Four years ago Golden Globes host Ricky Gervais turned his sharp tongue on voters of the awards show, ridiculing them for nominating the poorly reviewed Johnny Depp-Angelina Jolie action thriller The Tourist.
“I haven’t even seen The Tourist. Who has? It must be good because it’s nominated,” he deadpanned at the 2011 awards, his last as host.
Those kinds of missteps may be a thing of the past for the Globes’ organiser, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which has become a more respected arbiter in the Hollywood awards season, which kicks off with tomorrow’s Globes and ends with the Academy Awards on February 22.
“There was a period a few years ago where it seemed like the best thing for a movie in the Oscar race was to lose at the Golden Globes,” said Fandango’s chief correspondent and awards expert, Dave Karger.
Take the Coen Brothers thriller No Country for Old Men and Kathryn Bigelow’s war drama The Hurt Locker, both of which lost out on the Golden Globes best drama accolade but went on to win the Best Picture Oscar in 2007 and 2008, respectively.
This year, surreal showbiz satire Birdman leads the film nominees with seven nods in the comedy/musical film categories while coming-of-age tale Boyhood has five nominations in the drama film categories.
Both have been warmly received by critics, who have bestowed numerous awards on them already, and both are hotly tipped as Oscar front-runners when nominations are announced next week.
The Golden Globe is really your Oscar audition if you’re in the race
For the most part, this year’s Golden Globe nominees have echoed critical favourites, with Birdman star Michael Keaton expected to win for best actor in a comedy/musical, J.K. Simmons tipped for best supporting actor for Whiplash, and Patricia Arquette to take best supporting actress for Boyhood.
The Golden Globes are voted on by about 90 foreign journalists who are members of the HFPA, with no overlap in the voting bodies of the rest of the major Hollywood awards including the Oscars, which are voted on by members of the film industry.
“The Hollywood Foreign Press is very aware of the fact that they’ve been a punching bag to some highbrow critics over the years and I think they’re conscious of trying to change their perception,” Karger said.
In the last three years, Golden Globe winners appear to be extending their success to the Oscars.
“The Globes are famous for jaw-droppers and upsets that redefine the Oscar race,” said Tom O’Neil, founder of awards tracker Gold Derby.
Boyhood could be beaten by civil rights drama Selma or World War II biopic The Imitation Game, O’Neil said, and Jennifer Aniston could snatch best drama actress for Cake from overwhelming favourite Julianne Moore for Still Alice.
“The Golden Globe is really your Oscar audition if you’re in the race,” O’Neil said. “If a star gives the performance of their life up there at the podium, that can hand them the Oscar right there.”
Both Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto delivered stirring speeches when they won best actor and best supporting actor for Dallas Buyers Club at the Golden Globes last year that some have said helped lock in their subsequent Oscar wins.
In the television categories, the Golden Globes have earned a reputation as an early taste-maker, this year favouring shows on cable television and online steaming platforms over broadcast stalwarts.
If Netflix’s House of Cards wins best TV drama and Orange is the New Black or Amazon Studios’ Transparent wins best TV comedy, it would be a “watershed moment”, Karger said, defining a new era in television.
Key film nominations
Best drama
Boyhood; Foxcatcher; The Imitation Game; Selma; The Theory of Everything
Best comedy or musical
Birdman; The Grand Budapest Hotel;
Into the Woods; Pride; St Vincent
Best actor, drama
Steve Carell, Foxcatcher
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler
David Oyelowo, Selma
Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything
Best actress drama
Jennifer Aniston, Cake
Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon, Wild
Best actor, comedy or musical
Ralph Fiennes, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Michael Keaton, Birdman
Bill Murray, St Vincent
Joaquin Phoenix, Inherent Vice
Christoph Waltz, Big Eyes
Best actress, comedy or musical
Amy Adams, Big Eyes
Emily Blunt, Into the Woods
Helen Mirren, The Hundred-Foot Journey
Julianne Moore, Maps to the Stars
Quvenzhane Wallis, Annie
Best supporting actor
Robert Duvall, The Judge
Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
Edward Norton, Birdman
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
Best supporting actress
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Jessica Chastain, A Most Violent Year
Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game
Emma Stone, Birdman
Meryl Streep, Into the Woods
Best director
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Ava DuVernay, Selma
David Fincher, Gone Girl
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Birdman
Richard Linklater, Boyhood