2017 Golden Globes Preview and Predictions

The Golden Globes are a bit ridiculous from time to time, but I love it. It is a great way to kick off the rest of awards season, and it is the one circuit that actually recognizes achievement in comedy. Box office hits are theoretically more in play, but that rarely actually happens. They love foreign films, movie stars, and TV shows in their first season. Check out what the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s nomination list could look like when they are announced on December 12^th.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES, MINISERIES, OR TV MOVIE

1. Millie Bobby Brown – Stranger Things

2. Maura Tierney – The Affair

3. Constance Zimmer – UnREAL

4. Emilia Clarke – Game of Thrones
5. Lena Headey – Game of Thrones

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES, MINISERIES, OR TV MOVIE

1. Louie Anderson – Baskets

2. Sterling K. Brown – The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story

3. Kit Harrington – Game of Thrones

4. John Lithgow – The Crown

5. Hugh Laurie – The Night Manager

BEST ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR TV MOVIE

1. Sarah Paulson – The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story

2. Kerry Washington – Confirmation

3. Felicity Huffman – American Crime

4. Riley Keough – The Girlfriend Experience
5. Shirley MacLaine – Wild Oats

BEST ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR TV MOVIE

1. Courtney B. Vance - The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story

2. Riz Ahmed – The Night Of

3. Tom Hiddleston – The Night Manager

4. Bryan Cranston – All the Way
5. James Franco – 12.22.63

BEST MINISERIES OR TELEVISION MOVIE

1. The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story

2. The Night Of

3. The Night Manager

4. All the Way
5. American Crime

BEST ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY/MUSICAL

1. Sarah Jessica Parker – Divorce

2. Issa Rae – Insecure

3. Julia Louis-Dreyfus – Veep

4. Ellie Kemper – Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
5. Kristen Bell – The Good Place

BEST ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY/MUSICAL

1. Donald Glover – Atlanta

2. Jeffrey Tambor – Transparent

3. Anthony Anderson – Black-ish

4. Gael Garcia Bernal – Mozart in the Jungle
5. Thomas Haden Church – Divorce

BEST TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY/MUSICAL

1. Atlanta

2. Divorce

3. Veep

4. Mozart in the Jungle
5. Silicon Valley

BEST ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA

1. Evan Rachel Wood – Westworld

2. Winona Ryder – Stranger Things

3. Claire Foy – The Crown

4. Robin Wright – House of Cards
5. Viola Davis – How to Get Away with Murder

BEST ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA

1. Rami Malek – Mr. Robot

2. Kiefer Sutherland – Designated Survivor

3. Wagner Moura – Narcos

4. Paul Giamatti – Billions
5. Kevin Spacey – House of Cards

BEST TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA

1. Stranger Things

2. Game of Thrones

3. House of Cards

4. The Crown
5. Westworld

The only ones of the TV nominations that I am really confident in are the People vs. O.J. Simpson noms in all relevant categories and Paul Giamatti for Billions. I mean, Giamatti won for freaking Barney’s Version and got an inexplicable nod for Too Big to Fail. He has his own TV show now…lock! Anyway, on to the predictions I actually stand a chance at getting right…

BEST ANIMATED FILM

1. Moana

2. Kubo and the Two Strings

3. Sing

4. Zootopia
5. Finding Dory

Explanation: There aren’t too many options in this category. The foreign animated films are not as high profile as they typically are, and these big budget studio animated movies have all been very well received. They are gaga for Disney and Pixar.

BEST FOREIGN FILM

1. Elle

2. Toni Erdmann

3. Neruda

4. Julieta
5. The Salesman

Explanation: The foreign film category at the Globes usually looks nothing like the Academy’s picks. A movie like Elle is much more likely to score points with the HFPA than bring home Oscar gold. They also cannot resist the big name foreign directors, so Pedro Almodovar should have no problem securing at least a nomination for Julieta.

