Subplots abound at awards show
Ladies and gentlemen, the Golden Globes: The awards show where the wine flows like couture gowns, and the voters keep us scratching our heads. What will happen this year? It probably won’t be more insane than last year’s best-picture mix-up at the Oscars, but Sunday night’s show does promise some potentially significant moments. What to watch for:
Meyers’ monologue
Has any host ever had more material to work with for an awards show? Meyers has already confirmed that the post-Harvey Weinstein era will lead to many topics, and there’s always President Donald Trump.
Political acceptance speeches
At the 2017 Golden Globes, when Meryl Streep accepted the Cecil B. DeMille Award and called out Trump for mocking a disabled reporter, Trump shot back in a tweet calling her “overrated.” In the year since, even more trophywinning celebrities have used their stage time to criticize Trump or his policies.
Oprah’s big moment
The media mogul will be taking home this year’s Cecil B. DeMille Award, which means she’ll have a platform to say whatever she likes. Maybe she’ll get political. Or maybe she’ll go old-school and award everyone in the audience a car (although this might not be the mostappreciative crowd for that). Or maybe she’ll announces her candidacy for 2020, beating Dwayne Johnson to the punch.
Red carpet protests
Some actresses are planning a “silent protest” of sexual misconduct in Hollywood by wearing all-black gowns on the red carpet through awards season. As for the guys, most of them are in black tuxedos anyway.
McDormand’s facial expressions
In 2015, the Oscar winner was up for a Golden Globe for the HBO miniseries “Olive Kitteredge.” She didn’t win, and when the camera panned to her, she looked like she’d rather be anywhere else. The meme from that look earned her comparisons to yet another viral celeb: Grumpy Cat. If McDormand wins this year for “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” will she crack a smile?
Heavyweight showdown
The film drama categories are pretty deadlocked between Steven Spielberg’s fast-tracked historic drama, “The Post,” which is up for six awards, and Guillermo del Toro’s adult fairy tale, “The Shape of Water,” with seven noms. Maybe the front-runners will cancel each other out and make room for “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.”
Female domination?
For best drama, Hulu’s gripping dystopia in “The Handmaid’s Tale” is up against Netflix’s “The Crown” and “Stranger Things,” along with NBC’s “This Is Us” and HBO’s “Game of Thrones.” Meanwhile, in the best TV movie or limited series category, HBO’s addicting, starstudded “Big Little Lies” is up against FX’s “Fargo” and “Feud: Bette and Joan,” in addition to USA’s “The Sinner” and Sundance’s “Top of the Lake: China Girl.” Dark horses such as “The Crown” and “Feud” could spoil the party.
The new “it” TV star
This year, 25-year-old British actor Freddie Highmore is practically a shoo-in for best actor in a drama, as he’s led ABC’s “The Good Doctor” to become the most-popular freshman broadcast show of the season.
Ghost of Kevin Spacey
“All the Money in the World,” Ridley Scott’s drama about the kidnapping of billionaire J. Paul Getty’s grandson, has gotten major buzz because, in the 11th hour, Scott recast the role of Getty. The film was nearly completed with Kevin Spacey in the part, but after Spacey was accused of sexual misconduct with minors, the director decided to reshoot the scenes using Christopher Plummer. Now, Plummer is up for best supporting actor.
Franco’s histrionics
If Franco can win best actor in a comedy, for “Get Out,” he’ll have a speech to deliver. And if he has a speech to deliver, there’s a good chance he’s going to do something strange. Considering he’s nominated for going method in “The Disaster Artist” to play the eccentric Tommy Wiseau, the odds seem good that he might do his thank-yous in character.
First-time winners
A lot of people who seem as though they already have Golden Globes don’t — but they have a chance to change that Sunday. McDormand’s five previous Globe nominations never yielded an award. Allison Janney has a bookcase full of Emmys — for “The West Wing” and “Mom” — but the Hollywood Foreign Press Association hasn’t ever showed her the same admiration. Likewise, “Will & Grace” is up for multiple awards after failing to ever win during its original run. After 29 nominations, it might be time.