Tall Writer’s 2008 Golden Globe Picks

This year Steven Spielberg receives the Cecil B. DeMille award for lifetime achievement Sunday, January 13 at the Golden Globe Awards. Unfortunately, many of his friends who are actors will not make any congratulatory speeches because The Hollywood Foreign Press Association recently had to cancel the Golden Globe Awards telecast on NBC because of the WGA strike. Winners will be announced in a news conference format.

The Screen Actors Guild's (SAG) support of the current writer’s strike, which began on November 5, 2007, played a key factor in this historic change of events. Filmmakers had the chance to take center stage, even as presenters. In any case, these hardworking folks still deserve recognition. Here are my picks in acting and writing categories in television and film (in bold):

FILM

Actor (Drama)

• George Clooney – Michael Clayton
• Daniel Day-Lewis – There Will Be Blood
• James McAvoy – Atonement
• Viggo Mortenson – Eastern Promises
• Denzel Washington – American Gangster

Washington’s nomination and his co-star Russell Crowe’s omission might hint that Washington was the better actor, but they both deserve nominations. Day-Lewis can count on awards any time he’s in a film at this point in his career.

Actress (Drama)

• Cate Blanchett – Elizabeth: The Golden Age
• Julie Christie – Away from Her
• Jodie Foster – The Brave One
• Angelina Jolie – A Mighty Heart
• Keira Knightley – Atonement

A great group – Christie, Jolie, and Knightley have better chances for Oscar® gold.

Actor (Musical or Comedy)

• Johnny Depp – Sweeney Todd
• Ryan Gosling – Lars and the Real Girl
• Tom Hanks – Charlie Wilson’s War
• Philip Seymour Hoffman – The Savages
• John C. Reilly – Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

Very strong group where all leads have successfully jumped between drama and comedy.

Actress (Musical or Comedy)

• Amy Adams – Enchanted
• Nikki Blonsky – Hairspray
• Helena Bonham Carter – Sweeney Todd
• Marion Cotillard – La Vie en Rose
• Ellen Page – Juno

Well deserved praise for Adams and Page in star-making roles.

Supporting Actor

• Casey Affleck – Assassination of Jesse James
• Javier Bardem – No Country for Old Men
• Philip Seymour Hoffman – Charlie Wilson’s War
• John Travolta – Hairspray
• Tom Wikinson – Michael Clayton

Bardem created a memorable bad guy like no other.

Supporting Actress

• Cate Blanchett – I’m Not There
• Julia Roberts – Charlie Wilson’s War
• Saoirse Ronan – Atonement
• Amy Ryan – Gone Baby Gone
• Tilda Swinton – Michael Clayton

Ryan in yet another star-making role this year.

Screenplay

• Diablo Cody – Juno
• Ethan Coen – No Country for Old Men
• Christopher Hampton – Atonement
• Ronald Harwood – The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
• Aaron Sorkin – Charlie Wilson’s War

TELEVISION

Actor (Drama)

• Michael C. Hall – Dexter (SHOWTIME)
• Jon Hamm – Mad Men (AMC)
• Hugh Laurie – House (FOX)
• Bill Paxton – Big Love (HBO)
• Jonathan Rhys Meyers – The Tudors (SHOWTIME)

Laurie has to win – any other outcome would be a surprise.

Actress (Drama)

• Patricia Arquette – Medium (NBC)
• Glenn Close – Damages (FX)
• Minnie Driver – The Riches (FX)
• Edie Falco – The Sopranos (HBO)
• Sally Field – Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
• Holly Hunter – Saving Grace (TNT)
• Kyra Sedgwick – The Closer (TNT)

A tight race, but Falco’s last year on The Sopranos gives her the edge.

Actor (Musical or Comedy)

• Alec Baldwin – 30 Rock (NBC)
• Steve Carell – The Office (NBC)
• David Duchovny – Californication (SHOWTIME)
• Ricky Gervais – Extras (HBO)
• Lee Pace – Pushing Daisies (ABC)

It’s between Baldwin and Gervais. Neither show would be the same without these two veteran actors.

Actress (Musical or Comedy)

• Christina Applegate – Samantha Who? (ABC)
• America Ferrera – Ugly Betty (ABC)
• Tina Fey – 30 Rock (NBC)
• Anna Friel – Pushing Daisies (ABC)
• Mary-Louise Parker – Weeds (SHOWTIME)

ABC has the odds here, but SNL alum Fey has this one.

