Jan. 8, 2017 (Gephardt Daily) — The Hollywood Foreign Press Association will award its 2017 Golden Globe Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday.
Below is a look at UPI’s predictions on who will win the top film prizes. The picks are based on how the nominees have fared in other guild and critics’ competitions this season, as well as how the association has voted in the past.
Although the journalist-voted Globes are often seen as a predictor for cinema’s most prestigious awards — the industry-elected Oscars — it is important to note the Globes recognize performance achievement in both comedy/musical and drama categories, whereas the Oscars do not separate the genres. This means there are double the number of eligible award slots for Globes and many contenders in that race will not move on in their quest for Oscar gold.
The Golden Globes ceremony will air live at 7 p.m. Sunday on NBC, with Jimmy Fallon serving as host.
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell or High Water
Lion
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight Our projected winner
There is a lot of buzz around Moonlight — for good reason. The coming-of-age film, which was nominated for six Independent Spirit awards and won Best Feature, Best Screenplay and Audience accolades at the Gotham Awards ceremony, is a critical favorite. The cast of Moonlight won Best Acting Ensemble at the Critics’ Choice Awards and audience members and reviewers alike have repeatedly singled out the stellar performance by Globe nominee Mahershala Ali.
20th Century Women
Deadpool
Florence Foster Jenkins
La La Land Our projected winner
Sing Street
La La Land, a big, splashy, contemporary musical, is this season’s feel-good movie. In the recent past, Globes have been lavished on song-and-dance pictures such as Les Miserables, Sweeney Todd, Chicago, Dreamgirls, Walk the Line and Moulin Rouge! La La Land also features a standout performance by the enchanting Emma Stone and expert direction by Damien Chazelle, who are also up for individual Globes. The National Board of Review and the American Film Institute named the film one of the best of 2016.
Casey Affleck Manchester by the Sea
Joel Edgerton Loving
Andrew Garfield Hacksaw Ridge Our projected winner
Viggo Mortensen Captain Fantastic
Denzel Washington Fences
The association loves rewarding young talent and recognizing artists who show versatility, particularly in more than one role in the same year. Although this is British actor Andrew Garfield’s first Globe nomination, it comes on the heels of two much lauded and very different performances — in the World War II picture Hacksaw Ridge and the 17th century Japan-set epic Silence. He recently scored the Critics’ Choice Award for Best Actor in an Action Movie for Hacksaw Ridge.
Colin Farrell The Lobster
Ryan Gosling La La Land
Hugh Grant Florence Foster Jenkins Our projected winner
Jonah Hill War Dogs
Ryan Reynolds Deadpool
British actor Hugh Grant is a favorite of the association, having previously won a Globe for his work in 1995’s Four Weddings and a Funeral, and garnered nods for Notting Hill in 2000 and About a Boy in 2003. His performance as the long-suffering husband of a high-society diva in Florence Foster Jenkins is one of the best of his career and has earned him the Hollywood Film Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Evening Standard Award for Best Actor. The fact that he often hilariously and articulately complains about being a celebrity would make his acceptance speech at the Globes an irresistible and memorable prospect, as well.
Amy Adams Arrival
Jessica Chastain Miss Sloane
Ruth Negga Loving
Natalie Portman Jackie Our projected winner
Isabelle Huppert Elle
Natalie Portman has two Globes on her mantle, for Black Swan in 2010 and Closer in 2004, and her riveting depiction as former first lady Jackie Kennedy — in a drama chronicling the days following the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy — could earn her a third. Portman has taken home a Critics’ Choice Award and Hollywood Film Award for the role this season.
Annette Bening 20th Century Women
Lily Collins Rules Don’t Apply
Hailee Steinfeld The Edge of Seventeen
Emma Stone La La Land Our projected winner
Meryl Streep Florence Foster Jenkins
American star Emma Stone was previously nominated for Globes for the comedies Easy A and Birdman, but this will likely be the year she actually takes the statuette home. She shows off her outstanding singing and dancing skills in La La Land, a fresh take on classic, romantic musicals.
Mahershala Ali Moonlight Our projected winner
Jeff Bridges Hell or High Water
Simon Helberg Florence Foster Jenkins
Dev Patel Lion
Aaron Taylor-Johnson Nocturnal Animals
Mahershala Ali won the Critics’ Choice Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role of a drug dealer who helps the film’s central character “Little.” He has also won the Gotham, New York and Los Angeles film critics awards for the role.
Viola Davis Fences Our projected winner
Naomie Harris Moonlight
Nicole Kidman Lion
Octavia Spencer Hidden Figures
Michelle Williams Manchester by the Sea
Two-time Academy Award nominee Viola Davis is our pick here for her work in the family drama Fences. She has already won a Critics’ Choice Award for her role in the film as Rose Maxson, wife of Denzel Washington’s character Troy. She previously earned a Tony for the same role in the Broadway production of August Wilson’s acclaimed play.
Damien Chazelle La La Land Our projected winner
Tom Ford Nocturnal Animals
Mel Gibson Hacksaw Ridge
Barry Jenkins Moonlight
Kenneth Lonergan Manchester by the Sea
American filmmaker Damien Chazelle — just 31 — previously earned numerous award nominations in 2014 for Whiplash. He is the front-runner for best director at the Globes this year, having earned the title at the Critics’ Choice Awards for helming the delightful musical La La Land.
Damien Chazelle La La Land
Tom Ford Nocturnal Animals
Barry Jenkins Moonlight
Kenneth Lonergan Manchester by the Sea Our projected winner
Taylor Sheridan Hell or High Water
Manchester by the Sea scribe Kenneth Lonergan has won the prize for Best Screenplay at the Critics’ Choice Awards and the Hollywood Screenwriter Award at the Hollywood Film Awards for his frequently funny, human tragedy Manchester by the Sea. He has been nominated for the Writers Guild of America Award, as well, for his effort. He was previously nominated for a Globe in 2000 for You Can Count on Me.
