Golden Globe predictions & actuals + other stuff too

Oy. I have no time to blog lately. And I'm kinda over awards season now. I can't keep doing these extensive run-downs on every new award that pops up. F*** it. But the globes are important, so let's see:

BEST PICTURE (DRAMA)
PRE-NOMS: I say it goes to Babel. Departed could take it, of course, but I think the HFPA love Babel enough to give it the prize. They have to honor it somewhere... why not here?
PREDICTION: Babel
ALTERNATE: The Departed
WINNER: Babel

HA. WHAT did I say??? I don't get why people were so surprised at this. Props to me for seeing this as the obvious win that it was.



BEST PICTURE (COMEDY/MUSICAL)
PRE-NOMS: Oy. I really wanna say Dreamgirls loses, but I just don't see it happening. Sure they didn't love it as much as they could have, but that goes double for LMS, which they only gave 2 nominations. Where was the love for Greg Kinnear? And the screenplay? They went for the movie stars in supporting, but Kinnear really should've taken Chiwitel Ejiofor's spot. So I just don't think they love LMS enough. Hell, maybe Borat will actually take it. But I doubt it.
PREDICTION: Dreamgirls
ALTERNATE: Little Miss Sunshine
WINNER: Dreamgirls

Yup, Dreamgirls pulled it off. I guess that's fine. It was okay. Whatever. At least Beyoncé didn't win (not even in song!).

BEST ACTOR (DRAMA)
PRE-NOMS: Yikes. Tight three-way race. Even DiCaprio could take it if they really love him and Departed, but it will most likely go to Smith, Whitaker, or O'Toole. Any one of them could happen. It all depends on what kind of mood the HFPA is in, and/or what kind of agenda they have. Whoever they pick here gains all the momentum. Do they want to keep the Whitaker train going, or give O'Toole the steam he needs to get that elusive oscar? Or do they really love Will Smith? Let's just say Smith and DiCaprio split the movie star vote, and they aren't that in love with O'Toole.
PREDICTION: Whitaker
ALTERNATE: Will Smith
COULD HAPPEN EASILY: Peter O'Toole
WINNER: Whitaker

Yay! Since I can't have Hugh, I'll gladly take Forest Whitaker. People really seem to love him AND the performance. I think he's winning the oscar.

Then again, Peter O'Toole has won globes before, so... hmmm...


BEST ACTRESS (DRAMA)
PRE-NOMS: Much less drama here. Not even worth writing about.
PREDICTION: Mirren
ALTERNATE: maybe Dench? whatever.
WINNER: Mirren

Full speed ahead to the oscar.


BEST ACTOR (COMEDY/MUSICAL)
PRE-NOMS: Again, not worth typing about. I do have a life, after all.
PREDICTION: Cohen
ALTERNATE: how 'bout Depp?
WINNER: Cohen

Yay! He deserved it. Plus, he's hella sexy. I seriously don't get how he's so different in his movies. In real life, he is HOT HOT HOT. Maybe it's the accent. Or that he just cleans up better, I guess, when he makes an effort. But Sacha Baron Cohen is my choice for "best de-glamming in the service of art." Loves it.


BEST ACTRESS (COMEDY/MUSICAL)
PRE-NOMS: I think a Beyoncé win is still not totally out of the question, but since Dreamgirls only has five nods and every one of them seems more winnable than this one, I think Beyoncé will be left smiling in her seat. At least until the song category's announced. Dreamgirls can't win all five globes.
PREDICTION: Streep
ALTERNATE: Knowles
WINNER: Streep

Yay!!! I love my Meryl. So glad she's finally won an award in this category. She's never won here before.


BEST DIRECTOR
PRE-NOMS: Again, my time is precious, so...
PREDICTION: Scorsese
ALTERNATE: Eastwood (Letters)
WINNER: Scorsese

Pre-ordained. This win was never in doubt. He will win the oscar for sure.


BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
PRE-NOMS: Yikes. A tough one. I could really see this going to any of them, even Wahlberg. But the scenario I'm going with now is Departed winning only director, and Babel winning only picture and score. Which leaves Affleck (who's kinda over) and...
PREDICTION: Murphy
ALTERNATE: Pitt
OR: any of the other three
WINNER: Murphy

Makes sense. I thought perhaps he was being overshadowed by JHud, but he managed to win here anyway. As I predicted he would.


BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
PRE-NOMS: Alas, I wish Blunt had a chance here, but at least she'll probably come in second. The Babel girls will cancel each other out, and Blanchett just doesn't seem that competitive for the win, which of course is heading to...
PREDICTION: Hudson
ALTERNATE: Blunt
WINNER: Hudson

Full steam ahead for the oscar. Fine with me. She was the best thing about Dreamgirls. Plus, she keeps my perfect prediction score intact. Woop!


BEST SCREENPLAY
PRE-NOMS: I am going out on a limb with this one. I honestly don't think it'll be Departed or Babel, which will be honored in picture and director. I say this is between The Queen and the two nominees nobody thinks has a chance. And I'm betting it goes to...
PREDICTION: Little Children
ALTERNATE: The Queen
WINNER: The Queen

Oh well, there goes my perfect score. Honestly, I knew in my brain that The Queen would take this. But I wanted to have a fun prediction. So there you go. At least I had Queen as my alternate.

BEST SCORE
PRE-NOMS: I'm going with Santaolalla, cause his score's great and he lost in this category last year before winning the oscar. But I wouldn't be shocked to see Clint Mansell or the French god Desplat take it.
PREDICTION: Babel
ALTERNATE: The Painted Veil
WINNER: The Painted Veil

Yay! Alexandre Desplat finally gets some love!!! Oscar voters, take note. I actually would've predicted him, cause they've nominated him a bunch of times now, but then I realized they snubbed him for Birth (of all things) so he didn't actually have 4 nominations in a row. But he still won. Yay! He was, of course, my alternate ; )


BEST SONG
PRE-NOMS: Let's say, for fun, that they deny Beyoncé both her globes, and give another big black diva due her due here instead.
PREDICTION: Bobby ("Never Gonna Break My Faith")
ALTERNATE: Dreamgirls ("Listen")
WINNER: Happy Feet ("Song Of The Heart")

The first (and only) category I totally missed. But I should've known. Songs called things like "Song Of The Heart" always win golden globes. I did, however, predict the Beyoncé shutout. Nice.


BEST ANIMATED FILM
PREDICTION: Happy Feet
ALTERNATE: Cars
WINNER: Cars

Damn. Cars wins. I haven't seen it yet, but it looks kind of bland. And does Pixar REALLY need another oscar? Oh wait, this is the globes, and they've never had this category before. Maybe that has something to do with it. Were they trying to honor all Pixar's previous efforts by awarding Cars? It's possible. SAG sometimes does that with veteran actors whose heyday was before SAG existed (Peter O'Toole, perhaps?).


BEST FOREIGN FILM
PREDICTION: Letters from Iwo Jima
ALTERNATE: Pan's Labyrinth
WINNER: Letters from Iwo Jima

Pretty simple, this. At least Letters can't win the foreign film oscar... or the best picture oscar, apparently.

So I did pretty well! 10/14 (71%) in the film categories, including both best picture wins and ALL the acting wins. And if I'd been using my head instead of trying to predict unlikely upsets, I definitely would've gotten screenplay right. And once more, I ask WHY did everyone think Babel had no chance of winning? I always knew it would win picture and barely anything (or actually, nothing) else, just like The Hours did.

Also, for an entertaining round of globe predictions, check out Low Resolution. Joe Reid gives us the likely winners in various hypothetical situations (race, brawl, pageant, etc.). It recalls the old "Beyond Actress-Dome" tournament. I approve. Don't know what he'll do with the actual win info, but it'll probably be funny, too.


I'd post my thoughts on the BFCA awards and BAFTA nods, but I just don't care anymore. Too much! And I have essays to write for my film school application. But here are things that just pop into my head immediately:

1) James McAvoy in supporting. I want to cry.

2) Weird that United 93 made the best British film list, but not the best picture list. Is it really a British film? It stars a bunch of Americans and is about 9/11. Um....

3) The exact SAME best actress lineup even at the BAFTAS??? Talk about locked up...

4) I hope Emily Blunt wins the BAFTA. I think she might. She's on her home turf.

5) Yay for Bond! Daniel Craig! Woop!

6) Wow, LMS and Dreamgirls both sure did win a lot, considering they both lost best picture.

7) Is anyone surprised that Departed won best picture here? I'm not.

8) I wanna see the BFCA broadcast (even though it always sucks) just to see Paul and Abby speak. I heart them.

9) It will be really tight, I think, between LMS and Queen for the screenplay oscar. Can't call that one, really.

10) I hope Babel and Dreamgirls win the globes and LMS wins the SAG, just so best picture will be REALLY unclear.

OK, that's it. Comment if you wish. I will answer. Yay, globes!