It’s My Big Bold Golden Globe Nomination Predictions 2012!

The past week or so has been a whirlwind of activity in this year’s awards derby and tomorrow will continue that momentum with the announcement of this year’s Golden Globe nominees… Expect to see a lot of the names you’ve heard so far this season like Lincoln, Les Miserables, and Argo. However, you may see some big stars in the race as the Globes love them a star… Does that mean something as crazy as Tom Cruise (Rock of Ages) and Julia Roberts (Mirror Mirror) getting nominated for Lead Acting honors in the Musical or Comedy category? It might. I think more discerning minds will prevail, but we will see…. So, just who do I think will hear their name tomorrow morning? Check out my predictions in all the major categories (Film and Television) below and check back here tomorrow for the actual nominees!

My Big Bold 2012 Golden Globe Nomination Predictions~

FILM

Best Picture Drama:
Argo, Django Unchained, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Zero Dark Thirty
~ spoilers: The Impossible, Skyfall, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Best Picture Musical/Comedy:
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Les Miserables, Moonrise Kingdom, Quartet, Silver Linings Playbook
~Ted, The Perks of Being A Wallflower

Best Actor Drama:
Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln), Anthony Hopkins (Hitchcock), John Hawkes (The Sessions), Joaquin Phoenix (The Master), Denzel Washington (Flight)
~spoilers: Richard Gere (Arbitrage)

Best Actress Drama:
Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty), Marion Cotillard (Rust & Bone), Keira Knightley (Anna Karenina), Helen Mirren (Hitchcock), Naomi Watts (The Impossible)
~spoilers: Emmanuelle Riva (Amour), Quevanzhane Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild)

Best Actor Musical/Comedy:
Jack Black (Bernie), Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook), Hugh Jackman (Les Miserables), Tommy Lee Jones (Hope Springs), Bill Murray (Hyde Park on Hudson)
~spoilers: Logan Lerman (The Perks of Being a Wallflower), Paul Rudd (This is 40), Mark Wahlberg (Ted)

Best Actress Musical/Comedy:
Judi Dench (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel), Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook), Meryl Streep (Hope Springs), Barbra Streisand (The Guilt Trip), Maggie Smith (Quartet)
~ spoilers: Anna Kendrick (Pitch Perfect), Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Smashed), Leslie Mann (This is 40)

Best Supporting Actor:
Robert DeNiro (Silver Linings Playbook), Leonardo DiCaprio (Django Unchained), Phillip Seymour Hoffman (The Master), Tommy Lee Jones (Lincoln), Eddie Redmayne (Les Miserables)
~ spoilers: Alan Arkin (Argo), Matthew McConaughey (Magic Mike), Javier Bardem (Skyfall), Ewan MacGregor (The Impossible)

Best Supporting Actress:
Samantha Barks (Les Miserables), Sally Field (Lincoln), Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables), Helen Hunt (The Sessions), Maggie Smith (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel)
~spoilers: Amy Adams (The Master), Nicole Kidman (The Paperboy)

Best Director:
Ben Affleck (Argo), Kathryn Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty), Ang Lee (Life of Pi), Tom Hooper (Les Miserables), Steven Speilberg (Lincoln)
~Spoilers: Juan Antoino Bayona (The Impossible), David O’Russell (Silver Linings Playbook)

Best Screenplay:
Argo, Django Unchained, Lincoln, Moonrise Kingdom, Silver Linings Playbook
~spoilers: Zero Dark Thirty, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Flight

TV~

Drama Series:
Breaking Bad, Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones, Homeland, Mad Men, The Newsroom
~spoilers: Boardwalk Empire, Smash, Scandal

Comedy Series:
Episodes, Girls, New Girl, Modern Family, The New Normal, Veep
~spoilers: Parks & Recreation, The Big Bang Theory

Actor Drama Series:
Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey), Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad), Jeff Daniels (The Newsroom), Michael C. Hall (Dexter), Jon Hamm (Mad Men), Damian Lewis (Homeland)
~spoilers: Steve Buscemi (Boardwalk Empire), Johnny Lee Miller (Elementary)

