Hollywood a-glitter with award ceremonies

LOS ANGELES: The Hollywood award season moves into high gear this week.

With Oscar nominations today, the Golden Globes ceremony in Beverly Hills on Sunday, and the annual People’s Choice and Critics Choice shows wedged in last night and tonight, stars, pundits and fans have an embarrassment of movie riches to savour.

The already busy awards schedule has taken on a new look this year with Oscar nominations being announced before the annual Golden Globes ceremony.

Pete Hammond, awards columnist for entertainment website Deadline.com, said: “I think the Academy gets very frustrated that by the time you get to the Oscars in February, there have been so many awards shows and speeches, some of the lustre is taken off. This is a way of stealing the attention back.”

Six movies and a handful of actors are commanding the buzz in this week’s races, the results of which will narrow the field for Oscar glory on February 24.

Zero Dark Thirty, Kathryn Bigelow’s controversial thriller about the decade-long hunt for Osama bin Laden, Iran hostage drama Argo, epic musical Les Miserables, presidential drama Lincoln, Quentin Tarantino’s violent slavery Western Django Unchained and quirky comedy Silver Linings Playbook are all expected to get Oscar nominations this morning.

All six films are also in the running to take home a Golden Globe on Sunday in a race pundits call too close to call – in all but one category.

The one sure bet is that British-born Daniel Day-Lewis will win the Golden Globe for his quiet but powerful performance as US President Abraham Lincoln – and probably the Oscar next month, awards watchers said.