The Edge of the Frame

Same deal as Thursday. I’ll give my winner predictions as well as an alternate. Some of these are going to be pretty predictable. Others Just seem like they’re predictable. There’s bound to be one or two surprises, here. I would expect a very close dogfight in Best Director, with Hazanavicius, Scorsese and Allen all with decent shot at the gold. I also believe that the award for Best Actress (Drama) will largely determine the trajectory of that category for the rest of the year. If Viola Davis is able to overtake Meryl Streep on the veteran’s home turf, expect things to go in her favor from here on out.

It will be interesting to see how much the HFPA’s star-fucking tendencies will be in check, tonight. I think everyone, this year, is expecting them to keep a grip on themselves, for the most part. However, one big question looms: will they snub “A Separation” (a film that has pretty much unanimously been labeled the year’s finest film, foreign or otherwise) for the sole chance of giving a statue to Angelina Jolie. How can they possibly resist?

It shouldn’t be a big secret that I despise the Globes. True that they did do all right by me last year by giving four awards to “The Social Network.” Yet, in that same year, all ninety members of the Hollywood Foreign Press accepted bribes to be flown to Vegas for a live performance by Cher, in exchange for voting “Burlesque” in for a Best Picture nomination. Therefore, I expect plenty of whoring to happen this year, as well.

Or, who knows? Maybe awarding such an outstanding film, last year, caused them to turn over a new leaf. On the whole, their slate of nominees has shown a bit more class and taste than in years’ previous.

The best thing about tonight’s awards is not the HFPA’s winners, but NBC’s coverage of it. One must give credit to NBC for going against the celebrity-loving critics’ wishes and bringing back Ricky Gervais to host the ceremony. I mean come on. If we’re going to watch a three hour event of how cool they are, the least celebrities can do for us is take a little kick in the ass for our amusement. Hopefully, Gervais will be wearing a steel-toed boot. Should be a hoot.

And now, The Edge of the Frame’s picks. My winner predictions are highlighted in bold, while my runners-up are underlined.

BEST PICTURE: DRAMA
“The Descendants”
“The Help”
“Hugo”
“The Ides of March”
“Moneyball”
“War Horse”

BEST PICTURE: MUSICAL/COMEDY
“The Artist”
“Bridesmaids”
“50/50″
“Midnight in Paris”
“My Week With Marilyn”

BEST DIRECTOR
Woody Allen – “Midnight in Paris”
Michel Hazanavicius – “The Artist”
Alexander Payne – “The Descendants”
Martin Scorsese – “Hugo”
George Clooney – “The Ides of March”

BEST ACTOR: DRAMA
George Clooney – “The Descendants”
Leonardo DiCaprio – “J. Edgar”
Michael Fassbender – “Shame”
Ryan Gosling – “The Ides of March”
Brad Pitt – “Moneyball”

BEST ACTOR: MUSICAL/COMEDY
Jean Dujardin – “The Artist”
Brendan Gleeson – “The Guard”
Joseph Gordon-Levitt – “50/50″
Ryan Gosling – “Crazy, Stupid, Love.”
Owen Wilson – “Midnight in Paris”

BEST ACTRESS: DRAMA
Glenn Close – “Albert Nobbs”
Viola Davis – “The Help”
Rooney Mara – “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”
Meryl Streep – “The Iron Lady”
Tilda Swinton – “We Need to Talk About Kevin”

BEST ACTRESS: MUSICAL/COMEDY
Jodie Foster – “Carnage”
Kristen Wiig – “Bridesmaids”
Charlize Theron – “Young Adult”
Michelle Williams – “My Week With Marilyn”
Kate Winslet – “Carnage”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Kenneth Branagh – “My Week With Marilyn”
Albert Brooks – “Drive”
Jonah Hill – “Moneyball”
Viggo Mortensen – “A Dangerous Method”
Christopher Plummer – “Beginners”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Berenice Bejo – “The Artist”
Jessica Chastain – “The Help”
Janet McTeer – “Albert Nobbs”
Octavia Spencer – “The Help”
Shailene Woodley – “The Descendants”

BEST SCREENPLAY
Michel Hazanavicius – “The Artist”
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash – “The Descendants”
George Clooney – Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon, “The Ides of March”
Woody Allen – “Midnight in Paris”
Aaron Sorkin and Steven Zaillian – “Moneyball”

BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM
“The Flowers of War”
“In the Land of Blood and Honey”
“The Kid With a Bike”
“A Separation”
“The Skin I Live In”

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
“The Adventures of Tintin”
“Arthur Christmas”
“Cars 2″
“Puss in Boots”
“Rango”

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Ludovic Bource – “The Artist”
Trent Reznor and Attivus Ross – “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”
Howard Shore – “Hugo”
John Williams – “War Horse”
Abel Korzeniowski – “W.E.”

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“Lay Your Head Down” – “Albert Nobbs”
“Hello Hello” – “Gnomeo and Juliet”
“The Living Proof” – “The Help”
“The Keeper” – “Machine Gun Preacher”
“Masterpiece” – “W.E.”