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

1. “Can’t Stop the Feeling” – Trolls

2. “Audition (The Fools Who Dream” – La La Land

3. “A Letter to the Free” – 13^th

4.  “The Great Beyond” – Sausage Party
5. “City of Stars” – La La Land

Explanation: The precedent really hasn’t been set this year for which songs will be heralded by all of the awards circuits, but predicting animated films, a musical, and a documentary are about as solid of choices as any. The Trolls song will of course award Justin Timberlake, which I’m not sure the Globes can resist.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

1. The Light Between Oceans – Alexandre Desplat

2. The BFG – John Williams

3. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – Michael Giacchino

4. Arrival – Johann Johansson
5. Finding Dory – Thomas Newman

Explanation: The Globes are a little weird with their original scores. They love nominating the biggest names in the business, but they somehow end up giving the award to movies like All Is Lost or The Painted Veil, which have no chance at Oscar noms. The Light Between Oceans, which isn’t even necessarily Desplat’s most popular score of the year (Florence Foster Jenkins), seems like the kind of eventual winner that we could end up with.

BEST SCREENPLAY – MOTION PICTURE

1. La La Land – Damien Chazelle

2. Manchester by the Sea – Kenneth Lonergan

3. Moonlight – Barry Jenkins, Tarell McCraney

4. Nocturnal Animals – Tom Ford
5. Loving – Jeff Nichols

Explanation: You would think with only one screenplay category that these would pretty much be the favorites to win the Best Picture categories, but that is not always the case. However, this year the favorites happen to be really creative and original scripts, so this category could prove to be more traditional. Watch out for some surprise here. They have no shame in nominating an out-of-nowhere comedy in this category, such as The American President and It’s Complicated.

BEST DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE

1. Martin Scorsese – Silence

2. Damien Chazelle – La La Land

3. Denzel Washington – Fences

4. Denis Villeneuve – Arrival
5. Kenneth Longergan – Manchester by the Sea

Explanation: The HFPA cannot resist Scorsese. Even his lesser work shows up at the Globes in a big way. Denzel Washington getting nominated in this distinguished group of directors might raise eyebrows, but they love actors directing movies as well. Angelina Jolie’s debut film In the Land of Blood and Honey was even nominated for Best Foreign Film, and Washington’s The Great Debaters scored a Best Picture nom.

The HFPA Dream Lineup:

Ben Affleck – Live By Night

Woody Allen – Café Society

Clint Eastwood – Sully

Mel Gibson – Hacksaw Ridge

Martin Scorsese – Silence

BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE

1. Viola Davis – Fences

2. Michelle Williams – Manchester by the Sea

3. Nicole Kidman – Lion

4. Shailene Woodley – Snowden
5. Lupita Nyong’o – Queen of Katwe

Explanation: The supporting categories have yielded some interesting nominations over the years. One year sticks out where Sarah Jessica Parker and Shirley MacLaine were nominated for the scarcely seen The Family Stone and In Her Shoes. However, this year there are heavyweights like Nicole Kidman and Viola Davis in the running. I suspect that Davis won’t win for her TV show, so they will award her here instead and start her eventual Oscar run. Woodley would be a little oddball, but she has been nominated here in the past, and Oliver Stone movies are typically well received by the HFPA.

The HFPA Dream Lineup:

Nicole Kidman – Lion

Helen Mirren – Eye in the Sky

Kristen Stewart – Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk

Kate Winslet – Collateral Beauty

Shailene Woodley – Snowden

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE

1. Jeff Bridges – Hell or High Water

2. Liam Neeson – Silence

3. Aaron Eckhart – Sully

4. Michael Shannon – Nocturnal Animals
5. Mahershala Ali – Moonlight

Explanation: This was a tough category to predict. There are usually some strange choices, but the big stars have memorable roles, so it might look a bit more like the Academy’s lineup than we have come accustomed to. Bridges is the frontrunner after taking the National Board of Review. It is classic Bridges and a shoo-in Oscar nominee. Eckhart is sort of a stab; I feel like that movie probably played well with this voting body. It is going to be between Bridges and Neeson. It all depends on how many people see Silence before the voting window ends.

The HFPA Dream Lineup:

George Clooney – Hail, Caesar!

Robert De Niro – Hands of Stone

Chris Pratt – The Magnificent Seven

Channing Tatum – Hail, Caesar!