Actress Drama Series:
Clare Danes (Homeland), Michelle Dockrey (Downton Abbey), Juliana Marguiles (The Good Wife), Emily Mortimer (The Newsroom), Kerry Washington (Scandal)
~spoilers: Glenn Close (Damages), Connie Britton(Nashville)

Actor Comedy Series:
Alec Baldwin (30 Rock), Louie C.K. (Louie), Matt LeBlanc (Episodes), Matthew Perry (Go On), Andrew Rannells (The New Normal), Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory)
~spoilers: David Duchovny (Californication), Johnny Galecki (The Big Bang Theory)

Actress Comedy Series:
Tina Fey (30 Rock), Zooey Deschanel (New Girl), Lena Dunham (Girls), Julia Louis Dreyfuss (Veep), Mindy Kailing (The Mindy Project), Amy Poehler (Parks & Recreation)
~spoilers: Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie), Laura Linney (The Big C)

TV Movie/Miniseries:
American Horror Story: Asylum, Game Change, Hemingway & Gelhorn, Political Animals, Sherlock
~spoilers: That Girl, Hatfields & McCoys

Actor TV Movie/Miniseries:
Kenneth Branaugh (Wallander), Benedict Cumberpatch (Sherlock), Kevin Costner (Hatfields & McCoys), Woody Harrelson (Game Change), Clive Owen (Hemingway & Gelhorn)
~spoilers: Toby Jones (That Girl), Bill Paxton (Hatfields & McCoys)

Actress TV Movie/Miniseries:
Nicole Kidman (Hemingway & Gelhorn), Jessica Lange (American Horror Story: Asylum), Sienna Miller (That Girl), Julianne Moore (Game Change), Sigourney Weaver (Political Animals)
~spoilers: Queen Latifah (Steel Magnolias)

Supporting Actor TV Movie/Miniseries/Drama or Comedy Series:
Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones), Max Greenfield (New Girl), Ed Harris (Game Change), Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad), Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family),
~ spoilers: Sam Waterston (The Newsroom), Ty Burrell (Modern Family), Mandy Patinkin (Homeland)

Supporting Actress TV Movie/Miniseries/Drama or Comedy Series:
Morena Baccarin (Homeland), Ellen Barkin (The New Normal), Ellen Burstyn (Political Animals), Maggie Smith (Downton Abbey), Sofia Vergara (Modern Family)
~spoilers: Julie Bowen (Modern Family), Anna Gunn (Breaking Bad), Debra Messing (Smash)

The Hunger Games are Too Much for the Titans and Julia at the Box Office

2012′s first massive smash film The Hunger Games rolled over the new competition taking in another $61 million for a huge two-week take of $251 million for the new franchise. It’s likely to hold up well throughout April til the summer blockbusters hit us the first week of May. This week Games took on the dreadful action sequel Wrath of the Titans and the family-centric comic take on the Snow White tale, Mirror Mirror starring Julia Roberts as the evil queen. Both opened decently, but will have a tough time making back their big production budgets. Titans took in $34 million which was about half of what its predecessor, Clash of the Titans, opened with while Mirror made off with just $19 million… Better news came for the romantic drama Salmon Fishing in the Yemen starring Ewan MacGregor and Emily Blunt which flew into the top ten in only 483 theaters and the new anti-bullying documentary Bully which had a massive $23,000 per screen average in limited release on 5 screens. (I highly recommend the latter film by the way)… For more on all the numbers, head to Box Office Mojo here and take a look at the new top ten below.

TW LW Title (click to view) Studio Weekend Gross % Change Theater Count / Change Average Total Gross Budget* Week #

