There are very few days left for the first big event of the 2023 awards season to take place; some Golden Globes that intend to recover the attention and prestige lost in recent years, full of scandals, criticism and rudeness by some relevant members of Hollywood such as Tom Cruise himself.
But we are not here to go back to making blood and airing once again the dirty laundry of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association —HFPA for friends—, but to review the nominations in the film categories and try to find out who will take the cat to the water in the next morning of January 10 to 11.
Best direction
The nominations for best director at the Satellite Awards and the Critics Choice received and the recognition received from the National Board of Review place Steven Spielberg as the great favorite of the night for ‘The Fabelmans’. Keep an eye on Martin McDonagh though, but if my heart had to choose, he’d go with the Daniels for ‘Everything At Once Everywhere’.
- James Cameron (‘Avatar: The Sense of Water’)
- Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (‘Everything at once everywhere’)
- Baz Luhrman (‘Elvis’)
- Martin McDonagh (‘Inisherin’s Banshees’)
- Steven Spielberg (‘The Fabelmans’)
Best screenplay
Script-wise, something tells me that the main battle is between the Daniels for ‘Everything at Once Everywhere’ and Martin McDonagh for ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’. If I had to take one of them, it would be the Daniels again, and in this case, I think they could ring the bell.
- Todd Field (‘Tar’)
- Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (‘Everything at once everywhere’)
- Martin McDonagh (‘Inisherin’s Banshees’)
- Sarah Polley (‘They Talk’)
- Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner (‘The Fabelmans’)
Best Supporting Actor
There is no doubt that one of the biggest claims -which are not few- of ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’ is found in its magnificent cast, and it is likely that the award for best supporting actor will end up in the hands of Brendan Gleeson. Let’s not lose sight of Brad Pitt for ‘Babylon’ and a Ke Huy Quan who could revolutionize the night.
- Brendan Gleeson (‘Inisherin’s Banshees’)
- Barry Keoghan (‘Inisherin’s Banshees’)
- Brad Pitt (‘Babylon’)
- Ke Huy Quan (‘Everything at once everywhere’)
- Eddie Redmayne (‘The Angel of Death’)
Best Supporting Actress
In the best supporting actress category, anything can happen. There is no doubt that Angela Bassett is one of the best that she has given ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ —it has a couple of overwhelming scenes, but something tells me that the thing will be between Kerry Condon and Dolly De Leon. It may be the latter who lifts the statuette.
- Angela Bassett (‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’)
- Kerry Condon (‘Inisherin’s Banshees’)
- Jamie Lee Curtis (‘Everything at once everywhere’)
- Dolly De Leon (‘ Sad Triangle ‘)
- Carey Mulligan (‘Uncovered’)
Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy
Even if I have to step over an Emma Thompson who is always to be feared, and as much as I enjoyed Anya Taylor-Joy’s performance in ‘The Menu’, there doesn’t seem to be any competition for Michelle Yeoh, who is capable of making you cry and, at the same time, of distributing blows like nobody else.
- Lesley Manville (‘Mrs Harris’s Trip to Paris’)
- Margot Robbie (‘Babylon’)
- Anya Taylor-Joy (‘The Menu’)
- Emma Thompson (‘Good Luck Big Leo’)
- Michelle Yeoh (‘Everything at Once Everywhere’)
Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy
I would love for Ralph Fiennes to take this recognition for his role in ‘The Menu’, not to mention a Daniel Craig who steals each of his scenes in ‘Stabs in the Back 2: The Mystery of the Glass Onion, but everything seems to indicate that it will be Colin Farrell who wins the Golden Globe.
- Diego Calva (‘Babylon’)
- Daniel Craig (‘Backstabbers 2: The Mystery of the Glass Onion’)
- Adam Drive (‘Background Noise’)
- Colin Farrell (‘Inisherin’s Banshees’)
- Ralph Fiennes (‘The Menu’)
Best Actor in a Drama
The battle is served in the category of best actor in drama, and the two contenders are none other than Austin Butler and Brendan Fraser. We’d need a crystal ball to see who’s going to take the fall, but something tells me the HFPA will go with Butler and his Elvis Presley, no matter how much Fraser deserves every accolade imaginable.
