that seem like dead locks for the win may lose to the more mass-market appealing film or the bigger name celebrity. This is, after all, an industry built on ego inflation. All that aside, here we go.
Oh one more thing, I'm gonna skip the whole TV section of the predictions. That there's a whole 'nother ball-game!
First up is Best Foreign Language Film: 4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days is getting a lot of praise, but it's controversial subject matter may make it lose out to The Diving bell and the Butterfly and with the Diving Bell's win at the BCCA it seems to be a sure thing.
Best Animated Film: For personal reasons I desperately want the Simpsons movie to win, but I have to put my money on Ratatouille. That movie was so good and never once made me feel embarrassed about watching a cartoon. But then again, a Pixar film never does.
Best Original Score: It's a bummer Johnny Greenwood's darkly ominous score for There Will Be Blood wasn't nominated, however Dario Marianelli's score for Atonement was one of the best things about that movie. He should get it.
Best Original Song: This is a tough category! Walk Hard! Heck yeah! but it'll never happen. The HFPA probably takes itself too seriously to actually let it win, nominating it is respect enough. "That's how you know" was one of many wonderful moments in Enchanted but Eddie Vedder's "Guaranteed" is haunting and beautiful. I give it to the lead pearl jammer.
Best Screenplay: Now this is a tough one as well, because you don't get to differentiate between adapted and original. So it's gonna be interesting to see who takes it home here. Diablo Cody's Juno and the Coen's No Country For Old Men will be neck and neck but I think the Brothers will take it home.
Best Director: Again another snub for There Will Be Blood but whatever, they obviously didn't see the movie I saw. But for those who are nominated I go with The Coen Brothers. They just made such a tremendously dark and powerful film that it can't be overlooked. Runner up, Julian Schnabel for the Diving Bell.
Best Supporting Actress: Both Amy Ryan and Cate Blanchett were superb in their respective roles in Gone Baby Gone and I'm Not There. The HFPA could play it safe and go with Amy Ryan as the damaged single mother whose daughter is kidnapped but I think it'll go to Blanchett's perfectly believable interpretation of Bob Dylan from the Don't Look Back era.
Best Supporting Actor: Hands down, no bones about it this will be shoved into the hands of Javier Bardem! He is evil incarnate with the highest of principles in No Country For Old Men. Who else is nominated?
Best Actress in a musical or Comedy: So the HFPA won't have a best adapted screenplay and a best original screenplay category but they'll have a best drama and best comedy or musical? Where's the logic in that? Anyways, Nikki Blonsky could get it because of her plucked out of nowhere, hometown girl charm but all signs point to Ellen Page as the funny and sarcastic Juno but don't be surprised if Marion Cotillard swoops in and steals it for her great depiction of Edith Piaf in Le Mome.
Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy: The safe bet is Tom Hanks in Charlie Wilson's War but I say it's gonna go to Johnny Depp's devilishly dark turn as the demon barber of fleet street. He sings his own songs to boot!
Best Actress in a Drama: Jodie Foster for the Brave One? Really?! Most are saying Angelina Jolie for her turn as Mariane Pearl in a Mighty Heart but I got my fingers crossed for the wonderful Julie Christie in Away From Her.
Best Actor in a Drama: Anyone whose seen even a glimpse of Daniel Day Lewis in There Will Be Blood can't deny that this award belongs to him. Finally some love for Blood!
Best Motion Picture- Musical or Comedy: Here's where films like Across the Universe shock everyone for getting a nomination. Just 'cause there's songs. Some say Sweeney Todd, others say Hairspray. I say there's too much momentum and good ole fashioned heart in Juno for it not to win.
And finally Best Picture- Drama: For some strange reason there's like two extra nominees in this category than any other? But I guess there were just too many great films to narrow it down to just five. Or maybe the HFPA thought Denzel would show up for his film The Great Debaters (where else is it nominated?). Granted I've seen all but the Debaters, so I can't say for sure if it's good or bad and all the others are fine examples of film. Some are even masterpieces (Blood anyone?) so it's going to be a tough upset either way. If you can't tell already I desperately want There Will Be Blood to win but I'm thinking it will get vindicated come oscar time. So My vote is for No Country For Old Men. Whine all you want about that ending, you can't argue that this isn't a powerful and masterfully crafted film. The HFPA can't and you shouldn't either.
There you have it. My picks for the Golden Globes. Now I just have to wait, dust off my Awards Bingo Card and wait for the awesome press conference/breaking news coverage of the winners announcement. And that's when I'll be proven tragically wrong in all categories. Because life just likes to laugh at me like that.
Till next time
Chaz
Updated: 9:00pm
Winners:
ATONEMENT, BEST MOTION PICTURE DRAMA
DANIEL DAY-LEWIS, There Will Be Blood, BEST DRAMATIC ACTOR
JULIE CHRISTIE, Away From Her, BEST DRAMATIC ACTRESS
SWEENEY TODD, BEST MOTION PICTURE, MUSICAL OR COMEDY
JOHNNY DEPP, Sweeney Todd, BEST ACTOR, COMEDY OR MUSICAL
MARION COTILLARD, La Vie En Rose, BEST ACTRESS, COMEDY OR MUSICAL
JULIAN SCHNABEL, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, BEST DIRECTOR
THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY, (France/USA), FOREIGN LANGUAGE PICTURE
JOEL and ETHAN COEN, No Country For Old Men, SCREENPLAY
JAVIER BARDEM, No Country For Old Men, SUPPORTING ACTOR
CATE BLANCHETT, I'm Not There, SUPPORTING ACTRESS
RATATOUILLE, BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
DARIO MARIANELLI, Atonement, ORIGINAL SCORE
"GUARANTEED", Into the Wild, SONG
Okay so, not too bad. I got most of them right. A few were surprises, atonement winning best picture surprised even me. I should've seen Sweeney Todd taking Comedy or Musical over Juno. It really is a great film. Also I was surprised to see Julien Schnabel win for best director. It seemed like the Coens were a sure lock. But I guess, like New Hampshire, you should never believe what the media says. Oh well, now let's hope we can dust off the tuxedo and make the Oscars a big show and not just a silly press announcement with the every annoying Billy Bush!