As Ricky Gervais brought the Golden Globes to a close last night — with yet another bit of self-promotion — I tallied my predictions for the night.
Half-right, half-wrong.
That’s about what I expected. The Hollywood Foreign Press is a bizarre bunch, and each year, their selections appear to be based on novelty more so than nuance.
The 2010 winner’s list is no exception.
Start at the top with Best Motion Picture, Drama. “Avatar” is clearly a box office sensation and a leap forward for animation, but most people will agree it’s not the complete package that deserves Best Picture. (Can you say recycled screenplay?)
And while I laughed my ass off at “The Hangover,” is it really the broad comedy that we choose to laud with trophies after years of ignoring the genre?
I too, along with Susan Downey, thought Matt Damon had Best Actor, Motion Picture, Comedy, sewn up for “The Informant!”. His performance — and his wig’s — deserved recognition in an exceptional film.
Robert Downey, Jr. is always a pleasure to watch, but “Sherlock Holmes” will not be remembered as one of his great films. Why recognize this performance? (But, give him the Globe for his speech, which was hilarious.)
The television Globe winners were less surprising, perhaps because the shows themselves are not prey to box office ebbs and flows. It’s all a matter of mind reading. Newbie or established player — which will the HFP pick?
Agree or disagree, I always feel like the Golden Globes are an opportunity to recognize — in the movie industry, that is — projects that won’t win the Academy Award. And that gives me comfort.
Perhaps some of my favorites will grace the stage a bit more come Oscar night.
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STICKY EGG PREDICTIONS
Legend:
Rotten Egg — where I went wrong
Golden Egg — where I got it right!
BEST MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA
Globe: Avatar
Rotten Egg: Up in the Air
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA
Golden Egg: Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA
Globe: Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
Rotten Egg: George Clooney, Up in the Air
BEST MOTION PICTURE, COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Globe: The Hangover
Rotten Egg: (500) Days of Summer
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE, COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Golden Egg: Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE, COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Globe: Robert Downey Jr., Sherlock Holmes
Rotten Egg: Matt Damon, The Informant!
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Golden Egg: Up
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Golden Egg: The White Ribbon (Germany)
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Globe: Mo’Nique, Precious
Rotten Egg: Penélope Cruz, Nine
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Golden Egg: Christopher, Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
BEST DIRECTOR
Globe: James Cameron, Avatar
Rotten Egg: Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
BEST SCREENPLAY
Globe: Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner
Up in the Air, Rotten Egg: Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Golden Egg: Michael Giacchino, Up
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
Golden Egg: “The Weary Kind,” Music & Lyrics by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett (Crazy Heart)
BEST TELEVISION SERIES, DRAMA
Globe: Mad Men
Rotten Egg: True Blood
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES, DRAMA
Globe: Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Rotten Egg: Anna Paquin, True Blood
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES, DRAMA
Globe: Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Rotten Egg: Bill Paxton, Big Love
BEST TELEVISION SERIES, COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Golden Egg: Glee
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES, COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Globe: Toni Collette, United States of Tara
Rotten Egg: Courteney Cox, Cougar Town
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES, COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Golden Egg: Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
BEST MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
:Globe Grey Gardens
Rotten Egg: Little Dorrit
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Globe: Drew Barrymore, Grey Gardens
Rotten Egg: Sigourney Weaver, Prayers for Bobby
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Golden Egg: Kevin Bacon, Taking Chance
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Golden Egg: Chloë Sevigny, Big Love
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Golden Egg: John Lithgow, Dexter
Snarktastic
Yesterday I was miffed at snarky comments on Twitter and Facebook made by NYC locals who were underwhelmed by Hurricane Irene.
I wasn’t the only one.
Neighbors in New Jersey, Connecticut and Vermont who are underwater and without power were quick to snark back at their lack of empathy.
The snark resurfaced last night in live tweets about the VMAs, one of the few awards shows I don’t watch (but probably should based on the comments).
‘Snark’ is simply the blending of ‘snide’ and ‘remark.’ I couldn’t find a date or person credited for the first mash-up of the word, but it’s a good one.
I did find lots of ‘snark’ derivations, which are brilliant in and of themselves. I know you’ll want to add a few of them to your vocab:
There are a lot more at UrbanDictionary.com. (Figured it would be snarky to not reveal my source.)
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