Golden Globes picks winners on Sunday
Last year’s Golden Globe Awards amounted to little more than a televised press conference as actors stayed away in a show of solidarity with the striking Writers Guild of America.
But on Sunday, viewers can get back to the business of ogling celebrities and wondering just how accurately this show predicts the winners of the upcoming Academy Awards.
Last year, the Globes gave “No Country for Old Men” only two awards, for supporting actor (Javier Bardem) and screenplay. But the film went on to grab four Oscars, including best picture.
Here are our picks in Sunday’s major categories:
Drama
Nominees: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “Frost/Nixon,” “The Reader,” “Revolutionary Road,” “Slumdog Millionaire”
Should win: “Slumdog Millionaire.” Danny Boyle’s violent but uplifting tale of a Mumbai orphan is terrifically entertaining.
Will win: “Slumdog Millionaire.” The themes of poverty and the far-flung setting may resonate with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which hands out the awards.
Actress/Drama
Nominees: Anne Hathaway, “Rachel Getting Married”; Angelina Jolie, “Changeling”; Meryl Streep, “Doubt”; Kristin Scott Thomas; “I’ve Loved You So Long”; Kate Winslet, “Revolutionary Road”
Should win: Scott Thomas, for her portrayal of a woman prematurely aged by prison.
Will win: Hathaway, whose breakout dramatic role in a more widely seen film has drawn critical praise.
Actor/Drama
Nominees: Leonardo DiCaprio, “Revolutionary Road”; Frank Langella, “Frost/Nixon”; Sean Penn, “Milk”; Brad Pitt, “The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button”; Mickey Rourke, “The Wrestler”
Should win: Penn, who virtually reincarnates the openly gay politician Harvey Milk.
Will win: Rourke, whose gutsy comeback role as a broken-down wrestler makes a better backstory.
Comedy/Musical
Nominees: “ Burn After Reading,” “ Happy-Go-Lucky,” “In Bruges,” “Mamma Mia!,” “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
Should win: “ Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” Woody Allen’s breezily funny but deceptively deep film about love, fate and character.
Will win: “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.”
Actress/Comedy/ Musical
Nominees: Rebecca Hall, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”; Sally Hawkins, “Happy-Go-Lucky”; Frances McDormand, “Burn After Reading”; Meryl Streep, “Mamma Mia!”; Emma Thompson, “Last Chance Harvey”
Should win: Hawkins. As an unsinkably optimistic schoolteacher, she manages to be endearing and irritating at once.
Will win: Hawkins.
Actor/Comedy/Musical
Nominees: Javier Bardem, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”; Colin Farrell, “In Bruges”; James Franco, “Pineapple Express”; Brendan Gleeson, “In Bruges”; Dustin Hoffman, “Last Chance Harvey”
Should win: Bardem, who plays a cliched Latin lover with surprising depth, complexity and humor.
Will win: Bardem.