Golden Globes: Who will win? Here's our predictions
This weekend, self-professed film critics (and snobs) watching the Golden Globe awards will try to impress you with their "I told you so's" and little tidbits about all of the different critically-acclaimed films and TV series you probably haven't watched yet.
It's okay if your favourite film this year was Jurassic World or Star Wars. You are certainly not alone. After all, both films crossed the US$1 billion (S$1.44 billion) mark in record time.
But you can still show off your film knowledge by predicting the winners of the Globes.
How will you predict the winners? Check out our handy guide below.
MOVIES...
BEST MOTION PICTURE DRAMA
WHO WILL WIN:
Spotlight
Spotlight, a movie based on the true story of an investigative team at the Boston Globe uncovering a massive scandal of child molestation and the resulting cover-up within the local Catholic church, is seen as a front-runner. It opens here Jan 21.
It has all the ingredients that would make it a darling among voters - it's a good, gripping (true) story featuring acclaimed actors. Also, the people voting are journalists from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) who might feel a little reinvigorated by this film.
But there could be a surprise here.
Mad Max is one of those rare critically acclaimed films that also performed well at the box office. It's not typical award-bait but it's one of the most well-reviewed films of the year and features stellar, powerful performances from Tom Hardy and especially Charlize Theron. The movie features high, thrilling action sequences while still maintaining the emotional impact of the film.
Mad Max could well be a surprise winner in major categories, including best picture and best director.
OTHER NOMINEES:
Mad Max
Room
The Revenant
Carol
BEST MOTION PICTURE - MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Let's play a numbers game.
If, like me, you were wondering which of the following movies is a musical, the answer is: None.
And if you're wondering how many of these movies is a straight-up comedy, the answer is two - Spy and Trainwreck.
What about the rest? Well, your guess is as good as mine.
Nevertheless, let's just pretend that a movie about men profiting from a financial crisis is funny (a funnier movie would be me attempting to pay off my exploding credit card bills every month) and have a look at the nominees for this category.
WHO WILL WIN:
Trainwreck
It's an actual comedy where people are likely to have laughed out loud, has a high chance of winning this category.
Amy Schumer, who starred in the film and wrote the screenplay, is Hollywood's current darling. And of course, it helps that she's basically Jennifer Lawrence's BFF (even if they are competing in this category).
And the movie is actually funny, while being really sweet and touching at the same time.
OTHER NOMINEES:
Joy
Spy
The Big Short
The Martian
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE - DRAMA
WHO WILL WIN:
Brie Larson (Room)
Admittedly a tough category, this is the one in which anyone could take home the trophy on Monday (Jan 11) morning (local time).
The common consensus is that first-time nominee Brie Larson will win for her role in Room (opening here Jan 14), a movie that is essentially a harrowing, kidnap tale that shows how unconditional the love between mother and son can be.
Larson has been acting in small, indie films for many years now and this includes the critically acclaimed Short Term 12, which did have some major awards conversation swirling around it. Ultimately, though, nothing happened.
Now it appears that the 26-year-old is having her breakout year, similar to Jennifer Lawrence's career trajectory when she was first nominated for indie film Winter's Bone.
That being said, one shouldn't ignore the battle between the two lead actresses, Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara, for their performances in Carol as two women in love in the 1950s.
OTHER NOMINEES:
Saorise Ronan (Brooklyn)
Cate Blanchett (Carol)
Rooney Mara (Carol)
Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl)
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE - DRAMA
WHO WILL WIN:
Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)
Everyone is saying it's Leonardo DiCaprio's year. And well, I think it is too (even if I'm not exactly a fan).
I mean his co-star in The Revenant (opening here Feb 4) is a bear (and Tom Hardy), and he did go through considerably physical and mental challenges (he is acting with a real bear after all). The award has to go to DiCaprio. I really cannot bear to see heartbroken Leo fans grieving on Facebook... again.
OTHER NOMINEES:
Will Smith (Concussion)
Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs)
Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl)
Bryan Cranston (Trumbo)
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE - MUSICAL OR COMEDY
WHO WILL WIN:
Amy Schumer (Trainwreck)
Amy Schumer might score a win here just because she's everyone's favourite person - and the Golden Globes do tend to reward young, up-and-comers (although it's safe to say that Schumer has made it and 2015 was definitely her year).
Jennifer Lawrence, on the other hand, has received critical acclaim (although we can use this phrase for every movie she's in) for her role as Joy Mangano, the woman who created a multi-millionaire business empire by coming up with the miracle mop.
Lily Tomlin (Grandma)
Jennifer Lawrence (Joy)
Melissa McCarthy (Spy)
Maggie Smith (The Lady in the Van)
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE - MUSICAL OR COMEDY
WHO WILL WIN:
Matt Damon (The Martian)
Matt Damon is a sure lock for his role in The Martian.
He was funny, uplifting and at times inspiring and he deserves an award for getting out of Mars (Let's hope a trophy will anchor him down to earth and that there will no more lost-in-space movies for Damon).