Vince Vaughn – Hacksaw Ridge

BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY/MUSICAL

1. Meryl Streep – Florence Foster Jenkins

2. Emma Stone – La La Land

3. Annette Bening – 20^th Century Women

4. Sally Field – Hello, My Name Is Doris
5. Hailee Steinfeld – The Edge of Seventeen

Explanation: This is a really powerful group of actresses. It would only be fitting for Stone to be in the same category as Steinfeld, when one of the closest relatives to The Edge of Seventeen was the Golden Globe nominated Easy A. Streep always wins at the Globes, especially in this category.

The HFPA Dream Lineup:

Tina Fey – Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

Melissa McCarthy - Ghostbusters

Kristen Stewart – Café Society

Meryl Streep – Florence Foster Jenkins

Renee Zellweger – Bridget Jones’s Baby

BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY/MUSICAL

1. Ryan Gosling – La La Land

2. Colin Farrell – The Lobster

3. Warren Beatty – Rules Don’t Apply

4. Robert De Niro – The Comedian
5. Viggo Mortensen – Captain Fantastic

Explanation: Mortensen has had success with the HFPA in the past. The rest of this category seems pretty straightforward for the Globes. I was tempted to double nom Ryan Gosling with The Nice Guys sliding in there, but I just couldn’t justify taking one of these beloved superstars out of it. If The Nice Guys does make an appearance, I suspect it will pull an In Bruges and get both actors in.

The HFPA Dream Lineup:

Russell Crowe – The Nice Guys

Ryan Gosling – The Nice Guys

Jonah Hill – War Dogs

Michael Keaton – The Founder

Ryan Reynolds – Deadpool

BEST MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY/MUSICAL

1. La La Land

2. 20^th Century Women

3. Hail, Caesar!

4. Florence Foster Jenkins
5. Sing Street

Explanation: There are a lot of serious contenders for 2^nd place in this category. Some that were not mentioned include The Nice Guys, The Founder, Café Society, Everybody Wants Some!!, and even something off-the-wall like Elvis & Nixon. Nothing is beating La La Land, though. It is musical nostalgia with star power. It is a bigger favorite than Lamar Jackson is for the Heisman.

The HFPA Dream Lineup:

Café Society

Deadpool

Ghostbusters

Hail, Caesar!

La La Land

BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

1. Natalie Portman – Jackie

2. Ruth Negga – Loving

3. Amy Adams – Arrival

4. Isabelle Huppert – Elle
5. Jennifer Lawrence – Passengers

Explanation: This is an interesting category. There are a host of contenders on the outside who can sneak in there over any of the five. Those include Emily Blunt for The Girl on the Train, Jessica Chastain for Miss Sloane, and dark horse Rebecca Hall for Christine. Natalie Portman seems like a typical winner for this category. Adams will get nominated for Arrival or Nocturnal Animals (or both?). We’ll see how much the awards really love J-Law this awards season. If she gets nominated for that movie, then she really is the next Streep.

The HFPA Dream Lineup:

Amy Adams – Arrival

Marion Cotillard – Allied

Taraji P. Henson – Hidden Figures

Jennifer Lawrence – Passengers

Natalie Portman – Jane Got a Gun

BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

1. Casey Affleck – Manchester by the Sea

2. Denzel Washington – Fences

3. Will Smith – Collateral Beauty

4. Andrew Garfield – Hacksaw Ridge
5. Joel Edgerton – Loving

Explanation: This could be an absolutely star-studded category if it holds to form. Maybe I am being facetious to suggest that Garfield could get nominated for Hacksaw Ridge over Silence, but if not for a relatively weak year in 2006, that would have definitely been the case for Leo (which was only reaffirmed by the Oscars). Affleck is this year’s Bree Larson, it appears. He should sweep his way all the way to the Academy Awards.

