Golden Globe Predictions

This Sunday, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association will present the Golden Globes to the best films and TV shows of the past year. Roughly six weeks before the Oscars, this weekend will provide a preliminary assessment of 2010 before we reach the grand finale of the awards season. Alex Goodman, the Daily Bruin’s Film/TV editor, made his own predictions about how the Foreign Press might divide up the trophies.

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Movies

Best Director ““ Motion Picture

David Fincher should win for “The Social Network” ““ he created the most distinctive and precise vision of any director in 2010. He could lose out to Darren Aronofsky, though, who created a daring and disturbing world of artistic perfection and paranoia in “Black Swan.”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture ““ Drama

Halle Berry, Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Lawrence and Michelle Williams all played intense, grittily realistic characters, but this is Natalie Portman’s year. She’s been gathering attention as an intelligent, serious actress for some time now, and “Black Swan” is her haunting showcase.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture ““ Comedy or Musical

They might as well just call this category the Best Performance by Johnny Depp; he’s nominated for both “Alice In Wonderland” and “The Tourist,” neither of them well-received, and neither of them a comedy. But his competition is underwhelming, and the Foreign Press wants to give him an award, so he’ll win for “Alice,” the lesser of two unfunny evils.

Best Motion Picture ““ Drama

“The Social Network” would be my own pick, but it’s faded from a lot of memories after the influx of big-time movies at the end of December. It’s also a very America-centric film. “The King’s Speech” could have more international appeal, and the performances of Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush might be enough to take the top award.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture ““ Drama

Jesse Eisenberg made a bold and impressive statement as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in “The Social Network,” but Colin Firth’s performance as the stuttering King George VI is more obviously impressive and inspiring.

Best Foreign Language Film

This category could come down to a face-off between two actors well-known to American audiences: Javier Bardem in Alejandro González Iñárritu’s “Biutiful,” from Mexico and Spain, and Tilda Swinton in Luca Guadagnino’s “I Am Love,” from Italy.

Best Motion Picture ““ Comedy or Musical

“Burlesque,” an actual musical, should technically win this category, because none of the other nominees really qualify as comedies. “The Kids Are All Right” comes a lot closer than the spy flicks “Red” and “The Tourist,” though, and benefits from a lack of Cher.

Best Original Song ““ Motion Picture

If “Burlesque” is good for anything, it’s as a showcase for Christina Aguilera’s astonishing voice, but it could split the vote between “Bound To You” and “You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me.” That could open the door for “Coming Home” from “Country Strong,” itself a showcase for Gwyneth Paltrow’s solid vocals.

Best Screenplay ““ Motion Picture

Add this to the list of awards that should go to “The Social Network.” Aaron Sorkin’s rapid-fire, hyper-intellectual dialogue is as outstanding as David Fincher’s direction, and they are both more impressive considering how well their two very different styles worked together.

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

“The King’s Speech” was impressive mainly for the acting of Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush, and the Foreign Press certainly could put them both onstage. But Christian Bale is a serious contender as well. Like Amy Adams, he contributed a huge, abrasive supporting personality to “The Fighter.”

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

Amy Adams shocked a lot of people with her brash and aggressive turn as Charlene in “The Fighter.” She’ll take this one home for proving she can turn off the cutesy charm and turn on the attitude.

Best Original Score ““ Motion Picture

Any of these nominees could potentially walk away with a statue: Alexandre Desplat, Danny Elfman, A. R. Rahman and Hans Zimmer are all well-established powerhouses in the world of movie music. Trent Reznor is the odd one out, and his dark score with Atticus Ross for “The Social Network” could be a surprise winner.

Best Animated Feature Film

This might be the strongest overall category in this year’s Golden Globes. “Despicable Me,” “How To Train Your Dragon” and “Tangled” were all audience favorites, and “The Illusionist” made quite an impression on critics. But there is simply no beating Pixar, and “Toy Story 3″ is yet another masterpiece.

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Television

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series ““ Drama

Replacing Bill Paxton of “Big Love” and Simon Baker of “The Mentalist” from last year’s list of nominees with Steve Buscemi in “Boardwalk Empire” and Bryan Cranston in “Breaking Bad” makes this a thoroughly stacked category. The Foreign Press will likely want to make up for snubbing Cranston last year.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series ““ Drama

Julianna Margulies will likely win again for “The Good Wife,” which appeared atop many top 10 lists, though it’s nice to see Piper Perabo nominated for the more lighthearted “Covert Affairs.”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series ““ Comedy or Musical

“The Big Bang Theory” has become one of the most-watched television shows in the country, and most of the credit can be handed to Jim Parsons for making a one-of-a-kind supernerd out of theoretical physicist Sheldon Cooper. The Foreign Press might as well hand him the statue.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series ““ Comedy or Musical

There’s a good chance the Foreign Press will give the series award to “Glee” and save the acting trophy for Laura Linney in “The Big C.” Her show is television’s equivalent of “The King’s Speech,” a less-than-perfect overall production elevated by stellar lead acting.

Best Television Series ““ Comedy or Musical

“Glee” won this category in 2010, and it’ll be even harder to beat this year, considering its second season made it a fairly ubiquitous pop culture phenomenon. “The Big C” has received positive attention for carefully mixing comedy with tragedy, but it lacks the cultural impact to usurp the throne.

Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made For Television

HBO could very well be fighting with itself for this award. “Temple Grandin” and “You Don’t Know Jack” both garnered praise for their unusual biographies and for strong starring roles by Claire Danes and Al Pacino. “The Pacific” is a more ambitious affair, though, with none other than Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg at the helm.

Best Television Series ““ Drama

“Mad Men” won last year, and it could certainly repeat this weekend, but it has strong new competition in “Boardwalk Empire,” a similarly expensive and meticulously produced period show with an all-star production team that includes Terence Winter of “The Sopranos” and Martin Scorsese.