OTHER NOMINEES:
Al Pacino (Danny Collins)
Mark Ruffalo (Infinity Polar Bear)
Christian Bale (The Big Short)
Steve Carrell (The Office)
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
WHO WILL WIN:
Alicia Vikander (Ex-Machina)
Kate Winslet is an awards darling who was also well-reviewed in Steve Jobs but Alicia Vikander's performance in this year's sleeper hit Ex Machina has been criminally overlooked, so this nomination is well-deserved (more so than her nomination for The Danish Girl).
Despite being a robot in the film, Vikander provides most of the heart and humanity in the movie about a man (Domnhnall Gleeson) who is chosen to determine the capabilities and consciousness of the beautiful robot, Ava.
OTHER NOMINEES:
Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs)
Jane Fonda (Youth)
Helen Mirren (Trumbo)
Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight)
TELEVISION ...
BEST TELEVISION SERIES - DRAMA
WHO WILL WIN:
Mr Robot
Apart from Game of Thrones, which was also nominated last year, the nominees are all newbies. And this makes the category a lot more exciting.
They are all of various genres but my pick for winner is Mr Robot, which quickly attained cult status because of the combination of its Fight Club qualities as well as its disturbing take on current affairs around the world, especially with regard to mass surveillance.
OTHER NOMINEES:
Game of Thrones
Narcos
Outlander
Empire
BEST TELEVISION SERIES - MUSICAL OR COMEDY
WHO WILL WIN:
Transparent
This category is also a good mix of both fresh comedies and Globes regulars.
But critical darling Transparent, an Amazon Prime series, is very likely to win - as it did at the Emmys last year. It's the breakout comedy-drama of 2015 and it has had a huge cultural impact this year given its premise about a father who reveals that he is going through a major transition to become a transgender woman.
OTHER NOMINEES:
Casual
Mozart in the Jungle
Orange is the New Black
Silicon Valley
Veep
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES - DRAMA
WHO WILL WIN:
Viola Davis (How To Get Away With Murder)
Viola Davis is the sole performer who manages to lift How to Get Away with Murder from a stale, cliffhanger-laden drama to a much more complex series. And so, she absolutely deserves to win. I have to say though that Taraji P. Henson is her closest competitor and might just steal her trophy away with her role as Cookie Lyon in Empire.
OTHER NOMINEES:
Taraji P. Henson (Empire)
Robin Wright Penn (House of Cards)
Caitriona Balfe (Outlander)
Eva Green (Penny Dreadful)
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES - DRAMA
WHO WILL WIN:
Rami Malek (Mr Robot)
If I had my way, Rami Malek, who plays the lead in the fantastic Mr Robot, will get the trophy. But this is also Jon Hamm's last time as a nominee for Mad Men, which concluded its run last year. So, it's possible that the HFPA may get nostalgic and give him a great farewell present.
OTHER NOMINEES:
Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul)
Jon Hamm (Mad Men)
Wagner Moura (Narcos)
Liev Schreiber (Ray Donovan)
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES - MUSICAL OR COMEDY
WHO WILL WIN:
Gina Rodriguez (Jane the Virgin)
Jane the Virgin's Gina Rodriguez won last year, and it's quite likely that she'll pull off a repeat win based on the show's fantastic second season that highlighted the challenges of juggling motherhood and your own dreams.
Of course, there were other crazy soap opera plots (kidnapped baby and love triangles are just the tip of the iceberg), but Rodriguez always manages to infuse warmth, emotion and humanity into her role.
But she still has Veep's Julia Louis-Dreyfuss to look out for. Veep enjoyed yet another fantastic season that provided a lot of laugh-out-loud moments and it will be hard to overlook this critical favourite.
Additionally, don't be surprised if Crazy Ex-girlfriend's Rachel Bloom snags a trophy instead. The HFPA loves to reward new, up-and-coming talents.
Rachel Bloom (Crazy Ex-girlfriend)
Lily Tomlin (Grace and Frankie)
Jamie Lee Curtis (Scream Queens)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep)
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES - MUSICAL OR COMEDY
WHO WILL WIN:
Jeffrey Tambor (Transparent)
Jeffrey Tambor's turn as a transgender woman in Transparent is sure to win him an award.
But Aziz Anzari's brilliant Master of None received rave reviews and was criminally shut out of the Best Comedy category. Maybe the HFPA will make up for this with rewarding Master of None with a best actor win even if his acting wasn't the best part of the show.
OTHER NOMINEES:
Aziz Anzari (Master of None)
Gael Garcia Bernal (Mozart in the Jungle)
Rob Lowe (The Grinder)
Patrick Stewart (Blunt Talk)
BEST MOTION PICTURE - ANIMATED
WHO WILL WIN:
Inside Out
If Inside Out does not win this category, Joy and the rest of the characters are going to have to work over time to keep Anger at bay.
One of the smarter, more emotionally satisfying animated films in years (for both kids and adults), Inside Out definitely deserves a win.
After all, if movies like Shaun the Sheep (meh) and box-office letdown The Good Dinosaur were nominated, it shows that they clearly didn't have many quality picks to choose from.
OTHER NOMINEES:
Shaun the Sheep
The Good Dinosaur
The Peanuts Movie
Anomalisa
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