What The Golden Globes Tell Us About The 2016 Oscars

Last night the Golden Globes made such an impact that the next day the biggest news stories were Lady Gaga bumping into Leonardo DiCaprio and Leo hugging his good friend Kate Winslet.

Some awards were handed out too of course, but let’s be honest, that’s not what the Globes are really about. They do however give us some indication of how the awards season that will dominate Hollywood over the next month and a bit is currently shaping up.

So here’s what the 2016 Golden Globes could tell us about the running ahead of this year’s Baftas and, most importantly, ahead of the Academy Awards.

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The Revenant has momentum

Prior to the Globes no one film had significantly more momentum than any other. ‘The Revenant’s win in the Best Film (Drama) category, Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Best Director win and DiCaprio’s Best Actor prize however certainly give it some serious momentum.

The consensus appears to be that this is finally going to be DiCaprio’s year to snag an overdue Oscar, and that’s still the best chance the film has.

Iñárritu won the Best Picture and Director prizes at last year’s Oscars for ‘Birdman’, and that may well work against him, but momentum means a lot with the Oscars and if 'The Revenant’ can build on it anything is possible.

Leo’s chances have been boosted, but not by much

As mentioned, DiCaprio is certainly now the favourite, but he’s far from a lock. The Globes are more an indicator of momentum than who will actually win, whereas the Bafta winners list is more likely to bear a resemblance to that of the Academy.

So DiCaprio has some work to do. His march toward glory could easily be impeded by a big win for Eddie Redmayne at the Baftas (who certainly favour Brits) or Bryan Cranston for his terrific work in ‘Trumbo’.

Is The Martian also a contender?

Ridley Scott’s 'The Martian’ controversially won the Best Film (Comedy or Musical) prize despite not conventionally being either of those things. Most agree it was only put into the category, and Damon into the Best Actor (Comedy or Musical) category, so they could win something.

A win is still a win though, and will ensure people are still talking about the film’s chances. Could it make a push for Best Picture? Best Director? Could Damon even push DiCaprio in Best Actor? We certainly wouldn’t argue against any of those.

Is this Brie Larson’s year?

Cate Blanchett seemed a likely winner in the Best Actress (Drama) category, but she was beaten by rising star Brie Larson. It was a surprise, but few would disagree with it given her performance in 'Room’.

Everyone likes to see talented up-and-coming actors win the top prizes over the elder statesmen and stateswomen of Hollywood, especially at the Oscars with their notoriously old voters, so Larson would be a popular and refreshing winner.

Stallone’s stock has risen

This is where the Golden Globes’ reputation comes into play. Did Sylvester Stallone win purely because of his talent, or because he’s a Hollywood legend? Regardless, his win increases the likelihood of an Oscar nomination.

There he’ll likely meet similar competition to at the Globes. Mark Rylance, Idris Elba, Paul Dano, possibly Christian Bale or Steve Carrel (depending on how their roles in ‘The Big Short’ are judged). They all have a real chance, even after Stallone’s win.

His faux pas certainly wouldn’t have helped matters.

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