The HFPA Dream Lineup:

Tom Hanks – Sully

Matthew McConaughey – Gold

Brad Pitt – Allied

Chris Pratt – Passengers

Will Smith – Collateral Beauty

BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

1. Silence

2. Manchester by the Sea

3. Moonlight

4. Nocturnal Animals
5. Arrival

Explanation: Scorsese will likely reign again at the Globes. This category is never as easy as expected. There’s always an Eastern Promises or an About Schmidt in the mix. Nocturnal Animals could be that Cronenberg-style inclusion. The rest seem like safe bets, combining great indie cinema and an intelligent box office hit. We’ll see how this shapes up. Rarely are the contenders not eventual Oscar Best Picture nominees.

The HFPA Dream Lineup:

The Birth of a Nation

Collateral Beauty

Hacksaw Ridge

Passengers

Patriots Day

 

So, there are my illustrious (and likely largely incorrect) Golden Globes predictions! Let me know if I had any serious omissions in the comments.

2016 Golden Globes Preview and Predictions

The Golden Globes might not be the most prestigious of awards, but they are an entertaining circuit and a good early indicator of what Hollywood is really into during awards season. The nominations come out in a couple weeks, so without further ado, here are my annual (slightly sarcastic) predictions for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s 73^rd Annual Golden Globe Awards…

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES, MINISERIES, OR TV MOVIE

1. Uzo Aduba – Orange is the New Black

2. Jean Smart – Fargo

3. Catherine Keener – Show Me a Hero

4. Lena Heady – Game of Thrones

5. Regina King – American Crime

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES, MINISERIES, OR TV MOVIE

1. Hugh Laurie – Veep

2. Christian Slater – Mr. Robot

3. Peter Dinklage – Game of Thrones

4. Damian Lewis – Wolf Hall

5. Jonathan Banks – Better Call Saul

BEST ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR TV MOVIE

1. Angela Lansbury – Driving Miss Daisy

2. Queen Latifah – Bessie

3. Rachel McAdams – True Detective

4. Nicole Kidman – Grace of Monaco

5. Lady Gaga – American Horror Story: Hotel

BEST ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR TV MOVIE

1. Oscar Isaac – Show Me a Hero

2. James Earl Jones – Driving Miss Daisy

3. Colin Farrell – True Detective

4. David Oyelowo – Nightingale

5. Patrick Wilson – Fargo

BEST MINISERIES OR TELEVISION MOVIE

1. Fargo

2. Show Me a Hero

3. Bessie

4. American Crime

5. Wolf Hall

BEST ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY/MUSICAL

1. Ellie Kemper – Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

2. Julia Louis-Dreyfus – Veep

3. Jane Fonda – Grace and Frankie

4. Lily Tomlin – Grace and Frankie

5. Gina Rodriguez – Jane the Virgin

BEST ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY/MUSICAL

1. Jeffrey Tambor – Transparent

2. Rob Lowe – The Grinder

3. Anthony Anderson – Black-ish

4. Patrick Stewart – Blunt Talk

5. Matthew Perry – The Odd Couple

BEST TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY/MUSICAL

1. Transparent

2. Veep

3. Orange is the New Black

4. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

5. The Muppets

BEST ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA

1. Taraji P. Henson – Empire

2. Viola Davis – How to Get Away with Murder

3. Tatiana Maslany – Orphan Black

4. Claire Danes – Homeland

5. Melissa Benoist – Supergirl

BEST ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA

1. Jon Hamm – Mad Men

2. Rami Malek – Mr. Robot

3. Sam Heughan – Outlander

4. Kevin Spacey – House of Cards

5. Terrance Howard – Empire

BEST TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA

1. Game of Thrones

2. Outlander

3. Mr. Robot

4. Empire

5. House of Cards

---Note: I have not seen even half of the TV predictions. A lot of it is Golden Globe trends and shots in the dark. As a rule in TV and movies, the HFPA loves big names and foreign productions.

BEST ANIMATED FILM

1. Inside Out

2. Anomalisa

3. The Good Dinosaur

4. When Marnie Was There

5. The Peanuts Movie

Explanation: Pixar is hard to beat in an ordinary year, but they have two films, so it might be even easier for one of their best films ever Inside Out. The Charlie Kaufman-scripted Anomalisa is making waves, but that might be more of a Critics Choice winner than a Golden Globe winner.

