SITTIN’ PRETTY
3 flicks poised to romp at Golden Globes – maybe
THE GOLDEN Globes, the year’s first major award show, airs tonight — and will be filled with as much drama as the TV programs and movies nominated.
“La La Land,” “Moonlight” and “Manchester by the Sea” enter Sunday as the overwhelming favorites to dominate the Golden Globes.
But remember, these are the Globes — a traditionally off-thewall event dictated by Hollywood Foreign Press Association voters who insist on rubbing elbows with TV and movie stars at cocktail parties and luncheons before they ever cast their ballots. Thus, anything can happen. Here are the most intriguing storylines heading into the 74th annual Golden Globes:
Will Jimmy Fallon address the country’s political unrest?
Fallon, who famously mussed Donald Trump’s famous hairdo during a friendly September campaign appearance on Fallon’s “Tonight Show,” promises that the president-elect will not be spared from his jokes.
“The whole night won’t focus on that, but it will be a week before the inauguration, so it will be on everyone’s mind,” Fallon told the Hollywood Reporter.
“It’s the first and maybe the last party that we’ll have in 2017.”
Fallon is known for his softball questioning and buddy-buddy approach with guests, but the host of the Globes — thanks in large part to four-time emcee Ricky Gervais — is now widely expected to poke fun at audience members and current events for the sake of a laugh.
Will Casey Affleck’s checkered past impact his Best Actor chances?
Affleck’s dazzling performance in “Manchester by the Sea” proved to be something of a double-edged sword, as his newfound stardom renewed attention on a pair of sexual harassment lawsuits against him that were ultimately settled.
It remains to be seen how this off-screen drama will affect Affleck’s chances for individual honors like Best Actor in a Drama, where he remains the favorite, but the Globes should offer an indication for how he’ll be perceived the rest of awards season.
Worth noting: Critically acclaimed slave drama “The Birth of the Nation” was ultimately overshadowed by a rape allegation against creator and star Nate Parker, and the film was blatantly omitted from most award show discussions.
Can anyone silence “La La Land”? Short answer: probably not. The feel-good, toe-tapping musical starring Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling leads all entries with seven nominations and boasts a very clear road to victory in the otherwise underwhelming Best Musical or Comedy field.
It should roll past other “contenders” in the category like “Deadpool” and “Florence Foster Jenkins” with ease. Anything else would be an upset for the ages.
The tighter races will come for Best Actress — where Stone is pitted against frontrunner Natalie Portman (“Jackie”) — and Best Actor, where Gosling would have to beat out the charming Ryan Reynolds (“Deadpool”), among others.
Who will win the heavyweight Best Drama division?
It’s difficult to anoint a favorite between “Moonlight” and “Manchester by the Sea” — arguably the finest two films of 2016.
Remove the other and either of these productions wins this category in a landslide. While fellow nominees “Lion” and “Hacksaw Ridge” earned welldeserved applause from critics, everyone else is merely playing for second.
Will fan-favorite TV shows “Stranger Things” and “Westworld” be loved by voters?
There’s little denying these two sci-fi thrillers were the buzziest television series of 2016, and both are up for multiple honors including Best Drama Series.
But both face steep competition in that division. “The Crown” is often floated as perhaps the leading candidate, while long-deserving “Game of Thrones” is somehow still searching for its first win in the category. Of all the night’s races, Best Drama Series probably features the most deserving contenders.