This past Sunday, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association handed out their awards in various categories for film and television where Ricky Gervais hosted the festivities as his sharp barbs were largely repelled and reciprocated by several stars this time. Robert De Niro received the Cecil B. DeMille Award. The 12 film winners provide an interesting precursor for the upcoming Academy Award (a.k.a. Oscar) nominations.
The leading nominee, The King’s Speech, got only one win from seven nominations, while six-nominee films The Social Network and The Fighter won four and two respectively. True Grit and Get Low got no nominations, but will hopefully not get shut out when the Oscar nominations are announced on January 25. Golden Globe winners are marked with an asterick.
Best Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical
Alice in Wonderland
Burlesque
*The Kids Are All Right
Red
The Tourist
Comedy or Musical is always a category hot spot. Red a comedy? It had comedic elements, but this category always stretches the limits to find nominees, which has hurt the overall category credibility. Still, the Kids win ensures a great chance for a best picture Oscar nomination.
Best Motion Picture, Drama
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The King’s Speech
*The Social Network
Fincher and Sorkin’s strong chances for director and screenplay also increase this winner’s chances for an Oscar nod and win.
Best Director — Motion Picture
Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
*David Fincher, The Social Network
Tom Hooper, The King’s Speech
Christopher Nolan, Inception
David O. Russell, The Fighter
Fincher gets a cumulative win. We’ll see if he wins the coveted Director’s Guild Award on January 29. No mainstay nominees like Danny Boyle for 127 Hours, Coen Brothers for True Grit, or Clint Eastwood for Hereafter.
Best Screenplay — Motion Picture
Simon Beaufoy, 127 Hours
Stuart Blumberg and Lisa Cholodenko, The Kids Are All Right
Christopher Nolan, Inception
David Seidler, The King’s Speech
*Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network
127 Hours was the only nominee that also did not have a best motion picture nomination. Sorkin was the favorite and the winner in this dialogue driven gem.
Best Animated Feature Film
Despicable Me
How to Train Your Dragon
The Illusionist
Tangled
*Toy Story 3
Pixar/Disney gets their fifth consecutive win among a great group this year. Toy Story 3 should be an Oscar nominee for best picture as well as best animated film, so they had a definite edge.
Best Foreign Language Film
Biutiful
The Concert
The Edge
I Am Love
*In a Better World
Past Oscar acting nominees Javier Bardem and Tilda Swinton brought Biutiful and I Am Love higher exposure levels, but World wins.
Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Comedy
*Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
Anne Hathaway, Love and Other Drugs
Angelina Jolie, The Tourist
Julianne Moore, The Kids Are All Right
Emma Stone, Easy A
Bening gets her due praise as one of the Kid nominees increased her and Moore’s chances. Look for a showdown against Portman at the Oscars.
Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Comedy
Johnny Depp, Alice in Wonderland
Johnny Depp, The Tourist
*Paul Giamatti, Barney’s Version
Jake Gyllenhaal, Love and Other Drugs
Kevin Spacey, Casino Jack
This year the winner Giamatti does not have the usual high chance of an Oscar nomination and Depp’s double nomination did not increase his odds.
Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
Amy Adams, The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter, The King’s Speech
Mila Kunis, Black Swan
*Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom
Carter was the favorite for the award and again a fashion target for wearing different colored shoes, but Oscar nominee Leo punches out a win even after duking it out with her co-star Adams. As a double film nominee for The Fighter, Adams and Leo split the votes between themselves, but at least increase their chances for a Fighter Oscar win.
Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
*Christian Bale, The Fighter
Michael Douglas, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
Andrew Garfield, The Social Network
Jeremy Renner, The Town
Geoffrey Rush, The King’s Speech
Bale is the favorite and the winner. Rush will be his main competition for Oscar gold.
Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama
Halle Berry, Frankie and Alice
Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone
*Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine
A pregnant Portman was one of many great highlights of the evening. Her deserved win primes her for a standout year in 2011 full of varied roles that will hoist her to a superstar status.
Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama
Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
*Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
James Franco, 127 Hours
Ryan Gosling, Blue Valentine
Mark Wahlberg, The Fighter
Firth’s win makes him a front runner for an Oscar. Look for an ignored Jeff Bridges to get an Oscar nomination in this category – a likely occurrence for actors who won the year before (e.g. Penelope Cruz won for Vicky Christina Barcelona then got nominated last year for Nine).
Best Original Song — Motion Picture
“Bound to You,” Burlesque
“Coming Home,” Country Strong
“I See the Light,” Tangled
“There’s a Place for Us,” Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
*”You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me,” Burlesque
“Light” provided amazing emotion to the best animated feature film nominee thanks to Alan Menken and others, but Diane Warren wins for her song. Two nominations usually give you better odds…just don’t tell that to Johnny Depp.
Best Original Score — Motion Picture
Alexandre Desplot, The King’s Speech
Danny Elfman, Alice in Wonderland
A.R. Rahmin, 127 Hours
*Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, The Social Network
Hans Zimmer, Inception
Nominee Zimmer also did great work on The Pacific, Despicable Me, How Do You Know, and Megamind. It was impossible to ignore him this year, but, somehow, Reznor and Ross win.