Hollywood’s elite head for the red carpet Sunday for the Golden Globes, the champagne-drenched launch of the entertainment industry’s awards season, with whimsical musical “La La Land” leading the race for statuettes.
Billed as the most raucous event in the showbiz calendar, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s annual prizegiving is a draw for filmmakers and actors looking to create some buzz ahead of February’s Academy Awards.
“The Globes are not as weighty as the Oscars. It’s a big party and their job, in my mind, is to try to predict the Oscars and also try to reward all the studios, spread the wealth,” said Chris Beachum, managing director of awards prediction website Gold Derby.
“It’s also to make sure that all the people that take care of them during the year are well taken care of when it comes to the awards.”
Leading the pack this year is Damien Chazelle’s “La La Land,” a nostalgic tribute to the Golden Age of Hollywood musicals that picked up seven nominations, including best comedy/musical and best actor and actress for its stars Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone.
“The reason people love the movie, I think, is that it feels fresh and immediate. It isn’t your typical pain-soaked emotionally exhausting Oscar contender,” said Sasha Stone, editor at awardsdaily.com.
“I think the two leads are charming and the music is magnificent.”
Barry Jenkins’s coming-of-age tale “Moonlight,” with six nominations including for the director and cast members Naomie Harris and Mahershala Ali, has been monopolizing attention on the drama side of the contest.
Another frontrunner is Kenneth Lonergan’s unflinching “Manchester by the Sea,” which earned the filmmaker nods for best directing and screenplay while Casey Affleck is a favorite for best actor and Michelle Williams vies for best supporting actress honors.
