Matthew McConaughey Rebels in Trailer for 'Free State of Jones'

An interesting, unique story from the Civil War is unearthed in this film by Gary Ross, coming out in May, about a Southern soldier who deserted the Confederacy and created his own little rebellion against the rebellion army. It's nice to remember that not all Southerners supported the Confederacy in the Civil War, even if they were in the minority.

2016 Predictions For Golden Globe Winners

Okay, so it's Golden Globe prediction time, and I'm going to warn you right now that this is a major crapshoot year. I'm not that great at Globe predicting in the best of circumstances, but since support for so many different films is scattered, and there aren't clear frontrunners in a lot of categories, it's really hard to say what the HFPA is going to do this year, especially since they normally like trying as hard as possible to predict the Oscars. That's hard when everything is up in the air. It actually gives them more power than usual as the first televised awards, to see whether people like watching their winners onstage or not, if it can work to start some real momentum for a winner. I may have to go old-school Globes predicting here for some things, since in lieu of clear frontrunners, they may actually revert back to gasp, what they really like. Which for years was always big stars and international productions, at least on the film side. So here it goes.

BEST FILM- DRAMA

  • Carol
  • Mad Max: Fury Road
  • The Revenant
  • Room
  • Spotlight

This one is actually not too hard, as I think it's Spotlight, no question. It's been the critics favorite and I actually don't see which of these other films would appeal to the Hollywood Foreign Press much anyway. Mad Max and The Revenant seem too dark and/or weird for them, Room too indie and Carol too cold. So Spotlight it is.

Winner: Spotlight

Alternate: Carol

BEST DRAMA ACTOR

  • Bryan Cranston, Trumbo
  • Leo Dicaprio, The Revenant
  • Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
  • Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl
  • Will Smith, Concussion

This one's easy too. Leo for his third. And this is probably where he kicks off his momentum to finally get that Oscar he's been wanting, but a lot of it's due to lack of clear favorite, since The Revenant isn't that popular of a movie. You know my personal pick is Fassbender, but I can't really imagine the HFPA going for anyone other than their beloved Leo here.

Winner: Leonardo Dicaprio

Alternate: Bryan Cranston

BEST DRAMA ACTRESS

  • Cate Blanchett, Carol
  • Brie Larson, Room
  • Rooney Mara, Carol
  • Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn
  • Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl

Logic would dictate Brie Larson, since they nominated Room and not Brooklyn in Best Picture. But I still think Saoirse has a real chance for this, since normally I would have thought of Brooklyn as a movie that would really appeal to the Globes voters, many of whom are immigrants themselves. But because of that Picture nom, I can't choose anyone besides Larson. But I think it's close and I wouldn't be surprised to see it go to Ronan. The Carol actresses probably cancel each other out.

Winner: Brie Larson

Alternate: Saoirse Ronan

BEST FILM- COMEDY/MUSICAL

  • The Big Short
  • Joy
  • The Martian
  • Spy
  • Trainwreck

I thought The Martian had this walking away, but the controversy over it being stuffed into Comedy by just one vote makes me think they'll give it to something else. Which would probably be The Big Short, as it's coming up strong in the Oscar race.

Winner: The Big Short

Alternate: The Martian

BEST ACTOR COMEDY

  • Christian Bale, The Big Short
  • Steve Carell, The Big Short
  • Matt Damon, The Martian
  • Al Pacino, Danny Collins
  • Mark Ruffalo, Infinitely Polar Bear

I think this is where they reward The Martian for sure, with Damon winning, since the Big Short guys will cancel each other out.

Winner: Matt Damon

Alternate: Steve Carell

BEST ACTRESS COMEDY

  • Jennifer Lawrence, Joy
  • Melissa McCarthy, Spy
  • Amy Schumer, Trainwreck
  • Maggie Smith, The Lady in the Van
  • Lily Tomlin, Grandma

The Globes love stars, but they did reward Jennifer Lawrence two years in a row, so I think they give it to Amy Schumer this time, whose movie was well received and she's so much of a "cool" thing right now.

Winner: Amy Schumer

Alternate: Jennifer Lawrence

Dark Horse: Maggie Smith (rumor has it she's actually attending the ceremony this year, and wouldn't the HFPA love to have her onstage?)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

  • Paul Dano, Love & Mercy
  • Idris Elba, Beasts of No Nation
  • Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
  • Michael Shannon, 99 Homes
  • Sylvester Stallone, Creed

My money's on Stallone here. They'll want to see him up on that stage along with the rest of the audience and the viewers. The ones who want to be taken seriously may go with Rylance, but I think Stallone would be too much of an old-school Globes kind of action to resist. Also, none of these guys' films made it into Picture here, which makes it a free for all.

