Golden Globes rundown, cause I've nothing better to do...

So I’ve been more or less useless on here (and on HBS/EFC) the last few months. For that, I apologize. Since I have a few spare moments (though I ought to be sleeping), I thought I’d post some thoughts/predictions for the Golden Globes. Yep. This is long.

Best Motion Picture - Drama

Babel
Anonymous Content Production/Una Producción De Zeta Film/Central Films Production; Paramount Pictures/Paramount Vantage

Bobby
Michel Litvak Productions/Bold Films; MGM/The Weinstein Company

The Departed
Warner Bros. Pictures

Little Children
New Line Cinema

The Queen
Granada; Miramax Films

Seen: The Departed, Babel

My Pick: The Departed. Just no topping The Departed. All sentimental value aside – my love for the original film, my love for the city it’s set in – this was by far one of the most enjoyable film experiences this year.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama

Penélope Cruz – Volver

Judi Dench – Notes On A Scandal

Maggie Gyllenhaal – Sherrybaby

Helen Mirren – The Queen

Kate Winslet – Little Children

Seen: None of them, sadly
My Pick: Helen Mirren for The Queen, based solely on the reactions of nearly everyone I know who has seen it. It’s apparently absolutely stellar.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama

Leonardo DiCaprio – Blood Diamond

Leonardo DiCaprio – The Departed

Peter O'Toole – Venus

Will Smith – The Pursuit Of Happyness

Forest Whitaker – The Last King Of Scotland

Seen: Blood Diamond, The Departed

My Pick: Forest Whitaker. Even in the previews, he looks absolutely brilliant. DiCaprio was OK in Blood Diamond, better in Departed. It’s not quite Smith’s time yet. O’Toole… I just don’t know anything about Venus…

Best Motion Picture - Musical Or Comedy

Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan
One America; Twentieth Century Fox

The Devil Wears Prada
Twentieth Century Fox

Dreamgirls
DreamWorks Pictures/Paramount Pictures

Little Miss Sunshine
Big Beach/Bona Fide Productions; Fox Searchlight Pictures

Thank You For Smoking
Room 9 Entertainment/David O. Sacks Production/Contentfilm; Fox Searchlight Pictures

Seen: All of them. Finally, something I can judge fairly!

My Pick: Thank You For Smoking, with Little Miss Sunshine right on its heels. Two dark comedies easily beat out two movies for which I cannot for the life of me understand the hype. Nor do I see where Devil Wears Prada fits in… that bad a year, even for filler? Smoking over Sunshine just because the script was a little tighter, and the very, very good performance from Aaron Eckhart.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

Annette Bening – Running With Scissors

Toni Collette – Little Miss Sunshine

Beyoncé Knowles – Dreamgirls

Meryl Streep – The Devil Wears Prada

Renée Zellweger – Miss Potter

Seen: Little Miss Sunshine, Dreamgirls, Devil Wears Prada.

My Pick: … Yuck. I guess we’ll go with Zellweger. She might feel the biopic love that has been running rampant lately. Knowles was OK but bland, Collette was the weakest member of the family (though still nothing to sneeze at) in Sunshine, and I just don’t see this as a part that will star racking up awards for Streep.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical Or Comedy

Sacha Cohen – Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan

Johnny Depp – Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Aaron Eckhart – Thank You For Smoking

Chiwetel Ejiofor – Kinky Boots

Will Ferrell – Stranger Than Fiction

Seen: Borat, Pirates, and Smoking

My Pick: Eckhart. He deserves it. Though I am a little terrified that it will somehow end up in Cohen’s hands.

Best Performance by an Actress In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Adriana Barraza – Babel

Cate Blanchett – Notes On A Scandal

Emily Blunt – The Devil Wears Prada

Jennifer Hudson – Dreamgirls

Rinko Kikuchi – Babel

Seen: All but Notes.

My Pick: Rinko Kikuchi. Her story was by far the most intriguing, gut-wrenching and well-paced in the film, and her performance is what made it so wonderful to watch.

Best Performance by an Actor In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Ben Affleck – Hollywoodland

Eddie Murphy – Dreamgirls

Jack Nicholson – The Departed

Brad Pitt – Babel

Mark Wahlberg – The Departed

Seen: All but Hollywoodland.

My Pick: Nicholson, as a precursor to the Oscar that many say he’s probably already won (and would definitely deserve). In a twist I certainly didn’t see coming, sitting behind Jack on this list is most definitely Eddie Murphy. He shines quite brightly throughout a decidedly average musical. I would hope and expect a nomination for the big show.

Best Animated Feature Film

Cars
Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar Animation Studio; Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

Happy Feet
Kingdom Pictures, LLC; Warner Bros. Pictures/Village Roadshow Pictures

Monster House
Columbia Pictures; Sony Pictures Releasing

Seen: All of them.