- Austin Butler (‘Elvis’)
- Brendan Fraser (‘The Whale’)
- Hugh Jackman (‘The Son’)
- Bill Nighy (‘Living’)
- Jeremy Pope (‘The Invention’)
Best Actress in Drama
There is no competition. Ana de Armas is immense in ‘Blonde’, and having Olivia Colman, Viola Davis and Michelle Williams in front of her is dizzying, but Cate Blanchett has practically done it.
- Cate Blanchett (‘Tar’)
- Olivia Colman (‘Empire of Light’)
- Viola Davis (‘The King Woman’)
- Ana de Armas (‘Blonde’)
- Michelle Williams (‘The Fabelmans’)
best soundtrack
Another category full of heavyweights in which it will be difficult to get it right. The main contest will probably be centered on Hildur Gudnadottir and Alexandre Desplat, and although both victories would seem correct to me, the person responsible for the scores of ‘Pinocchio by Guillermo del Toro’ may end up imposing himself.
- Carter Burwell for ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’
- Alexandre Desplat for ‘Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio’
- Hildur Gudnadottir for ‘They speak’
- Justin Hurwitz for ‘Babylon’
- John Williams for ‘The Fabelmans’
Best original song
I wish the HFPA would play revolution and award the Golden Globe for Best Original Song to “Naatu Naatu,” but with ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ only nominated in two categories, it’s more than likely Lady Gaga will lift the trophy.
- “Carolina” — Taylor Swift (‘Wild Girl’)
- “Ciao Papa” – Roeben Katz and Guillermo del Toro (‘Pinocchio’)
- “Hold My Hand” – Lady Gaga and BloodPop (‘Top Gun: Maverick’)
- “Lift Me Up” – Tems, Ludwig Goransson, Rihanna, Ryan Coogler (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)
- “Naatu Naatu” — Kala Bhairava, MM Keeravani, Rahul Sipligunj (RRR)
Best animated film
If there is justice, ‘Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio’ should be the big winner in this category. There is no need to say anything else, what Schuster would say.
- ‘Pinocchio by Guillermo del Toro’
- inu-oh’
- ‘Marcel the Shell with Shoes On’
- ‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish’
- ‘Grid’
Best Foreign Language Film
Another dizzying list of nominees. ‘All Quiet Front’ is one of the great films of 2022 and my favorite in this section, but with maestro Park and his ‘Decision To Leave’, the ‘RRR’ revolution, the Belgian bombshell ‘Close’ and ‘ Argentina, 1985’ among the candidates, anything can happen. I will let my heart guide me.
- ‘All quiet on the front’ (Germany)
- ‘Argentina, 1985’ (Argentina)
- ‘Close’ (Belgium, France, Netherlands)
- ‘Decision To Leave’ (South Korea)
- ‘RRR’ (India)
Best Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Do I want to win with all my might ‘All at once everywhere’? Yes. Is ‘Inisherin’s Banshees’ going to win? Too. Or at least I think so.
- ‘Babylon’
- ‘Inisherin’s Banshees’
- ‘Everything at once everywhere’
- ‘Backstabbers 2: The Mystery of the Glass Onion’
- ‘Triangle of sadness’
Best dramatic film
The HFPA already awarded the Golden Globe to the original ‘Avatar’, so I wouldn’t be at all surprised if they played it safe and stuck another statuette on ‘The Sense of Water’. Watch out for ‘Top Gun: Maverick’, which has been nominated for best picture at the Critcs Choice and Satellite, and has been chosen by the NBR as the best film of the year. Let’s go with Maverick.
- ‘Avatar: The Sense of Water’
- ‘Elvis’
- ‘The Fabelmans’
- ‘tar’
- ‘Top Gun: Maverick’
