Pop-Culturalist.com

The awards season has officially begun! Tune in this Sunday, January 8th, at 8:00 p.m. EST to catch the Golden Globes. True, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA)’s Globes award both television and film productions. But, they’re also a great indication of who might take home Oscars next month. So check out our film predictions to know what to watch for on Sunday night.

Best Picture – Drama

What will win: Manchester by the Sea

The Globes are a popularity contest in ways some of the other awards aren’t – have a memorable storyline and a few movie stars, and you’re guaranteed to be a shoe-in for a globe. This is basically a two-film race: Moonlight and Manchester by the Sea. Manchester by the Sea – a film produced by Matt Damon and starring Casey Affleck and Michelle Williams – will probably edge past lower profile Moonlight to take home the night’s biggest award.

Best Picture – Comedy or Musical

What will win: La La Land

La La Land is one of this year’s prestige pictures that both audiences and critics adore with equal passion. Moreover, it’s a rare musical in a category that only includes one every few years or so. If anything is for sure, it’s that this gem of a picture (we loved it, by the way) will take home one of the night’s biggest prizes.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama

Who will win: Natalie Portman, Jackie

If you doubt Natalie Portman’s acting abilities, then you must have skipped her darkly brilliant turn in Black Swan, a performance that previously won her a Golden Globe and an Oscar. Her role as Jackie Kennedy during the assassination of President John F. Kennedy showcases her star power. This award is hers to lose.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama

Who will win: Denzel Washington, Fences

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the HFPA loves movie stars. And Denzel Washington is a star who has proven yet again that he is one of Hollywood’s most astonishing talents. Washington not only starred in this film; he also directed it, and the HFPA is likely to reward him for that. His performance on stage earned Washington a Tony Award in 2010, so it’s likely it will net him a Globe, too.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy

Who will win: Emma Stone, La La Land

Emma Stone is virtually a shoe-in for this award, especially since Annette Bening and Meryl Streep will probably split the “prestige actress” vote.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Comedy

Who will win: Ryan Gosling, La La Land

Gosling is quite simply the man to beat. His turn in La La Land is effortlessly cool, understated, and memorable.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture

Who will win: Viola Davis, Fences

Viola Davis – whose work on both film and television has been consistently excellent – is a frontrunner for this award. She gives her all and then some in this adaptation of an August Wilson classic. Michelle Williams has a good chance of taking the award, too, but Davis has the momentum.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture

Who will win: Mahershala Ali, Moonlight

Mahershala Ali has all the momentum right now, so it will be a surprise if he doesn’t walk home with the award at the end of the night.

Best Director – Motion Picture

Who will win: Damien Chazelle, La La Land

Everyone has been buzzing about Damien Chazelle’s La La Land, and his directorial vision has been praised repeatedly. For making a popular film that also happens to pay tribute to Hollywood musicals, Chazelle is a sure thing for Best Director.

Best Screenplay – Motion Picture

Who will win: Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea

If La La Land is poised to dominate many of the acting and directing categories, then expect Manchester by the Sea to get recognition in this category.

Best Motion Picture – Animated

What will win: Zootopia

An adorable film about animals in an urban utopia that is also politically timely – what’s not to love? (It was one of our favorite movies of 2016, after all!)

Best Motion Picture – Foreign Language

What will win: Elle

This French film stars Isabelle Huppert, who is also nominated for Best Actress – Drama. She won’t win Best Actress, but the HFPA’s nomination of Huppert hints at how much they love this film.

Best Original Score – Motion Picture

Who will win: Justin Hurwitz, La La Land

If you couldn’t tell by now, La La Land is the film of the moment. So it should come as no surprise that Hurwitz’s complex and jazzy compositions will take the Best Original Score award.

Best Original Song – Motion Picture

What will win: “How Far I’ll Go,” Lin-Manuel Miranda for Moana

This is one music category that La La Land *might* not win. Why? Because two of the songs are nominated, and that just might split the vote. In the event that happens, expect Broadway baby Lin-Manuel Miranda to emerge as the victor for his work in Disney’s Moana. Miranda is quite simply the golden boy of the moment as he still rides his Hamilton high – it is likely that the Globes will want to join the Cool Kids Club by lavishing him with their own award and helping him on his journey to become an EGOT member.

Photo Credit: Hollywood Foreign Press Association/GoldenGlobes.com