Monday, January 12, 2015

The Oscar Narrative: The Golden Globes Add to the Mix

In all honesty, expect for a few categories, there weren't a bunch of surprises at the Golden Globes, at least on the film side. Julianne Moore, J.K. Simmons, and Patricia Arquette all won in their respective races, and I expect them to continue to do so. Richard Linklater, the Birdman scribes, and Boyhood took Director, Screenplay, and Picture. Right now that looks like it too will repeat for a while. And finally, the Best Actor race has come down to Michael Keaton vs. Eddie Redmayne, as  I predicted. I still think that Keaton will win SAG, Redmaybe will win BAFTA, and an interesting race will brew on Oscar night. At first I was surprised that How to Train Your Dragon 2 won, but then I remember that Globe voters prefer more traditional tales, they were the first ones to reward Brave, when everyone else was going Frankenweenie, ParaNorman, or Wreck-It Ralph. This makes me wonder, can How to Train Your Dragon 2 make a comeback with the guilds and the Oscars the way Brave did? I think so. The LEGO Movie is great with the fan boy critics, but I think that older, more conservative Oscar voters might go for something a bit more classic, and bit more emotional like Dragon. So long story short, it ended up not being that surprising. The one major surprise for me was The Grand Budapest Hotel. I know that I warned all of you about the potential of the film to win, but I honestly didn't think it could beat Birdman or Into the Woods. This film is really peaking at the right moment, is building tons of momentum, and is aiming to upset some of these categories at the Oscars, and damn if it couldn't do it.

The television side had a few more surprises, but some awesome winners that once again proved that they are better at this than the Emmys. I know people are tired of the Downton Abbey love, but I am so happy to see Joanne Froggatt get some recognition, she is one of the characters that is the heart and soul of the show. And Matt Bomer finally getting a win for his incredible performance in The Normal Heart was worth the wait. I am not as gun ho about The Affair as other folks, but after I stopped screaming at the television when Viola Davis lost (I think I still have some rage over her Oscar snub for The Help), I realized that both The Affair and Ruth Wilson winning were actually decent wins, and great recognition for a good new show. The Gina Rodriguez win was fantastic, hopefully a boost to great new show, and an awesome recognition of a bright young talent. But my favorite wins of the night were for Fargo and Billy Bob Thornton, and Transparent and an emotional Jeffrey Tambor. Great wins for great shows. Oh and finally Kevin Spacey has finally won a Golden Globe. I'll let it set in for a second that in 2015, he had yet to win one.

Overall, not much has changed, at least not in terms of the Oscar game. Tomorrow are the DGA nods, and it gets real. Four days folks, four days.

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