Golden Globes sets up race between 'Grand Budapest Hotel,' 'Birdman' and 'Boyhood'

The 72nd Annual Golden Globes have finally added definition to a wide-open race for awards, even if the Hollywood Foreign Press Association doesn’t have any real sway on the Oscars. Still, the applause heard from actors, producers and directors at the party gave a sign of how much support they have for the winners.

While the television side of things certainly had more surprises than the movie awards, there were still a few to be had to keep things entertaining.

The Best Picture awards appear to set up a two-horse race, but there’s still a third movie in the mix. While Boyhood and The Grand Budapest Hotel took Best Picture Drama and Musical/Comedy respectfully, Birdman’s two wins prove that it is still a legit threat. Plus, one could assume that the HFPA thought Grand Budapest was just a better comedy than Birdman, not necessary the better film overall.

It was surprising to see Birdman win Best Screenplay. For some inexplicable reason, the HFPA doesn’t split the screenplay category between adapted and original, so this is the only time you’ll see Alejandro G. Inarritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris and Armando Bo’s Birdman script face off against Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl adaptation. This does made Birdman a legit contender for the original screenplay category at the Oscars.

The Best Actor race is now between Birdman’s Michael Keaton and The Theory of Everything’s Eddie Redmayne. The Oscars love a unique performance, and Redmayne’s role as Stephen Hawking certainly qualifies as that. Sadly, it’s starting to look like Benedict Cumberbatch’s performance in The Imitation Game wasn’t as “showy” as it needed to be for an award. Maybe a late second push from Harvey Weinstein could help, but this Golden Globe win gives Redmayne a boost.

Nothing changed on the Best Actress side. Julianne Moore’s win for Still Alice cements her status as Oscar frontrunner. Amy Adams won Best Actress - Musical/Comedy for Big Eyes, but she’s a long shot to even be nominated for an Oscar. Now that would be a surprise on Thursday.

The ceremony also cemented Oscar wins for J.K. Simmons and Patricia Arquette. While Simmons’ win for his Whiplash performance has already been set in stone, Arquette’s win for Boyhood makes her the frontrunner in Best Supporting Actress. Considering her long career, it’s time she gets her due. That’s the case for Simmons as well.

There were two stunning snubs. Somehow, The LEGO Movie lost Best Animated Feature to How To Train Your Dragon 2. Then, Selma was once again left without any major awards. The movie is in the middle of an awards season slump and while it was nice that Common and John Legend won for their song, the film’s lack of wins in other categories doesn’t help.

Lastly, Richard Linklater’s win for Boyhood as Best Director sets him up nicely for the Oscar. (Gravity’s Alfonso Cuaron won both the Golden Globe and Oscar last year.) And critical favorite Ida somehow lost Best Foreign Language film to Russia’s Leviathan.

Here’s the full Golden Globe winners list. The Oscar nominations are announced on Thursday.

image courtesy of Jennifer Graylock/INFphoto.com

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