My Pick: A good list this year. Each of them has qualities superior to the other two. For pure entertainment value, though, I will go with Cars.

Best Foreign Languge Film

Apocalypto (United States)
Touchstone Pictures/Icon Productions; Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

Letters From Iwo Jima (Japan, United States)
Warner Bros. Pictures/DreamWorks Pictures; Warner Bros. Pictures

The Lives Of Others (Germany)
Wiedemann & Berg/Bayerischer Rundfunk/ARTE/Creado Film; Sony Pictures Classics

Pan's Labyrinth (Mexico)
Tequila Gang/Esperanto Filmoj/Estudios Picasso; Picturehouse

Volver (Spain)
El Deseo; Sony Pictures Classics

Seen: None, I’m ashamed to say.

My Pick: I’m torn between Iwo Jima and Volver. Almodovar is almost always worthy of whatever comes his way, though I have heard that Clint Eastwood’s Japanese piece is superior to its English brother.

Best Director - Motion Picture

Clint Eastwood – Flags Of Our Fathers

Clint Eastwood – Letters From Iwo Jima

Stephen Frears – The Queen

Alejandro Iñárritu – Babel

Martin Scorsese – The Departed

Seen: Babel, Departed.

My Pick: It’s Scorcese’s turn, I think. Both here and the Big Show, he’ll get well-deserved statues.

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture

Babel
Written by Guillermo Arriaga

The Departed
Written by William Monahan

Little Children
Written by Todd Field, Tom Perrotta

Notes On A Scandal
Written by Patrick Marber

The Queen
Written by Peter Morgan

Seen: Babel, Departed.

My Pick: With changes for language, time period and locale, Departed seemed to stick pretty close to Infernal Affairs. I wasn’t overly impressed with Babel’s organization, so I’m thinking The Queen might pull this one in.

Best Original Score - Motion Picture

The Painted Veil (Desplat)
Composed by Alexandre Desplat

The Fountain (Mansell)
Composed by Clint Mansell

Babel (Santaolalla)
Composed by Gustavo Santaolalla

Nomad (Siliotto)
Composed by Carlo Siliotto

The Da Vinci Code (Zimmer)
Composed by Hans Zimmer

Seen/Heard: Fountain, Babel, Da Vinci.

My Pick: None of the ones I saw were particularly mind-blowing. The Fountain is the only one I can even vaguely recall, so I’ll go with that.

Best Original Song - Motion Picture

"A Father's Way" – The Pursuit Of Happyness

"Listen" – Dreamgirls

"Never Gonna Break My Faith" – Bobby

"The Song Of The Heart" – Happy Feet

"Try Not To Remember" – Home Of The Brave

Seen: Dreamgirls, Happy Feet.

My Pick: As much as I’d like to see Happy Feet get some love, the music is one of the only things Dreamgirls has going for it at a consistent rate, and “Listen” was a good scene (if not a good song), so we’ll stick with the obvious choice.

Onto the TV stuff… If I say I’ve seen something here, it means at least 1 episode of this past season.

Best Television Series - Drama

24 (FOX)
Real Time Productions/Imagine Television/Twentieth Century Fox Television; FOX

Big Love (HBO)
Anima Sola/Playtone Productions/HBO Entertainment; HBO

Grey's Anatomy (ABC)
Touchstone Television; ABC

Heroes (NBC)
NBC Universal Television Studio/Tailwind Productions; NBC

Lost (ABC)
Touchstone Television; ABC

Seen: 24, Grey’s Anatomy, Heroes, Lost.

My Pick: Although I do love me some Heroes, and it quickly became one of the more addicting fall shows, I’m looking for/expecting 24 to hand a quick and hilarious beat-down to lost. The best show on TV had one of its best seasons this year, and deserves some awards for that.

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series - Drama

Patricia Arquette – Medium (NBC)

Edie Falco – The Sopranos (HBO)

Evangeline Lilly – Lost (ABC)

Ellen Pompeo – Grey's Anatomy (ABC)

Kyra Sedgwick – The Closer (TNT)

Seen: Lost, Grey’s, Closer.

My Pick: Though I don’t watch regularly, I think Sedgwick has one of the best serious female role on TV today, and will be recognized for it. This is, of course, only because Kristen Bell is getting screwed for the seriocomic vibe off Veronica Mars.

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Drama

Patrick Dempsey – Grey's Anatomy (ABC)

Michael C. Hall – Dexter (SHOWTIME)

Hugh Laurie – House (FOX)

Bill Paxton – Big Love (HBO)

Kiefer Sutherland – 24 (FOX)

Seen: Grey’s, House, 24.

