Best Actress, Drama
Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock, Gravity
Judi Dench, Philomena
Emma Thompson, Saving Mr. Banks
Kate Winslet, Labor Day
Who should win: Sandra Bullock, Gravity
Who will win: Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Bullock’s performance in Gravity is extremely heartfelt and complex, and is yet another reason the film works as well as it does. The movie is on her shoulders for most of the runtime, and in that time, she delivers a rollercoaster of emotions, grabbing you every step of the way. That being said, this category is another no-brainer to predict. Blanchett has been the very clear favorite and will be taking home the award. I was one of the few to find Blue Jasmine overrated, and Blanchett’s performance to be pretty much nothing but a 90-minute nervous breakdown. However, it’s clear that the vast majority of people were very taken with her.
Best Actor, Comedy/Musical
Christian Bale, American Hustle
Bruce Dern, Nebraska
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street
Oscar Isaac, Inside Llewyn Davis
Joaquin Phoenix, Her
Who should win: Joaquin Phoenix, Her
Who will win: Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street
This is where things get rather hard to predict. Most of the critics awards tend to go to the dramatic performances, leaving us very little to make a judgment on who the favorite performances are when it comes to comedies. I hope the HFPA gives serious consideration to Phoenix’s outstanding performance in Spike Jonze’s Her though. It’s subtle and very understated, but it’s also one of the most touching performances of the year. As to who will most likely take the category, I agree with the consensus at Gold Derby that says DiCaprio has the best chance. He’s a big movie star, giving a fantastic performance in one of the most talked about movies of the year. I’m thinking that’s the exact direction they’ll ultimately lean.
Best Actress, Comedy/Musical
Amy Adams, American Hustle
Julie Delpy, Before Midnight
Greta Gerwig, Francis Ha
Julia Louis Dreyfuss, Enough Said
Meryl Streep, August: Osage County
Who should win: Amy Adams, American Hustle
Who will win: Amy Adams, American Hustle
This is another one that’s a little hard to predict, but ultimately, I think this will end up in favor of Amy Adams and her outstanding performance in American Hustle. After seeing the film, I was rather shocked that all the talk was about Jennifer Lawrence, when the real star of the show is Amy Adams. Granted, American Hustle is not as great a film as some have made it out to be, but there’s no denying that Adams is one of the key components of its fantastic ensemble. The only potential upset I see that could happen comes from Meryl Streep, who also gives a great performance, but it’s buried in a sub-par film.
Best Supporting Actor
Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
Daniel Bruhl, Rush
Bradley Cooper, American Hustle
Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave
Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
Who should win: Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
Who will win: Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
This is another category that’s pretty easy to call. Leto has been the clear favorite from day one for his incredible performance in Dallas Buyers Club, so anyone else taking the category would be a pretty big upset.
Best Supporting Actress
Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine
Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years a Slave
Julia Roberts, August: Osage County
June Squibb, Nebraska
Who should win: Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years a Slave
Who will win: Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years a Slave
Personally, I would have preferred to see Octavia Spencer (Fruitvale Station), Scarlett Johansson (Her), and Amy Adams (Her) get nominations over some of these nominees (I’m still baffled as to why Squibb keeps getting nominated for her bland, forgettable performance in Nebraska), but of those the HFPA selected, Nyong’o is the pretty easy choice for her powerful performance in 12 Years a Slave. Given that she’s been the overwhelming favorite throughout awards season, this is another one that’s pretty easy to predict.
Best Screenplay
American Hustle
Her
Nebraska
Philomena
12 Years a Slave
What should win: Spike Jonze, Her
What will win: Spike Jonze, Her
This is probably the hardest category to predict of the whole lot. Within these nominees is the top contender for Original Screenplay (Her) and Best Adapted Screenplay (12 Years a Slave), and yet, Gold Derby is overwhelmingly predicting American Hustle to take the category, so who in the world are they going to go with? If they go by simply how good the writing is, I think they will lean toward Her. 12 Years a Slave was a decent film, but its screenplay was not its strongest element, same with American Hustle.
Based on this reasoning, we’re left with Her as the winner. That being said, 12 Years a Slave remains its biggest rival. To help illustrate why this is: Her has claimed 17 screenplay awards, 12 Years a Slave has won 12, American Hustle has taken two, Nebraska received one, and Philomena has been left behind with zero. This makes it pretty clear where the battle will be, but again, if they’re truly looking for the best writing, then they should have no problem picking the winner out of this batch.
Best Score
All is Lost
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Gravity
The Book Thief
12 Years a Slave
What should win: Gravity
What will win: 12 Years a Slave
The last of the hard-to-predict categories. The battle here will be between Gravity and 12 Years a Slave, but again, we don’t have much to go on from the critics awards. In fact, if we went by the information we do have, Her would be considered the favorite by a small margin, but it’s nowhere to be seen. I would give it to Gravity just because the score really helped add to the atmosphere of the film, but I’m predicting that they’ll lean toward 12 Years a Slave for its powerful music from Hans Zimmer. Hopefully I’m wrong about that though as I wasn’t particularly impressed with the recurring theme he used throughout (which actually sounded just like a reworked piece from his Inception score).
Best Original Song
Atlas (Hunger Games)
Let it Go (Frozen)
Ordinary Love (Mandela)
Please Mr. Kennedy (Inside Llewyn Davis)
Sweeter Fiction (One Chance)
What should win: Let It Go, Frozen
What will win: Let It Go, Frozen
This one seems to be in the bag for Frozen. It’s a fantastic, beautiful song that is very deserving of the victory. Hopefully the HFPA will agree.
Best Foreign Language Film
Blue is the Warmest Color
The Great Beauty
The Hunt
The Past
The Wind Rises
What will win: Blue is the Warmest Color
Admittedly, I have not seen The Great Beauty, so I will forgo selecting “what should win,” but the answer to “what will win” is pretty clear as Blue is the Warmest Color has been the clear favorite throughout awards season, which would make it a rather big surprise should anything else beat it.
Best Animated Feature
The Croods
Despicable Me 2
Frozen
What should win: Frozen
What will win: Frozen
This is another one that’s pretty easy to predict given that Frozen has been extremely popular throughout awards season. All three are good animated films, but Frozen packs an extra emotional punch and several catchy songs to boot, so look for it to take an easy victory.
So, there you have my best predictions as to who the Hollywood Foreign Press Association will pick. I will be live blogging the winners throughout the telecast, so be sure to join us right here on the big night to see if these predictions end up coming true.
The 71st Annual Golden Globes will air at 8pm on Sunday night.
Do you agree with these choices? Let us know your picks in the comments below!