Culture

Oscars without the esteem

January 24, 2012
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“The Golden Globes are just like the Oscars, but without all that esteem,” Globes host Ricky Gervais quipped recently. Media pundits and movie buffs often treat the Globes and the Oscars as interchangeable, relegating the former to the role of secondary ceremony whose primary purpose is to help predict Oscar triumph.

But the joke may well be on them. Because—and thank goodness for this—on closer inspection, the Globes are actually not a very reliable oracle. The Academy may still have some curveballs still to throw, when it announces Oscar nominations later today.

Over the last decade the two ceremonies have agreed on Best Picture just three times: A Beautiful Mind, The Return of the King, Slumdog Millionaire. Last year, the Globes awarded The Social Network Best Picture, only for it to be snubbed by The Academy six weeks later. It won just three of its eight Oscar nominations—and none of the “main” categories—while The King's Speech stole the show.

The greatest impact of the Globes is its ability to narrow the race. Quirky comedy The Descendants, which won the Best Drama Globe, is now generally considered to be the biggest threat to The Artist, which won Best Comedy/Musical, despite being less conventional award fare than a film like The Help. Meanwhile, Michael Fassbender and Ryan Gosling, both considered the rising stars of 2011, appear to have been pushed out of what is now a two-horse race between George Clooney and Jean Dujardin for Best Actor.

So what does all this mean for this year: is all lost for the underdogs? Luckily not. Many films' campaigners redouble their efforts following a Globes snub. Last year's True Grit, which didn't receive any Globes attention, went on to get ten Oscar nominations.

It just goes to show that, while we are all busy deciphering the Globes, sometimes the The Academy likes to surprise us. And I for one would love to see Brit flick Tinker Tailor Solider Spy getting a bit more attention across the pond. And The Help a little bit less.