BEST FOREIGN FILM

1. Son of Saul (Hungary)

2. Mustang (France)

3. Labyrinth of Lies (Germany)

4. Goodnight Mommy (Austria)

5. The Clan (Argentina)

Explanation: There isn’t a whole lot of commentary on this one. Son of Saul has established itself as a Best Picture contender, so its status here is somewhat obvious. The Globes like to shake things up, so a horror film and a film about a family of serial killers seem like solid contenders.

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

1. “One Kind of Love” – Love and Mercy

2. “Love Me Like You Do” – 50 Shades of Grey

3. “Til It Happens To You” – The Hunting Ground

4. “See You Again” – Furious 7

5. “So Long” – Concussion

Explanation: Giving Lady Gaga a double nomination, as well giving invites to Brian Wilson, Wiz Khalifa, and Elle Goulding seems like a HFPA thing to do.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

1. Bridge of Spies – Thomas Newman

2. Inside Out – Michael Giacchino

3. Carol – Carter Burwell

4. Star Wars: The Force Awakens – John Williams

5. The Hateful Eight – Ennio Morricone

Explanation: The Globes love Spielberg and John Williams, of course. It would be a cool inclusion if Morricone got in. I really do not know what to expect here. I haven’t heard enough of the scores to make precise predictions. This is definitely just me projecting and hoping.

BEST SCREENPLAY – MOTION PICTURE

1. Spotlight – Thomas McCarthy, Josh Singer

2. Joy – David O. Russell, Annie Mumolo

3. The Hateful Eight – Quentin Tarantino

4. Steve Jobs – Aaron Sorkin

5. The Martian – Drew Goddard

Explanation: These are the highest profile Golden Globes movies this year, and a few of the biggest names in screenwriting. I almost included Brooklyn and/or Carol here, but these seem like as safe of bets as possible for this awards organization. I love that they only have one category. It makes getting nominated even more prestigious, and at times (It’s Complicated, for example) even more strange.

BEST DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE

1. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu – The Revenant

2. Ridley Scott – The Martian

3. Steven Spielberg – Bridge of Spies

4. David O. Russell – Joy

5. Quentin Tarantino – The Hateful Eight

Explanation: The Globes didn’t award Inarritu last year, so they will take it upon themselves to do that this time. The others are just the powerhouse names and movies that would be typical here. Thomas McCarthy should probably be included, but he isn’t quite a household name just yet.

The HFPA Dream Lineup:

JJ Abrams – Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Woody Allen – Irrational Man

Angelina Jolie – By the Sea

Steven Spielberg – Bridge of Spies

Quentin Tarantino – The Hateful Eight

BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE

1. Jane Fonda – Youth

2. Elizabeth Banks – Love and Mercy

3. Jennifer Jason Leigh – The Hateful Eight

4. Ellen Page – Freeheld

5. Diane Ladd – Joy

Explanation: Love and Mercy is the closest thing to a musical we have this year, so that will gobble up a few nominations, I suspect. Fonda and Ladd are reflections of the HFPA’s love for older Hollywood actors. This year is unusually stacked for supporting actresses.

The HFPA Dream Lineup:

Maggie Smith – The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Kristen Stewart – Clouds of Sils Maria

Meryl Streep – Suffragette

Alicia Vikander – Ex Machina

Kate Winslet – Steve Jobs

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE

1. Michael Keaton – Spotlight

2. Sylvester Stallone – Creed

3. Idris Elba – Beasts of No Nation

4. Benicio Del Toro – Sicario

5. Jason Mitchell – Straight Outta Compton

Explanation: This is definitely the category where the HFPA just does whatever they want. The Globes are ok with Netflix, so this will be the start of Elba’s quest for an Oscar nod. Straight Outta Compton is sort of a musical, which will likely garner noms from this group. The HFPA just loves stars. Nominating Stallone here would be like when Michael Douglas got in for Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.