Here’s the best of the remaining nominees (my picks underlined):

FILM

Best Drama

• American Gangster (Universal)
• Atonement (Focus)
• Eastern Promises (Focus)
• The Great Debaters (Weinstein/MGM)
• Michael Clayton (Warner Brothers)
• No Country for Old Men (Miramax/Paramount Vantage)
• There Will Be Blood (Paramount Vantage/Miramax)

Musical or Comedy

• Across the Universe (Revolution/Sony)
• Charlie Wilson’s War (Universal)
• Hairspray (New Line)
• Juno (Fox Searchlight)
• Sweeney Todd (DreamWorks/Paramount/Warner Brothers)

Once is a huge omission here. Hopefully, the Academy Awards will not forget this very deserving musical film. Juno is getting surprise nominations that probably won’t come at Oscar time.

Foreign Language Film

• 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (Romania)
• The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (France, United States)
• The Kite Runner (United States)
• Lust, Caution (Taiwan)
• Persepolis (France)

Animated Film

• Bee Movie (DreamWorks)
• Ratatouille (Disney)
• The Simpsons Movie (Fox)

My heart (and funny bone) favor The Simpsons, but I have to go with the best one.

Director

• Tim Burton – Sweeney Todd
• Joel and Ethan Coen – No Country for Old Men
• Julian Schnabel – The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
• Ridley Scott – American Gangster
• Joe Wright – Atonement

Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will be Blood), Paul Greengrass (Bourne Ultimatum), and Sean Penn (Into the Wild) instead of Schnabel and Scott would’ve made stronger contenders. Wright’s masterful unedited tracking shot alone is enough for his nomination.

Original Score

• Into the Wild – Michael Brook, Kaki King and Eddie Vedder
• Grace is Gone – Clint Eastwood
• Kite Runner – Alberto Iglesias
• Atonement – Dario Marianelli
• Eastern Promises – Howard Shore

Original Song

• “Despidida” – Love in the Time of Cholera – Shakira/Antonio Pinto
• “Grace is Gone” – Grace is Gone – Clint Eastwood/Carole Bayer Sager
• “Guaranteed” – Into the Wild – Eddie Vedder
• “That’s How You Know” – Enchanted – Alan Menken/Stephen Schwartz
• “Walk Hard” – Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story-Marshall Crenshaw/John C.Reilly/Judd Apatow and Jake Kasdan

Comedic songwriting is hard (remember South Park?), so Walk Hard could steal here from the veteran Disney team. Again, Once is shockingly omitted and could have as many as two Oscar nominations.

TELEVISION

Best Mini-Series or Movie

• Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (HBO)
• The Company (TNT)
• Five Days (HBO)
• Longford (HBO)
• The State Within (BBC)

Best Musical or Comedy Series

• 30 Rock (NBC)
• Californication (SHOWTIME)
• Entourage (HBO)
• Extras (HBO)
• Pushing Daisies (ABC)

Best Dramatic Series

• Big Love (HBO)
• Damages (FX)
• Grey’s Anatomy (ABC)
• House (FOX)
• Mad Men (AMC)
• The Tudors (SHOWTIME)

Best Actress (Mini-Series or Movie)

• Bryce Dallas Howard – As You Like It (HBO)
• Queen Latifah – Life Support (HBO)
• Debra Messing – The Starter Wife (USA)
• Sissy Spacek – Pictures Of Hollis Woods (CBS)
• Ruth Wilson – Jane Eyre (PBS)

Best Actor (Mini-Series or Movie)

• Adam Beach – Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee (HBO)
• Ernest Borgnine – A Grandpa For Christmas
• Jim Broadbent – Longford (HBO)
• Jason Isaacs – The State Within (BBC)
• James Nesbitt – Jekyll (BBC)

Supporting Actress

• Rose Byrne – Damages (FX NETWORK)
• Rachel Griffiths – Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
• Katherine Heigl – Grey's Anatomy (ABC)
• Samantha Morton – Longford (HBO)
• Anna Paquin – Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee (HBO)
• Jaime Pressly – My Name Is Earl (NBC)

Supporting Actor

• Ted Danson – Damages (FX)
• Kevin Dillon – Entourage (HBO)
• Jeremy Piven – Entourage (HBO)
• Andy Serkis – Longford (HBO)
• William Shatner – Boston Legal (ABC)
• Donald Sutherland – Dirty Sexy Money (ABC)