In Contention: The Golden Globe Awards

By Josh Spiegel

January 12, 2009

Quick! Give him the bird!

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The Golden Globes were announced this past Sunday, and amidst the drunken revelry of all the famous people who walked onstage, there were actual awards handed out, and as long as you were Kate Winslet, or helped make Slumdog Millionaire, the Hollywood Foreign Press was nice to you. If not...well, let's just hope they liked you enough.

For the musical-comedy acting awards handed out, the winners were Sally Hawkins and Colin Farrell for Happy-Go-Lucky and In Bruges. The win is good news for Hawkins, as only one Golden Globe lead acting winner in the comedy or drama category in the past five years wasn't nominated for the Oscar - Sacha Baron Cohen for Borat. Since Hawkins didn't go for the banana hammock look in those driving lesson scenes, and her accent is authentic, she may just find herself an Oscar nominee. For Farrell, though the award may be deserved (why didn't more people see In Bruges?), an Oscar nomination would be extremely unlikely, so he may end up on the sidelines with Cohen. Maybe Farrell can get his own banana hammock!

The drama acting awards were handed out to Kate Winslet in Revolutionary Road and Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler. Winslet has long been an actress who's always delivered excellence and may finally be getting her dues. It's taken far too long for this kind of recognition for her (and may have been more appropriate for her turn in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), but I'm glad someone's realized how brilliant she is. Of course, her best role was as that foulmouthed nun but...well, that was only on Extras. Damn.

For Rourke, the news is extremely encouraging and well-deserved, too. The Globes have, in the past five years, predicted four Oscar winners; in 2004, the award went to Leonardo DiCaprio, and the Oscar winner was Jamie Foxx in Ray. Of course, since Foxx did also win the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Musical/Comedy, it's hard to ignore Rourke's chances being better after winning the Globe. This may end up being one of the ultimate Hollywood comebacks if things go well enough.

The winners for Best Supporting Actor and Actress are Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight and Kate Winslet (again!) in The Reader. For Winslet, an Oscar nod was likely even before her win at the Globes, but with her other major win at the BFCA, there's now a much stronger chance that her role as the ex-SS guard may indeed actually get awarded by the Academy. Could we have ourselves a double winner? There's always an outside possibility that being a Nazi and a harried housewife is her ticket to an actual golden boy! For Ledger, his posthumous win here is...oh, let's be honest, he's the closest to a win at the Oscars. If he doesn't take it away, the Academy might not find a lot of people interested in watching the ceremonies anymore. Also, who knows? The guy who wins the Oscar might not want to accept. Again, you never know.




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However, it is worth noting that the Globes don't predict supporting actor and actresses winners as well, having not nominated 2006 Best Supporting Actor Oscar winner Alan Arkin and, in 2004, awarding Clive Owen and Natalie Portman for their roles in Closer instead of Morgan Freeman and Cate Blanchett in Million Dollar Baby and The Aviator. Remember when Cate Blanchett was playing famous women instead of famous men? Good times.

The Best Director winner is Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire. Again, I may be lonely not being on this film's bandwagon, but...maybe I have a heart of stone? Either way, Boyle is looking like a big favorite for the Oscar win; in the past five years, the Globes have picked four winners correctly. Only last year - when Julian Schnabel won for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly - did the Hollywood Foreign Press get things wrong, but Schnabel did end up a nominee at the Oscars. In this case, though, it might be a bigger surprise if Boyle doesn't end up with the Oscar in six weeks' time.

The winner for Best Picture - Musical or Comedy is Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Woody Allen's eight millionth movie. Though the lack of love for the film's best aspect, Penelope Cruz, is a bit sad, that Allen won is no surprise. The Globes love movies about beautiful women, and hey, when they make out, it's even better! Add the Spanish setting, and you have an award winner. Don't, however, expect Oscar nods for the film itself; Best Supporting Actress and Best Screenplay nominations are likely the best this film will have, though I don't see Mr. Allen crying in his sleep about that.

Finally, the winner for Best Picture - Drama is Slumdog Millionaire, a movie that appears to be winning over many hearts - except for my stony insides, I guess. Either way, it's a movie whose road is getting clearer and clearer. Could this be the Best Picture winner at the Oscars? It could be, but...well, the trend for the Globes actually doesn't look good for this film, as the last correct Best Picture Oscar winner the Globes got was 2003's The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. They missed out on No Country For Old Men, and Million Dollar Baby, and didn't even nominate Crash. There's a good chance this film will buck that trend, but that is not my final answer. Yes, I had to sneak one Millionaire joke in. Can you blame me?


     


 
 

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