My Pick: Kiefer narrowly beats out Hugh. Tough call. I’ve also heard that Michael C. Hall might make it an even tougher one.

Best Television Series - Musical Or Comedy

Desperate Housewives (ABC)
Touchstone Television; ABC

Entourage (HBO)
Leverage/Closest to the Hole/HBO Entertainment; HBO

The Office (NBC)
Deedle Dee Productions/Reveille/NBC Universal Television Studio; NBC

Ugly Betty (ABC)
Touchstone Television; ABC

Weeds (SHOWTIME)
Showtime/Lionsgate Television/Tilted Productions, Inc.; SHOWTIME

Seen: Office.

My Pick: If only because I really don’t care for what I’ve seen of The Office, I’m gonna go with some love for the newcomer, and give it to Ugly Betty. Again, Veronica Mars AND Studio 60 getting screwed here.

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series - Musical Or Comedy

Marcia Cross – Desperate Housewives (ABC)

America Ferrera – Ugly Betty (ABC)

Felicity Huffman – Desperate Housewives (ABC)

Julia Louis-Dreyfus – The New Adventures Of Old Christine (CBS)

Mary-Louise Parker – Weeds (SHOWTIME)

Seen: None.

My Picks: Flying blind here. I’ll go with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, if only because she got the Emmy.

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Musical Or Comedy

Alec Baldwin – 30 Rock (NBC)

Zach Braff – Scrubs (NBC)

Steve Carell – The Office (NBC)

Jason Lee – My Name Is Earl (NBC)

Tony Shalhoub – Monk (USA)

Seen: 30 Rock, Scrubs, Office.

My Pick: Alec Baldwin was the best thing on this other “backstage on a variety show” series, though that’s not saying too much. Still, crazy Alec Baldwin is different enough from the rest of his competition, I think. Unless Tony Shalhoub gets more kudos, which is entirely possible.

Best Mini-Series Or Motion Picture Made for Television

Bleak House (PBS)
Masterpiece Theatre/BBC/WGBH Boston/Deep Indigo; PBS

Broken Trail (AMC)
Butchers Run Films/Once Upon a Time Films/Sony Pictures Television; AMC

Elizabeth I (HBO)
Company Pictures/channel 4/HBO Films; HBO

Mrs. Harris (HBO)
Killer Films/Number 9 Films/John Wells Productions/HBO Films; HBO

Prime Suspect: The Final Act (PBS)
Masterpiece Theatre/Granada/WGBH Boston; PBS

Seen: none.

My Pick: Purely guessing here, but based on Helen Mirren’s press (cause she’s having a great year), I’ll go with Elizabeth I.

Best Performance by an Actress In A Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Gillian Anderson – Bleak House (PBS)

Annette Bening – Mrs. Harris (HBO)

Helen Mirren – Elizabeth I (HBO)

Helen Mirren – Prime Suspect: The Final Act (PBS)

Sophie Okonedo – Tsunami, The Aftermath (HBO)

Seen: None.

My Picks: Helen Mirren, cause she is the person everyone loves this year. Probably for Elizabeth I, but does it really matter?

Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

André Braugher – Thief (FOX)

Robert Duvall – Broken Trail (AMC)

Michael Ealy – Sleeper Cell: American Terror (SHOWTIME)

Chiwetel Ejiofor – Tsunami, The Aftermath (HBO)

Ben Kingsley – Mrs. Harris (HBO)

Bill Nighy – Gideon's Daughter (BBC)

Matthew Perry – The Ron Clark Story (TNT)

Seen: None

My Picks: My gut says Matthew Perry, to counteract the lack of notice for Studio 60. I could also say Nighy, because he’s always awesome.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Emily Blunt – Gideon's Daughter (BBC)

Toni Collette – Tsunami, The Aftermath (HBO)

Katherine Heigl – Grey's Anatomy (ABC)

Sarah Paulson – Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip (NBC)

Elizabeth Perkins – Weeds (SHOWTIME)

Seen: Grey’s, Studio 60.

My Picks: How Paulson can get a nod without Perry or Whitford getting anything, I just don’t get, but still, she is one of the other reasons the show is so great. Give it to her.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Thomas Haden Church – Broken Trail (AMC)

Jeremy Irons – Elizabeth I (HBO)

Justin Kirk – Weeds (SHOWTIME)

Masi Oka – Heroes (NBC)

Jeremy Piven – Entourage (HBO)

Seen: Heroes.

My Pick: Masi Oka, hands down. Hiro Nakamura is one of the most fun characters on TV in awhile, and he’s apparently a complete 180 from Oka in everyday life. Good for him.

There. I’ve been productive on here (sort of). Lots of reviews forthcoming at some point (I hope)… we’ll see how that goes. In the meantime, take care, and head over to HBS/EFC to see people who actually do keep plugging away.