GOLDEN GLOBE NOMINATION PREDICTIONS 2015!

Forever the Oscar's foreign cousin that's always getting into trouble, the Golden Globe nominations are coming out on the 10th! Naturally all of the nominees waited until the fall to come out (and some on here haven't even been released). But here's a stab in the dark at a show so wildly unpredictable that Big Eyes, a movie about a man cheating his wife out of her life's work, was submitted as a comedy. Last year I got nearly 40 out of the 55 picks correct. Let's see how accurate I am after being consumed with my first sophomore semester of college.

DRAMA

FILM: (So out of what I've predicted, two films have really seemed to put a gleam in critic's eyes: Spotlight and Carol. I would put my money on the former come Oscar time, but the race is still fairly young. I think Spotlight resonates with critics because of the journalistic aspect, even if some don't want to admit that bias. The Martian was a huge surprise for me to see it pop up so often on top 10 lists. After Birdman everything Innaritu touches is gold, and Spielberg is Spielberg. Martian could be swapped out with The Hateful Eight or maybe even Mad Max if they're feeling bold).

• Spotlight
• Carol
• Bridge of Spies
• The Revenant
• The Martian

Don't cry Leo, you might get your Oscar soon!

ACTOR: (After being the butt of the joke, this seriously could be Leo's year to finally grab the Oscar, and maybe it'll shut everyone up! I would hate for the Academy to give it to him as a consolation prize for Wolf of Wall Street or What's Eating Gilbert Grape. But from the buzz I've heard this might be highly warranted. The rest of this category is predictable: people playing real people and Matt Damon. Never count out Matt Damon). 

• Eddie Redmayne- The Danish Girl
• Michael Fassbender- Steve Jobs
• Leonardo DiCaprio- The Revenant
• Johnny Depp- Black Mass
• Matt Damon- The Martian

ACTRESS: (The biggest gamble here is obviously Theron as Furiosa, but it's been hailed as one of 2015's best performances. She easily slips the attention away from her titular co-star, and though it's looking like this is Larson's year to win, don't count her out). 

• Charlize Theron- Mad Max: Fury Road
• Cate Blanchett- Carol
• Brie Larson- Room
• Emily Blunt- Sicario
• Saoirse Ronan- Brooklyn

COMEDY/MUSICAL

FILM: (I think it can be agreed it's been a weak year for comedy; and musicals I guess, but they're a dying silver screen breed anyway. Mortdecai. Get Hard. Unfinished Business. I had to Google 2015 comedies to remind myself those things existed. So I'm banking the globes are going to cheat. Spy and Trainwreck are raw comedies. SOC and Love and Mercy are musical biopics, and Joy is technically at least part comedy on IMDb. I'd go with Trainwreck for the fun surprise win, Joy for the safe bet). 

• Trainwreck
• Straight Outta Compton
• Joy
• Spy
• Love and Mercy

ACTOR: (This is a terrible list. I'm so sorry. Hader is the only safe-ish bet, and I heard great things about Statham's self deprecating performance. The rest are just blind darts being thrown, resting on the fact that the Globes like to award seasoned actors with underwhelming projects, and that John Cusack got solid reviews as Beach Boy Brian Wilson. But it's Paul Dano, who will either be here or in the supporting slot, who's gotten the serious Oscar buzz). 

Could I really get a nomination?

• Bill Hader- Trainwreck
• Robert De Niro- The Intern
• John Cusack- Love and Mercy
• Robert Redford- A Walk in the Woods
• Jason Statham- Spy

ACTRESS: (Another flurry of blind darts. Since the summer Danner has been a viable candidate for an Oscar nomination, Time just named her the best performance of the year in the little indie. Lawrence will likely take this home as she has two other Globes, but expect Schumer as the dark horse. And. If the apocalypse hits, and the world is in rubble, chaos roaming the streets, just know...that if Meryl Streep is in a movie...somewhere...somehow...she will be nominated). 

• Amy Schumer- Trainwreck
• Jennifer Lawrence- Joy
• Meryl Streep- Ricki and the Flash
• Blythe Danner- I'll See You in My Dreams
• Lily Tomlin- Grandma

EVERYTHING ELSE

SUPPORTING ACTOR: (I've only seen the first Rocky movie, but I'm so ecstatic to see Sly getting so much momentum for a role that has not only defined his career but the action-underdog genre itself. I'm going to wait to marathon the Rocky movies before I see Creed, because I'm a completist, but I wish him the best. The Spotlight boys are going to crowd this category, along with Mark Rylance's breakthrough film role). 

• Sylvester Stallone- Creed
• Mark Rylance- Bridge of Spies
• Michael Keaton- Spotlight
• Mark Ruffalo- Spotlight
• Paul Dano- Love and Mercy

SUPPORTING ACTRESS: (Banks' Pitch Perfect 2 isn't going to be in here, so expect to see her lovely post-Effie self at the ceremony for her lauded role in Love and Mercy. Alicia Vikander has been positively dominating this year. If this were a just world, she would be up here for Ex Machina. But The Danish Girl is 100% Oscar bait, and her performance won't go unnoticed. Leigh is the underdog here, and she's been scooping up a few critic's awards to build some heat for herself).

• Elizabeth Banks- Love and Mercy
• Alicia Vikander- The Danish Girl
• Kate Winslet- Steve Jobs
• Rooney Mara- Carol
• Jennifer Jason Leigh- The Hateful Eight

DIRECTOR: (If they snub Fury Road for dramatic film, at least give respect to septuagenarian George Miller who crafted a near perfect action film. The rest are veterans and safe bets: my money is going with McCarthy, who has been doing great indie film work since 2003). 

• George Miller- Mad Max: Fury Road
• Tom McCarthy- Spotlight
• Todd Haynes- Carol
• Ridley Scott- The Martian
• Steven Spielberg- Bridge of Spies

SCREENPLAY: (Spotlight is also the safe bet here. It's no-frills screenplay has been getting so much attention. Additionally, never doubt the power Tarantino, Sorkin or the Coen brothers). 

• Spotlight
• The Hateful Eight
• Steve Jobs
• Bridge of Spies
• Carol

ANIMATED FILM: (Cars and Monsters, Inc. are the only Pixar films that have ever lost a Best Animation Oscar when nominated; blame Happy Feet and Shrek respectively. Pixar always steamrolls its competition, and if you asked me this summer, there was no doubt in my mind Inside Out would win this category, and I'm set that it'll be up for Best Picture as well. But if anyone can halt Pixar's domination it's Charlie Kaufman, and his stop motion existential film (what a sentence) Anomolisa, which looks incredible, and I can't wait to see it after being wowed by Kaufman with John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine. I think both have a solid chance at Best Picture, and eagerly await which one will come out on top at the Globes. Additionally, the Globes like to nominate movies that maybe haven't gotten stellar reviews, and I think both Pixar's offerings will be present). 

• Inside Out
• Shaun the Sheep Movie
• The Peanuts Movie
• Anomolisa
• The Good Dinosaur