The hilarious Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are hosting the Golden Globe Awards for the third and final time tomorrow, and though we know they’ll be at their entertaining best – with recent subject matter like The Interview giving them plenty of material – the question really is: who will the Globes voters – the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) – choose?
Your guess is as good as ours, but we’ll give it a shot anyway… so here now are The Iris’ predictions for the film categories at the 2015 Golden Globe Awards:
BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
With the Globes breaking down the “Best Picture” trophies into two categories, the Drama category is always the most hotly contested and this year is no exception. Our pick though is Boyhood, the acclaimed Richard Linklater film that was filmed over 12 years. It’s been the most universally acclaimed and we imagine the Globes’ voters will want to acknowledge the film’s unique approach, strong performances and the general greatness of its Director. Selma is also in with a huge shot here, but after 12 Years a Slave won last year, it’s possible the voters may want to give the trophy to something that isn’t an American Historical Drama.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
These are five outstanding performances, though Julianne Moore‘s gripping portrayal of an Alzheimer sufferer in Still Alice looks to be the pick of the pack – and is certainly ours. HFPA voters do love Jennifer Aniston, however, and her performance in Cake does seem to tick all the boxes… so look out for a potential upset there.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
Deciding on this category is incredibly challenging. Five actors who have delivered their all – four of whom in playing real life characters. Steve Carrell is unrecognizable and utterly brilliant in Foxcatcher. David Oyelowo is compelling as Martin Luther King, Jr, Eddie Redmayne IS Stephen Hawking, Jake Gyllenhaal’s ability to not blink is terrifying and Benedict Cumberbatch is outstanding as Alan Turing.
Benedict Cumberbatch seems to be a hit with voters in a run of recent award ceremonies, so we’re giving him our pick for his performance in The Imitation Game – though honestly it’s anyone’s game here.
BEST MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
This category is down to two: Birdman and The Grand Budapest Hotel. The latter, Wes Anderson’s critically acclaimed feature, was released so early in the year it may now be but a memory for voters. Birdman, meanwhile, is all people are talking about at the moment and for good reason. It’s unique, it’s compelling… it’s absolutely brilliant. It’s everything you could possibly want in a film and as a result it’s something that cinephiles are falling in love with around the world. We can’t see why the HFPA would be any different.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Voters have proven love for both Amy Adams and Emily Blunt – but with Adams the defending winner, we think Emily Blunt in Into The Woods may give voters the chance to recognize not only what was an excellent performance, but a film which was very much applauded by critics – something which I think genuinely surprised most of us.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
If I could give it to Ralph Fiennes for his incredible, INCREDIBLE performance in The Grand Budapest Hotel, I would deliver the prize personally. But Birdman rested almost entirely on Michael Keaton‘s shoulders and he delivered a phenomenal performance that is every bit worthy of the Globe.
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
With no Pixar entries this year, the race seems to be between The Lego Movie and Big Hero 6. Both excellent animated features in their own right and probably at even odds to win. But we’re going for Disney’s effort here. It was a truly enjoyable picture, with a lot of heart and some great characters. While Lego may have some sentimental value to help it over the line, for an award usually given to a Pixar film, Hero makes our pick…
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
You know, we’d love to see Emma Stone take this one out. She has proven herself an actress with incredible range and diversity. Her performance in Birdman only cemented this, with one scene in particular – where she tells her father what she really thinks of him – possibly the stand out moment of the entire film. But it’s Patricia Arquette who looks set to take home the trophy as the mother in Boyhood – holding the film together with a magnificent performance. And the fact it was done over 12 years only cements the reason in the voters mind why she’s deserving of the award.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Another really difficult category. Like Carrell, Mark Ruffalo shined bright in Foxcatcher. Edward Norton was at his absolute best in Birdman, delivering some of the film’s best (and funniest) lines. Ethan Hawke may not have been the glue that Arquette was in Boyhood, but as the father he commanded a powerful performance. And I didn’t see The Judge, but I can only assume Robert Duvall was brilliant. Then there’s J.K. Simmons, whose intensity alone made Whiplash worth a viewing. We’d love to see Simmons get the golden trophy, but our pick for this one is Edward Norton.
BEST DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE
I feel like Wes Anderson deserves some sort of recognition for his consistency in brilliant filmmaking… but the same can be said for Linklater, and I’d be surprised if the HFPA didn’t feel the same. For dedicating 12 years to delivering an incredible portrait of 12 years of a boy’s life in Boyhood, we have to see Richard Linklater take home the award. Don’t count Alejandro González Iñárritu (Birdman) out either, though. His incredible vision may see him inch over our favourite…
BEST SCREENPLAY – MOTION PICTURE
Wes Anderson should finally see his film recognized here. You don’t get more original than Anderson, and though his vision is perfectly articulated on screen – it all comes back to the witty, intelligent script.
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – MOTION PICTURE
Antonio’s unique drum score for Birdman was rather ingenious, not to mention unique – and we’d love to see it win. Ross and Reznor’s Gone Girl soundtrack was compelling, as was Desplat’s for Imitation Game… but it’s Hans Zimmer‘s typically thrilling soundtrack for Interstellar that we expect to take home the trophy.
BEST ORIGINAL SONG – MOTION PICTURE
Lana Del Rey. Lorde. Sia. Patti Smith. There are some big names here. But sentimentality usually takes the award, and with that we’re picking John Legend and Common for “Glory” from Selma to be the winner.
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Of course, the Globes also award TV shows, though we’re not predicting them today! Find out who will win in these categories and more when The Golden Globes screens in Australia exclusively on FOX8 from 12pm EDT, tomorrow 12th January 2015. For more details head to: http://www.fox8.tv/shows/the-golden-globes and for all the nominations head here: http://www.hfpa.org/nominations-2015/
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