Wow! This is truly a Golden Globes for the ages, and not just because of the obvious reasons. First of all, the format: I'm still disappointed that NBC didn't decide to have the traditional ceremony without broadcasting it, which would allow winners to attend and accept their awards. But apparently, that wasn't profitable enough, so they prefered this format, which denies winners their glory. Even the press conference format they were stuck with didn't work well. They had all the time in the world, and for some reason they only announced half the categories (screenplay, score, song and foreign were among those excluded). Not only that, it wasn't live. I could have turned to CNN and gotten the winners sooner, but I wrongfully decided not to. Why such a delay, NBC?
Then there was that Dateline pre-show, which was a big cheat. It was clear most of those interviews are repeats from some other time this year. And worst of all, they only interviewed those who were in NBC shows, or films of NBC's parent company Universal. Overall: shame on you, NBC! You had so many opportunities to make this better and you wasted them all.
As for the winners, there were a lot of surprises, much more than usual. Atonement beat No Country for picture, Sweeney beat Juno, Schnabel beat the Coens, Country beat Juno for screenplay, Cotillard beat Page, and more. The wins were also well distributed. Atonement, Butterfly, Country and Sweeney each got two while everything else got one or none. Could these four be our Oscar frontrunners? The biggest loser was Juno: expected to win three, but won none. Michael Clayton and American Gangster also took hits. These can't mean too much for the Oscars. The nomination ballots were already turned in, and good or bad acceptance speeches won't change who Oscar voters vote for, because there were none.
As for score, this is probably my worst year ever, as it likely was for many others. I only got 7 of 14 correct. But congradulations to And the Winner Is for getting 11 correct. So the winners are listed below along with my thoughts.
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Best Drama Picture American Gangster Atonement Eastern Promises The Great Debaters Michael Clayton No Country for Old Men There Will be Blood |
My Prediction: No Country for Old Men Few if any saw this surprise coming. But once No Country lost director, I had a feeling it might lose this. But I bet No Country is still the Oscar frontrunner. The Globes haven't matched the Oscar for best picture in four years. |
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Best Comedy or Musical Picture Across the Universe Charlie Wilson's War Hairspray Juno Sweeney Todd |
My Prediction: Sweeney Todd YES!!! People were saying Juno, but I said "No, the Globes always reward musicals even in the face of superior comedies." They said I was crazy. Who's laughing now? ... Anyway, Juno took a big blow not winning a single thing, whereas Sweeney triumphed by winning two. If the Oscar ballots hadn't already been turned in, this might have changed the picture nominations. We'll find out next Tuesday. |
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Best Drama Actor George Clooney (Michael Clayton) Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will be Blood) James McAvoy (Atonement) Viggo Mortenson (Eastern Promises) Denzel Washington (American Gangster) |
My Prediction: Daniel Day-Lewis Not many were questioning this. Day-Lewis was by far the best, and he was overdue. He remains the Oscar frontrunner, but look out for Depp now. |
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Best Comedy or Musical Actor Johnny Depp (Sweeney Todd) Ryan Gosling (Lars and the Real Girl) Tom Hanks (Charlie Wilson's War) Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Savages) John C. Reailly (Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story) |
My Prediction: Johnny Depp YES!!! This is my biggest relief of the night. After eight nominations, Johnny Depp FINALLY wins a Golden Globe. But on the other hand, I'm severely depressed that the one time he wins, he wasn't able to be there to accept it. This is super bittersweet. However, this should significantly help him win the Oscar. It's down to him and Day-Lewis. The more powerful vs. the overdue. |
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Best Drama Actress Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth: The Golden Age) Julie Christie (Away From Her) Jodie Foster (The Brave One) Angelina Jolie (A Mighty Heart) Keira Knightley (Atonement) |
My Prediction: Julie Christie Nobody was surprised here. She deserved it, and she was overdue for the win. I think she and Cotillard remain in stiff competition for the Oscar now. |
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Best Comedy or Musical Actress Amy Adams (Enchanted) Nikki Blonsky (Hairspray) Helena Bonham-Carter (Sweeney Todd) Marion Cotillard (La Vie En Rose) Ellen Page (Juno) |
My Prediction: Ellen Page Most were saying Ellen Page, myself included. But I was ready to be surprised. Any of the five could have won, and Cotillard must have barely squeaked ahead. This is an example where I should have gone with my personal opinion as judgement. Cotillard now surpasses Page's chances at the Oscar. The other three will have about equal difficulty getting nominated. |
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Best Supporting Actor Casey Affleck (The Assasination of Jesse James...) Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men) Philip Seymour Hoffman (Charlie Wilson's War) John Travolta (Hairspray) Tom Wilkinson (Michael Clayton) |
My Prediction: Javier Bardem No surprise here apparently. In fact, this is probably the only category that has a unanimous winner this year. Bardem is frontrunner for the Oscar, which is probably the only real race we can call so far. |
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Best Supporting Actress Cate Blanchett (I'm Not There) Julia Roberts (Charlie Wilson's War) Saoirse Ronan (Atonement) Amy Ryan (Gone Baby Gone) Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton) |
My Prediction: Amy Ryan This surprised me, if not others. Blanchett had already won a Globe nine years ago, and was sort of competing with herself here, and yet she pulled it off. This will make it more difficult for Ryan to win the Oscar. |
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Best Director Tim Burton (Sweeney Todd) Joel and Ethan Coen (No Country for Old Men) Julian Schnabel (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) Ridley Scott (American Gangster) Joe Wright (Atonement) |
My Prediction: Joel and Ethan Coen This was likely the biggest shocker of the night. Everybody knew the Coens would win, unless maybe Burton. And yet Schnabel came out of nowhere and took it. This throws the Oscar director race completely out of whack. Perhaps he'll be competing with the Coens for the frontrunner spot. |
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Best Screenplay Atonement Charlie Wilson's War The Diving Bell and the Butterfly Juno No Country for Old Men |
My Prediction: Juno Slight surprise here. Most were saying Juno, myself included, but I knew it could just as easily go to No Country. This doesn't really change the Oscar race, since those films are still frontrunners in the original and adapted categories respectively. |
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Best Score Atonement Eastern Promises Grace is Gone Into the Wild The Kite Runner |
My Prediction: Into the Wild I guess most people got this one right. I just personally didn't find Atonement's score that impressive. But when you look back at Globes history, it's clear they know nothing about music anyway. |
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Best Song "Despedida" (Love in the Time of Cholera) "Grace is Gone" (Grace is Gone) "Guaranteed" (Into the Wild) "That's How You Know" (Enchanted) "Walk Hard" (Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story) |
My Prediction: Enchanted I knew Into the Wild was going to win one of these categories, I just picked the wrong one. This will be competing with Once for the Oscar. |
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Best Animated Film Bee Movie Ratatouille The Simpsons Movie |
My Prediction: Ratatouille Due to the Globes' love for Disney/Pixar, no surprise. I was still really hoping for a Simpsons win though. |
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Best Foreign Language Film 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days (Romania) The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (USA in French) The Kite Runner (USA in Afghani) Lust, Caution (Taiwan) Persepolis (France) |
My Prediction: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly Since it actually won director, no surprise here at all. |