Winner: Sly Stallone

Alternate: Mark Rylance

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

  • Jane Fonda, Youth
  • Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight
  • Helen Mirren, Trumbo
  • Alicia Vikander, Ex Machina
  • Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs

Well, everyone seems to think Alicia Vikander is the one to beat here, so I guess it's hers. I really don't have a preference for any of these actresses, so I'm just going to go with the majority, even though I really don't know what made that performance so great.

Winner: Alicia Vikander

Alternate: Jennifer Jason Leigh

BEST DIRECTOR

  • Todd Haynes, Carol
  • Alejandro Inarritu, The Revenant
  • Tom McCarthy, Spotlight
  • George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road
  • Ridley Scott, The Martian

This is kind of a tough one, but I think the Globes will go for Ridley Scott in this category. The Martian is well liked and he's an overdue veteran (although so's George Miller). But there's something nagging me that they could pick Inarritu here, since they actually snubbed him for Birdman last year, and it'd be kind of a makeup award. I'm torn.

Winner: Ridley Scott

Alternate: Alejandro Inarritu

Dark Horse: George Miller

BEST SCREENPLAY

  • Room
  • Spotlight
  • The Big Short
  • Steve Jobs
  • The Hateful Eight

I'm torn on this one too. They may want to give Tarantino something, since they like to spread the wealth, but Hateful Eight may be more likely to win in Score. When in doubt go with the Best Picture frontrunner, but I'm saying both Spotlight and The Big Short are going to win their categories, so...it's flip a coin time.

Winner: Spotlight

Alternate: The Big Short (I really think this is totally 50/50 here)

BEST SCORE

  • Carol
  • The Danish Girl
  • The Hateful Eight
  • Steve Jobs
  • The Revenant

Yeah, I think Ennio Moriccone takes it. That'll be The Hateful Eight's win.

Winner: The Hateful Eight

Alternate: Carol

BEST SONG

  • "Love Me Like You Do," Fifty Shades of Grey
  • "One Kind of Love," Love & Mercy
  • "See You Again," Furious 7
  • "Simple Song #3," Youth
  • "Writings on the Wall," Spectre

I'm starting to think this category needs to become obsolete, but nothing they choose here has any bearing on anything, so I'm guessing it's Brian Wilson. Has to be, right?

Winner: "One Kind of Love," Love & Mercy

Alternate: "See You Again," Furious 7

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

  • Anomalisa
  • The Good Dinosaur
  • Inside Out
  • The Peanuts Movie
  • Shaun the Sheep

Inside Out, no question. Easiest call of the night.

Winner: Inside Out

BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM

  • The Brand New Testament
  • The Club
  • The Fencer
  • Mustang
  • Son of Saul

They don't always match Oscar in this category, but this year Son of Saul has been pretty much sweeping all the awards for Foreign Film, so I assume they'll probably go along with that.

Winner: Son of Saul

Georgia Goes for 'Mad Max,' Ohio Likes 'Spotlight,' Benicio Del Toro

With all the industry news this week, it seems lame to still be reporting on the critics wins, but here we are with what I do believe are the last two stragglers in the bunch. 

GEORGIA FILM CRITICS

Nothing too interesting to see here, and I'm still holding out hope that Stallone lands that Oscar nom after his strong critics run, even if it seems like Rylance is now the one to beat in that category for sure. Snobby, snobby industry voters.

Best Picture
"Mad Max: Fury Road"

Best Director
"Mad Max: Fury Road" - George Miller

Best Actor
Leonardo DiCaprio ("The Revenant")

Best Actress
Brie Larson ("Room")

Best Supporting Actor
Sylvester Stallone ("Creed")

Best Supporting Actress
Alicia Vikander ("Ex Machina")

Best Original Screenplay
"Inside Out" - Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley

Best Adapted Screenplay
"The Big Short" - Charles Randolph, Adam McKay

Best Cinematography
"Mad Max: Fury Road" - John Seale

Best Production Design
"Mad Max: Fury Road" - Colin Gibson, Shira Hockman, Jacinta Leong

Best Original Score
"The Hateful Eight" - Ennio Morricone

Best Original Song
"See You Again" - DJ Frank E, Andrew Cedar, Charlie Puth, Wiz Khalifa ("Furious 7")

Best Ensemble
"Spotlight"

Best Foreign Film
"Son of Saul"

Breakthrough Award
Alicia Vikander ("Burnt," "The Danish Girl," "Ex Machina," "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.," "Testament of Youth")

Best Animated Film
"Inside Out"

Best Documentary
"Amy"

CENTRAL OHIO FILM CRITICS

Not much to note here either, except another win for Benicio Del Toro, who may be a late breaker in that category, after having landed a BAFTA nom today for Sicario. He is undoubtedly the best part of that movie, so I'm really crossing my fingers for that one too.

