|
Globe nominations offer Oscar sneak peek
2006-12-14
Everyone looks to the Golden Globes to help sort out the Academy Awards picture. Yet this year, the Globes have a stronger purpose on their own, honoring an especially memorable lineup of comic film achievements that the Oscars tend to ignore. Nominations were to be announced early Thursday for the 64th annual Globes, honoring film and television for 2006. Unlike the Oscars, which focus on heavy-duty drama, the Globes feature best picture, actor and actress prizes in two categories: drama and musical or comedy. The Globes may honor such acclaimed serious films as Martin Scorsese's mob saga "The Departed," the Sept. 11 dramas "United 93" and "World Trade Center," and Clint Eastwood's World War II films "Letters From Iwo Jima" and "Flags of Our Fathers." But the year also brought a notable crop of terrific comedy performances that may not get a fair shake alongside their dramatic cousins when Oscar nominations come out Jan. 23. Among the comic highlights that could grab attention at the Globes: • The entire cast of the road-trip tale "Little Miss Sunshine": Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette, Steve Carell, Alan Arkin, Paul Dano and Abigail Breslin. • Will Ferrell, Emma Thompson and Dustin Hoffman in the literary comedy "Stranger Than Fiction." • The Oscar spoof "For Your Consideration," led by a grand performance from Catherine O'Hara. • Meryl Streep as the ultimate boss from hell in the fashion-industry satire "The Devil Wears Prada." Some of those actors could find themselves up against cast members from "Dreamgirls," the Motown-era musical that could emerge as the front-runner for the Globes' best musical or comedy category. Supporting performers Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Hudson were the strongest contenders. On the dramatic side, Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II in "The Queen" and Forest Whitaker as Idi Amin in "The Last King of Scotland" are considered the favorites. The Globes are presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a group of about 90 people who write about the film industry for overseas media. Some critics question the validity of the Globes, saying the group has many part-time journalists and reporters who write for obscure outlets. But the Globes have long stood as the second-biggest Hollywood honors after the Oscars. Academy Awards contenders can solidify their prospects with a win at the Globes, which serve as solid forecasts for how the Oscars might play out. All four winners of the 2005 acting Oscars -- Reese Witherspoon, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rachel Weisz and George Clooney -- preceded their wins with triumphs at the Globes. Golden Globe winners will be announced Jan. 15, eight days before Oscar nominations. The Oscars will be presented Feb. 25. The Globes feature 13 categories for film and 11 for television. Warren Beatty will receive the Globes' Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement. ___ On the Net: http://www.hfpa.org
| 