The HFPA Dream Lineup:

Bradley Cooper – Joy

Robert De Niro – Joy

Harrison Ford – Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Brad Pitt – The Big Short

Seth Rogen – Steve Jobs

BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY/MUSICAL

1. Jennifer Lawrence – Joy

2. Meryl Streep – Ricki and the Flash

3. Sandra Bullock – Our Brand Is Crisis

4. Lily Tomlin – Grandma

5. Amy Schumer – Trainwreck

Explanation: There really are only like 7 contenders for this category, but these are pretty safe picks. The top 3 are as big of locks as any potential nominees in any category.

The HFPA Dream Lineup:

Sandra Bullock – Our Brand Is Crisis

Tina Fey – Sisters

Melissa McCarthy – Spy

Meryl Streep – Ricki and the Flash

Rebel Wilson – Pitch Perfect 2

BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY/MUSICAL

1. Matt Damon – The Martian

2. Bradley Cooper – Burnt

3. Joaquin Phoenix – Irrational Man

4. Steve Carell – The Big Short

5. Shameik Moore - Dope

Explanation: It would be an upset if Moore gets in, but he is such a natural and really did give one of the best performances of the year. Remember when Damon was the slam dunk winner in this category for The Informant! but then ended up dropping to Robert Downey Jr. for Sherlock Holmes? I can see something similar happening here, even though Damon is far and away the class of this category.

The HFPA Dream Lineup:

Bradley Cooper – Burnt

Robert De Niro – The Intern

Bill Murray – Rock the Kasbah

Al Pacino – Danny Collins

Paul Rudd – Any-Man

BEST MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY/MUSICAL

1. The Martian

2. The Big Short

3. Joy

4. Irrational Man

5. Spy

Explanation: The HFPA loves Woody Allen, even his lesser features. The Martian’s inclusion in this category is a bit of a copout because there is no way it loses, unless they just want to shamelessly award as Hollywood of a picture as there is in The Big Short.

The HFPA Dream Lineup:

The Big Short

Irrational Man

The Martian

Pitch Perfect 2

Ricki and the Flash

BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

1. Cate Blanchett – Carol

2. Alicia Vikander – The Danish Girl

3. Rooney Mara – Carol

4. Marion Cotillard – Macbeth

5. Charlotte Rampling – 45 Years

Explanation: This is an interesting category because Vikander and Mara are almost certainly being campaigned as supporting, but the Golden Globes don’t care. They put you where they want to put you. They love international actors in this category, so Vikander and Cotillard should coast to nominations. Rampling would be a bit of a surprise, but that is not out of the realm of possibility in this category. Sometimes this category is predetermined with the Dames, Meryl, and the K(C)ates, but this year is a bit more wide open.

The HFPA Dream Lineup:

Angelina Jolie – By the Sea

Nicole Kidman – Secret in Their Eyes

Helen Mirren – Woman in Gold

Julia Roberts – Secret in Their Eyes

Charlize Theron – Mad Max: Fury Road

BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

1. Leonardo DiCaprio – The Revenant

2. Eddie Redmayne – The Danish Girl

3. Johnny Depp – Black Mass

4. Tom Hanks – Bridge of Spies

5. Will Smith – Concussion

Explanation: Oh, the Globes have got to love the star power in this category! I can’t really come up with anything else. These are all virtual locks.

The HFPA Dream Lineup:

Bryan Cranston – Trumbo

Johnny Depp – Black Mass

Leonardo DiCaprio – The Revenant

Tom Hanks – Bridge of Spies

Will Smith – Concussion

BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

1. The Revenant

2. Spotlight

3. The Hateful Eight

4. Bridge of Spies

5. Carol

Explanation: This was a little difficult. The Globes and the Oscars don’t really match up all that much in their Best Picture categories. I just suspect that The Revenant will be big with this organization, but not necessarily the Oscars and beyond. They gave everything to Linklater last year, so Inarritu will get his this year. The others are just typical GG movies. Tarantino, Spielberg, and one artsy film sprinkled in.

The HFPA Dream Lineup:

By the Sea

In the Heart of the Sea

Mad Max: Fury Road

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Straight Outta Compton

That’s it! What did you think of my predictions? Stay tuned in the coming weeks for my next Oscar predictions and updates on the Critics Circles after the National Board of Review Awards kick off the season!