Hollywood’s prelude to the Oscars comes to the Beverly Hilton and your TV on Sunday.
Jen Clay
Staff Writer
It doesn’t happen everyday. Still, one could argue that it does happen every year, and for that matter, every year in January. And so the start of the spring semester also signals an upcoming evening broadcast of Tinseltown’s second-most-important awards show. The runner-up of awards shows — the Golden Globes — will be held this Sunday at the Beverly Hilton Hotel and air on NBC at 8 p.m.
The difference between the Globes and Hollywood’s most important awards night —that night being the Academy Awards — is that this time it is the press that decides who wins these handed-out-earlier-in-the-new-year-but-nonetheless-bound-for-the-bathroom trophies. In fact, the story of the journalistic alliances that spawned the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the group behind the Globes, is interesting enough to make for an award-winning screenplay. If only the Globes had a category for promising-but-not-yet-committed-to-film plotlines.
The Globes also include categories in both film and television, making the ceremony an ice cream social of sorts for the Hollywood names who grace the big and small screens.
This year, Alexander Payne’s “Sideways” leads the film pack with seven nominations. Teri Hatcher fans can tell you that the actress’ new television series “Desperate Housewives” garnered the most of any other small-screen series with five nods. But as we all know, that doesn’t mean that the voting journalists in the HFPA will automatically honor the most-nominated projects. We’re talking about slimy journalists after all.
Since it takes one to know one, here are my predictions for the winners, should-have-won losers and downright losers in the film categories for the 2005 Golden Globes.
In the Best Motion Picture drama category, the frontrunner is “Million Dollar Baby.” It helps that Eastwood’s 16-year-old daughter, Kathryn, is Miss Golden Globe 2005 and therefore responsible for leading winners and presenters off the stage. Don’t discount Mike Nichols’ “Closer,” however. The ensemble film, adapted from Patrick Marber’s stage play, proved at times self-indulgent and lofty, but it did paint an important portrait of the often-symbiotic relationship between jealousy and love in human relationships. The biggest hurdle toward Globe victory for “Closer”? Even the crassest of moviegoers cringed at the lay-it-all-on-the-table dialogue.
A few of the actresses nominated for this year’s Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama have been down this road before. It just goes to show that in awards shows, as in life, there are those who love to give and give and give (preferably to the same person). On that note, Hilary Swank is your best bet for this category. Still, keep your eyes open for first-timer Imelda Staunton. This may be the British actress’ first Globe nomination, but her idyllic portrayal of Vera Drake in the much-improvised Mike Leigh drama “Vera Drake” may just mean Hollywood breaks its you-can’t-win-with-your-first-nomination rule.
Every actor nominated in the Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama category is deserving of the trophy; it’s the toughest race to call this year. While Javier Bardem’s moving portrayal of Spanish paraplegic Ramon Sampedro in “The Sea Inside” required the actor to lie motionless in a bed for most of the film, Hollywood is ultimately weary of foreign films and performances. While quick to acknowledge their achievements, the town is also slow to award them anything tangible. But Liam Neeson (“Kinsey”) and Johnny Depp (“Finding Neverland”) aren’t long shots for the trophy either.
For Best Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, look for “Sideways” to take the prize. Adding momentum to “Sideways” Globes buzz, the film won Best Picture from the New York Film Critics Circle Awards in December. But considering the incredible critical acclaim Brad Bird’s animated superhero offering “The Incredibles” has received, the Pixar film is also one to watch.
In the Best Actress in a Comedic or Musical Motion Picture, Annette Bening is the clear frontrunner. Awards-show darling Renee Zellweger (“Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason”) also has a shot. The Texas native has already won three Golden Globes, but interestingly enough, lost out to Nicole Kidman when she was nominated for the first “Bridget Jones” installment.
The standout performances for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy include Jamie Foxx for his performance as the legendary Ray Charles in “Ray” and Paul Giamatti for “Sideways.” More important in my mind, however, is what Hollywood can declare through Foxx’s win. With an official Kevin Spacey loss to Foxx (Spacey is nominated for his portrayal of Bobby Darin in “Beyond the Sea”), the award shows can officially lay to rest their unhealthy but lingering obsession with actors who use nose prosthetics.
01-13-2005