Best Film
01. SPOTLIGHT
02. INSIDE OUT
03. ROOM
04. MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
05. EX MACHINA
06. SICARIO
07. STAR WARS: EPISODE VII - THE FORCE AWAKENS
08. THE REVENANT
09. THE BIG SHORT
10. THE MARTIAN

Best Director
Tom McCarthy - SPOTLIGHT
Runner-up: George Miller - MAD MAX: FURY ROAD

Best Actor
Leonardo DiCaprio - THE REVENANT
Runner-up: Michael Fassbender - STEVE JOBS

Best Actress
Brie Larson - ROOM
Runners-up: Saoirse Ronan - BROOKLYN & Alicia Vikander -THE DANISH GIRL

Best Supporting Actor
Benicio Del Toro - SICARIO
Runner-up: Oscar Isaac -EX MACHINA

Best Supporting Actress
Alicia Vikander - EX MACHINA
Runner-up: Jennifer Jason Leigh -THE HATEFUL EIGHT

Best Ensemble
SPOTLIGHT
Runner-up: THE HATEFUL EIGHT

Actor of the Year (body of work)
Alicia Vikander
Runner-up: Domhnall Gleeson

Breakthrough Film Artist
Alicia Vikander
Runner-Up: Sean Baker

Best Cinematography 
THE REVENANT
Runner-up: MAD MAX: FURY ROAD

Best Film Editing
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
Runner-up: SICARIO

Best Adapted Screenplay
THE BIG SHORT
Runner-up: ROOM

Best Original Screenplay
SPOTLIGHT
Runner-up: INSIDE OUT

Best Score
THE HATEFUL EIGHT
Runner-up: MAD MAX: FURY ROAD

Best Documentary
THE LOOK OF SILENCE
Runner-up: AMY

Best Foreign Language Film
PHOENIX
Runner-up: WILD TALES

Best Animated Film
INSIDE OUT
Runner-up: ANOMALISA

Best Overlooked Film
THE TRIBE (PLEMYA)
Runner-up: THE GIFT

WGA and ASC Announce Nominees

So, the Writer's Guild announced their picks today, and this is always a weird one because there are SO many Oscar contenders every year that aren't eligible for this guild. For example, Room and Brooklyn weren't eligible for adapted, and Inside Out, The Hateful Eight and Ex Machina weren't in for original. So expect to see some of these swapped out at the Oscars, most likely Trainwreck and Trumbo, in my opinion.

WRITER'S GUILD

Original Screenplay

  • Bridge of Spies
  • Sicario
  • Straight Outta Compton
  • Trainwreck
  • Spotlight

Adapted Screenplay

  • The Big Short
  • Carol
  • The Martian
  • Steve Jobs
  • Trumbo

I think Inside Out will take the place of Trainwreck, and either Brooklyn or Room, or maybe both, will make into adapted in place of at least Trumbo. The next most vulnerable script is probably Carol if both make it. Hateful Eight hasn't been showing up at the guilds, so even though Tarantino is an Academy favorite, he may not make it there this time. Ex Machina is a question mark as well- if anything takes another spot it will kick out either Sicario or Compton, probably Sicario. Compton has now hit the WGA, PGA and SAG, and the last movie to do that and not make a BP nomination was Bridesmaids in 2011. But that was a raunchy comedy they never take seriously, and this being a musical biopic gives it more weight, so I do think it's in.

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CINEMATOGRAPHERS

The ASC is a small group that is actually one of the guilds most closely aligned with Oscar, so these nominees will probably match at least 4 for 5, if not all  of them.

  • Bridge of Spies
  • Carol
  • Mad Max: Fury Road
  • The Revenant
  • Sicario

It's nice to see Carol finally show up in the guilds today, even if the movie is still following Far From Heaven's trajectory exactly and doesn't bode all that well for AMPAS. People were expecting The Hateful Eight's stunning cinematography to show up here, and that could be the one that makes it in at the Oscars, in place of Bridge of Spies, perhaps. Although honestly, this could be the exact lineup in this category as well.