1 1 The Hunger Games LGF $61,100,000 -59.9% 4,137 – $14,769 $251,033,000 $78 2
2 N Wrath of the Titans WB $34,200,000 – 3,545 – $9,647 $34,200,000 $150 1
3 N Mirror Mirror Rela. $19,000,000 – 3,603 – $5,273 $19,000,000 $85 1
4 2 21 Jump Street Sony $15,000,000 -26.7% 3,148 +27 $4,765 $93,100,000 $42 3
5 3 Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax Uni. $8,000,000 -39.3% 3,264 -413 $2,451 $189,600,000 $70 5
6 4 John Carter BV $2,005,000 -60.5% 2,397 -815 $836 $66,210,000 $250 4
7 16 Salmon Fishing in the Yemen CBS $1,274,000 +81.3% 483 +359 $2,638 $3,171,000 – 4
8 5 Act of Valor Rela. $1,006,000 -50.7% 1,239 -977 $812 $67,750,000 $12 6
9 6 A Thousand Words P/DW $915,000 -53.1% 1,007 -780 $909 $16,520,000 $40 4
10 10 Journey 2: The Mysterious Island WB $835,000 -38.5% 908 -432 $920 $98,480,000 $79 8

Transformers destroy Tom & Julia and the Box Office

It was a good holiday for Paramount Pictures and their wacky alien robots as Transformers: Dark of the Moon (hi, worst title ever) took in a record Independance Day gross of $116 million over four days. The film, which is a big loud ridiculous mess (I gave it a D+ grade), has now taken in a massive $181 million since Wednesday (including Tues midnight showings) and is easily on its way to become 2011′s top grosser thus far. (I think Harry Potter may have something to say about that in a couple weeks though….). Transformers is clearly a smash, but it’s running a bit behind that last film’s grosses. Nonetheless, audiences apparently enjoy mind numbing crap over boring unfunny crap as the new Tom Hanks/Julia Roberts dramedy, Larry Crowne, (I gave it a C- grade) tanked debuting in 4th place with just $15.7 million over the long weekend. It’s a sad number for two of the biggest stars from the past few decades. Hopefully their next collaboration will be a better film! Also, getting bad news was Monte Carlo, the new comedy from Selena Gomez which netted a paltry $8.7 million for 6th place… As for the rest of the top ten, Super 8 and Bridesmaids held up very well while Cars 2 and Bad Teacher fell the expected amounts. Check out the complete top ten below and for more on all the movie money grosses, head to BoxOfficeMojo here.

TW LW Title (click to view) Studio Weekend Gross % Change Theater Count / Change Average Total Gross Budget* Week #
1 N Transformers: Dark of the Moon P/DW $116,400,000 – 4,013 – $29,006 $181,125,000 $195 1
2 1 Cars 2 BV $32,072,000 -51.5% 4,115 – $7,794 $123,002,000 $200 2
3 2 Bad Teacher Sony $17,600,000 -44.3% 3,049 – $5,772 $63,045,000 $20 2
4 N Larry Crowne Uni. $15,742,000 – 2,973 – $5,295 $15,742,000 $30 1
5 4 Super 8 Par. $9,525,000 -20.8% 3,088 -336 $3,085 $110,061,000 $50 4
6 N Monte Carlo Fox $8,750,000 – 2,473 – $3,538 $8,750,000 $20 1
7 3 Green Lantern WB $7,985,000 -55.7% 3,280 -536 $2,434 $103,677,000 $200 3
8 5 Mr. Popper’s Penguins Fox $6,850,000 -32.5% 2,861 -481 $2,394 $51,875,000 $55 3
9 8 Bridesmaids Uni. $4,424,000 -15.9% 1,389 -642 $3,185 $153,798,000 $32.5 8
10 11 Midnight in Paris SPC $4,316,000 +3.5% 858 -93 $5,030 $34,516,000 $30 7

Julia and Tom Together Again

What happens when two of the biggest stars on the planet get together for a big summer comedy? Larry Crowne is what happens… It’s Universal’s big fourth of July release re-teaming Oscar winners Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts in a story about a grown man returning to college to reinvent himself after being fired from his job. The film looks funny, clever, charming and romantic and could give both stars a hit. Last time they worked together for the strong political comedy Charlie Wilson’s War, they both grabbed Golden Globe noms, and I’d bet they’re in for the same happy fate with this one. See for yourself when the film opens on July 1st and watch the new trailer below.

Larry Crowne trailer

Is Javier Bardem about to grab his 2nd Oscar?

