While the 2020 Golden Globes ceremony has been met with an entirely mixed reception from fans and critics, the awards themselves threw up some shocks, surprises, and eye roll worthy expected results. But what do the winners of the film categories mean for the Oscars and who we can expect to see scoop the top prizes at the industry’s biggest awards in March? Well the Golden Globes are very different to the Academy Awards in both structure and voting panels. The Globes are voted for exclusively by the HFPA, or the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a group comprised of journalists and photographers who report exclusively on the entertainment industry. The Oscars on the other hand are voted for by members of the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences, a group of a people who work in the film industry. Members of the press, or those individuals who only work in the television industry are not invited to be members of the Academy and so have no vote on the Oscars. So, while it is possible that there may be some overlap in opinions between HFPA and Academy members, it is unlikely that we will see all of the same winners consistently across the duration of awards season as we did last night.
There tends to be some variance in winners across the various categories of the numerous awards shows in the season. For example, the Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAGS) differentiates itself from the other two awards shows by being voted for by actors, and actors only, and not having awards for best director, original or adapted screenplay, or music. As that actors chose their winners, can have differing opinions from the press, or those who are a part of the larger film industry. A prime example of this can be seen in last year’s Best Supporting Actress Category. Regina King swept the category in all but the SAG Awards, where she wasn’t even nominated, and the award instead went to Emily Blunt for A Quiet Place.
What we can take from last night’s acting results is that we now have clear front runners. The Globes split the lead actor and actress categories into two groups, drama and musical or comedy so one can assume that these are the names we will be seeing most frequently this season. If anyone can touch Joaquin Phoenix in the Best Actor category, though this is unlikely, it is Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy winner Taron Egerton. If we’re to go off of last nights results it would seem that the lead actress race is now between Renée Zellweger and Awkwafina, but its definitely too early in the season to rule out Scarlett Johansson, who gives a remarkable performance in Marriage Story. The Supporting actors and actress categories are always more open. Laura Dern and Brad Pitt scooped the respective awards last night, but don’t be surprised if they’re not on the podium come Oscars night. Outsiders who did not receive a Golden Globe nomination but could still feature in the Oscar race include Little Women’s Florence Pugh, Scarlett Johansson for JoJo Rabbit, and Rocketman’s Jamie Bell.
Best Director Award Winner Sam Mendes seems unlikely to continue a winning streak, except maybe for at the BAFTAs which always favors British talent. In recent years, the Academy has seemingly aimed to acknowledge as many films as possible. This means that it is unlikely that the same film will take home the Best Picture, Best Director and writing prizes. Because of this, you could see a film like Knives Out sneak the Best Original Screenplay award, as a means of acknowledgement for the creation of a great film, without giving it the industry’s top prize. This year’s Best Picture race is as open as ever, with war films like 1917, biopics like Rocketman and Once Upon A Time…. In Hollywood (which isn’t a true biopic of course but falls into this category), and formulaic dramas like Marriage Story (yes hello we see you Kramer v Kramer remake) are favorites to take the prize. This year’s possible nominees would be a great chance for the Academy to choose an unexpected winner, but it is unlikely that this will be the case. Whilst at this stage it appears too early to call, you can rest adored it will ultimately be one if those four films.
Commentaires