Golden Globe Predictions

With the Golden Globes being handed out this Monday, January 15, here are my official predictions of who will be taking home the gold:

BEST PICTURE - DRAMA
Babel
Bobby
The Departed
Little Children
The Queen


Projected winner - BABEL. It's got the most nominations, and the international storylines will probably resonate with the Hollywood Foreign Press. But watch out for The Departed, Scorsese is a lock for Best Director, and the film is well liked, so it's always a possibility.

BEST PICTURE - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
The Devil Wears Prada
Dreamgirls
Little Miss Sunshine
Thank You For Smoking

Projected winner - LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE. A lot of people are picking Dreamgirls because the musical usually wins. And while that is a distinct possibility, people love Little Miss Sunshine. I mean LOVE it. Witness its surprise nomination for the Directors Guild of America award earlier this week. I think that will carry it to a win here. Although Borat could strike a chord with the Foreign Press (it is about a foreign journalist after all), so if there is going to be a shocking upset of the night, it's going to be here.

BEST ACTRESS - DRAMA
Penelope Cruz, Volver
Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Sherrybaby
Helen Mirren, The Queen
Kate Winslet, Little Children

Projected winner - HELEN MIRREN. This is what we call a no-brainer.

BEST ACTOR - DRAMA
Leonardo DiCaprio, Blood Diamond
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Departed
Peter O'Toole, Venus
Will Smith, The Pursuit of Happyness
Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland

Projected winner - FOREST WHITAKER. While he's got some major competition from Leonardo DiCaprio (for The Departed not Blood Diamond), Whitaker has been racking up awards since the beginning. And since the Globes aren't as senimental as the Oscars (i.e. Peter O'Toole probably won't win) I think Whitaker will take the gold.

BEST ACTRESS - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Annette Bening, Running with Scissors
Toni Collette, Little Miss Sunshine
Beyonce Knowles, Dreamgirls
Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada
Renee Zellweger, Miss Potter

Projected winner - MERYL STREEP. It's Meryl by a mile. No one else even comes close.

BEST ACTOR - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Sacha Baron Cohen, Borat
Johnny Depp, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Aaron Eckhart, Thank You For Smoking
Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kinky Boots
Will Ferrell, Stranger than Fiction

Projected winner - SACHA BARON COHEN. Again, no competition here. I can't wait to see his in-character acceptance speech.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Adriana Barraza, Babel
Cate Blanchett, Notes on a Scandal
Emily Blunt, The Devil Wears Prada
Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls
Rinko Kikuchi, Babel

Projected winner - JENNIFER HUDSON. Her performance of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" is the highlight of the movie. Although, barring a Babel vote split, fellow newcomer Rinko Kikuchi could upset Hudson as an alienated deaf girl.

BEST SUPPORTING ACOR
Ben Affleck, Hollywoodland
Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls
Jack Nicholson, The Departed
Brad Pitt, Babel
Mark Wahlberg, The Departed

Projected winner - JACK NICHOLSON. This is the hardest race of the night to predict. The HFPA LOVES Jack Nicholson. But he's up against Departed co-star Mark Wahlberg, who could siphon votes. And they also love Eddie Murphy, who could triumph for his touching role as James Brown-esque singer in Dreamgirls. Of course, they also love big stars, so Pitt could ride a wave of support for Babel to victory. Ben Affleck could also be a surprise upset. Basically, this is anybody's game. But I'm going with Nicholson, he is the rotten core of The Departed, and isn't easily forgotten.

BEST DIRECTOR
Clint Eastwood, Flags of Our Fathers
Clint Eastwood, Letters from Iwo Jima
Stephen Frears, The Queen
Alejandro Gonzaléz Iñárritu, Babel
Martin Scorsese, The Departed

Projected winner - MARTIN SCORSESE. Unlike the Oscars, the Globes have awarded Marty before. But I think they will do so again. His closest competition is Gonzaléz Iñárritu, who could ride a Babel sweep to victory. It is the most nominated film after all, they seem to really like it. Right now the edge goes to Scorsese for his masterful return to form in The Departed, as Eastwood's dual nominations cancel each other out.

BEST SCREENPLAY
Guillermo Arriaga, Babel
William Monahan, The Departed
Todd Field, Tom Perotta, Little Children
Patrick Marber, Notes on Scandal
Peter Morgan, The Queen

Projected winner - THE DEPARTED. "Maybe yes. Maybe no. Maybe fuck you." You just don't get much better than William Monahan's rapid fire dialogue in Martin Scorsese's mobster thriller. Although again, with the apparent popularity of Babel, it is always a distinct possibility.

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Apocalypto
Letters from Iwo Jima
The Lives of Others
Pan's Labyrinth
Volver

Projected winner - LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA. The HFPA obviously likes Clint (see his dual Best Director nominations), and since they won't award him in that category, and couldn't honor Letters with a Best Pic nomination (foreign language films are ineligable), I think they will honor it here. But they also love Almodovar, so look out for Volver. And with the popularity of Pan's Labyrinth, it could sneak in there as well.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Cars
Happy Feet
Monster House

Projected winner - HAPPY FEET. I kind of doubt talking race cars will really resonate with the HFPA. So I give the edge to Happy Feet.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Alexandre Desplat, The Painted Veil
Clint Mansell, The Fountain
Gustavo Santaolalla, Babel
Carlo Siliotto, Nomad
Hans Zimmer, The Da Vinci Code

Projected winner - BABEL. It needs to win another award, and I think this is where it will come from. It has done very will with critics awards. Although The Founain has too. But Babel is the big nominee, so it has the edge.

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"A Father's Way" The Pursuit of Happyness
"Listen" Dreamgirls
"Never Gonna Break My Faith" Bobby
"The Song of My Heart" Happy Feet
"Try Not to Remember" Home of the Brave

Projected winner - DREAMGIRLS. Seriously, who else are they going to give it to?

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