Acclaimed actor Javier Bardem scared the bejeezus out of all of us in No Country for Old Men and grabbed an Oscar for his amazing performance in the film as well. Now, he looks like he may be grabbing a bookend Oscar for his new film Biutiful. The dramatic piece directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu (Babel, 21 Grams) tells the story of a man in free fall who senses death is on the horizon as he searches for redemption despite his tortured actions in his life while raising two daughters. It looks pretty great and he already won Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival in May. I have no doubt he’ll end up a contender for this year’s race alongside some other potential big names like Ryan Gosling (Blue Valentine), Jim Carrey (I Love You Phillip Morris), Leonardo DiCaprio (Inception), Colin Firth (The King’s Speech) and James Franco (127 Hours). In fact, Bardem is pretty much amazing in anything he’s in whether it’s charming the pants of Julia Roberts in Eat Pray Love, seducing Penelope Cruz (who’s now his wife!) in Vicky Christina Barcelona or breaking your heart in the tragic and tremendous The Sea Inside (hello he should’ve won an Oscar for that!) I highly recommend The Sea Inside and Before Night Falls for which he received his first Oscar nod. Take a look at the trailer below and let me know if you think Javier could grab another golden boy named Oscar.

Javier Bardem in Biutiful

The Expendables defeats the Vampires, Piranhas and Jennifer Aniston!

Sly Stallone knocked out Julia Roberts last weekend. This weekend he defeated several more foes as his comeback movie The Expendables topped the box office for a second week in a row knocking down vampires, piranhas, a nanny, Bow Wow and Jennifer Aniston, oh my! In a rather lackluster frame, Sly & co. took in another $16.5 million brining their total to a strong $ $64.8 million. Performing the best of the 5 new releases was the spoof comedy Vampires Suck which landed in second with $12.2 mill. Julia Roberts’ Eat Pray Love fell to third with while Bow Wow’s Lottery Ticket opened in fourth with a ho-hum $11.1 mill. Also grabbing middling grosses were the new horrorfest Piranha 3D with $10 mill and Jennifer Aniston’s latest bomb The Switch with $8.1 mill. The final new entry was Emma Thompson’s Nanny McPhee Returns which opened to a soft $8.3 million (just ahead of The Switch), but the film has already taken in over $65 million outside of the states. So, Universal doesn’t have to worry about that one too much. For all your box office need, head to BoxOfficeMojo.com and check out the top 10 below.

TW LW Title (click to view) Studio Weekend Gross % Change Theater Count / Change Average Total Gross Budget* Week #
1 1 The Expendables LGF $16,500,000 -52.6% 3,270 – $5,046 $64,890,000 $80 2
2 N Vampires Suck Fox $12,200,000 – 3,233 – $3,774 $18,564,000 $20 1
3 2 Eat Pray Love Sony $12,000,000 -48.1% 3,082 – $3,894 $47,100,000 $60 2
4 N Lottery Ticket WB $11,125,000 – 1,973 – $5,639 $11,125,000 $17 1
5 3 The Other Guys Sony $10,100,000 -42.0% 3,472 -179 $2,909 $88,190,000 $100 3
6 N Piranha 3D W/Dim. $10,035,000 – 2,470 – $4,063 $10,035,000 $24 1
7 N Nanny McPhee Returns Uni. $8,310,000 – 2,784 – $2,985 $8,310,000 $35 1
8 N The Switch Mira. $8,100,000 – 2,012 – $4,026 $8,100,000 – 1
9 4 Inception WB $7,655,000 -32.2% 2,401 -719 $3,188 $261,848,000 $160 6
10 5 Scott Pilgrim vs. the World Uni. $5,034,000 -52.6% 2,820 +2 $1,785 $20,730,000 $60 2

Move over Sandra, Julia Roberts is ready to reclaim her Box Office Crown

Throughout the 90′s and early 00′s, Julia Roberts was the undisputed female box office leader at the movies. With 12 of her films topping $100 million, Roberts was one of the few women who could “open” movies and remains one of the biggest stars in the world. After her Oscar win for Erin Brokovich, the hits weren’t as big with only the Oceans Eleven series topping the century mark. However, earlier this year, her ensemble comedy Valentine’s Day made $110 million and, if you ask me, she’s about to have another big hit with August’s Eat Pray Love. The film based on the best-selling novel costars Oscar winner Javier Bardem, Oscar nominees Richard Jenkins and Viola Davis and the enigmatic Golden Globe winner  James Franco as it follows Roberts character on a search for identity and meaning as she travels the globe. It will easily fill the late summer adult hit movie slot like fem-centric pics The Devil Wears Prada and last year’s Julie & Julia. The later starred renewed box office titan Meryl Streep who along with Sandra Bullock has usurped Roberts status as box office queens in Hollywood. Bullock had two gigantic films last year, The Proposal ($ 161 mill) and The Blindside ($ 255 mill) and is currently Hwood’s leading female movie star. But with Eat Pray Love, I think Julia will give her a run for the title yet again. The film has romance, comedy, drama, gorgeous locations and people and a wonderful message. It’s also directed by Glee mastermind Ryan Murphy, so that can only help. Heck, I’d say Julia might even be an Oscar contender with it. But enough from me, check out the new trailer for Eat Pray Love and let me know if you think Julia will be back on top when the film opens August 13.

Eat Pray Love

Is Hilary Swank Oscar bound again?

Hilary Swank has a great track record at the Oscars. She’s 2 for 2 for her performances in Boys Don’t Cry and Million Dollar Baby. Each time, the former 90210 star (yes she was fired after playing Steve’s girlfriend in the 90′s) was up against Annette Bening (for American Beauty and Being Julia respectively.) I say she deserved the award for Boys, but Bening should’ve won the second time around. Well, now they may be up for another battle at the Academy Awards as Swank’s new movie, Conviction (formerly titled Betty Ann Waters), has all the components of an Oscar pony. The film is a true story about a woman who defies the odds, pays her way through law school and takes on the 17 year-long case in order to prove her brother (Sam Rockwell) innocent of murder. It’s the perfect kind of strong-willed role in which Swank excels, and there’s no romance or comedy in sight to step her up. If Swank and the film live up to their hype, she could go head to head with Bening who’s receiving raves for her fantastic new film The Kids are Alright. Let’s also note that it is way too early to be predicting Oscar noms, especially when you have so many other ladies ready to battle later in the year including Robin Wright (The Conspirator), Michelle Williams (Blue Valentine), Helen Mirren (Love Ranch or The Tempest), Naomi Watts (Fair Game), Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone), Julianne Moore (also for The Kids are Alright), Julia Roberts (Eat Pray Love), Diane Lane (Secretariat) and Nicole Kidman (Rabbit Hole) to name just a few… I guess we’ll have to wait and see how the year turns out and whether we’ll get another Swank v. Bening showdown. In the meantime, check out the trailer for Swank’s Oscar hopeful, Conviction, below.

Conviction trailer:

Robin, Channing and Julia named among People’s 50 Most Beautiful!

It’s that time of year again… yes, the time when People Magazine names its list of the 50 most beautiful people in the world! Or more accurately, the 50 most beautiful people in the entertainment world! There are several of the usual suspects on the list again like Julia Roberts (the cover girl), Jake Gyllenhaal, Jennifer Aniston and J Lo, but there are also several new folks riding hot buzz that land in the issue. Among the first timers are Amanda Seyfried, Zoe Saldana, Robert Pattinson, Channing Tatum, Sofia Vergara, Zoe Saldana and Bradley Cooper. Tween singing sensation Justin Bieber also merited a mention somehow. I’m most excited that my favorite actress (after the glorious Meryl Streep) is included on the list, Miss Robin Wright. I’ve been a fan of this brilliant and stunningly never Oscar nominated actress going all the way back to her Emmy nominated role on the best soap in history, Santa Barbara. She’s been giving great and critically acclaimed performances for years in films like Forrest Gump (SAG & Golden Globe noms), The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, State of Play and She’s So Lovely (SAG nom). She may finally get in the Oscar race with this fall’s The Conspirator co-starring James MacAvoy and directed by Robert Redford. It tells the tale of Mary Surrat the only woman charged in the conspiracy to kill President Lincoln. Sounds like Awards bait to me… Check out the first set picture below and click here for more info on the film.

For more on People’s Most Beautiful and the full list, click here.

Robin Wright and James MacAvoy on set in The Conspirator