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Gay cowboys set sights on Golden Globes glory
2006-01-15
American movie "Brokeback Mountain" poster |
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The gay cowboy movie "Brokeback Mountain" looks set to gallop to victory at Monday's Golden Globe Awards, a key Oscars predictor dominated this year by a duelling pack of independent films.Taiwanese director Ang Lee's daring tale of forbidden love goes into Hollywood's second most important honours armed with a leading seven nominations and appears poised to rope in the top awards of best drama and best actor in a drama for its leading man Heath Ledger, pundits said. But while the film is the early favourite in the race for the Academy Awards -- Oscar voters have until Saturday to pick their nominees -- Lee and his film still face massive competition from George Clooney's "Good Night, and Good Luck," the biopic "Capote" and the racial drama "Crash." "'Brokeback' seems a cinch to win best drama at the Globes, but the cliff-hanger is the best director's race," said Tom O'Neil, an awards expert and writer for the GoldDerby.com and the Los Angeles Times's TheEnvelope.com. "If Clooney wins there, or if 'Crash' wins the best screenplay award, that could be an ominous sign of 'Brokeback's' Oscars vulnerability," he told AFP. While "Brokeback" has so far dominated a quiver of award nominations, "Crash" and "Capote," a biopic about author Truman Capote, are seen as serious hopefuls for the Oscars when they are presented on March 5. Based on a short story by novelist Annie Proulx, "Brokeback" is the wrenching story of two macho cowboys who, despite themselves, begin a romance in 1963 and pursue it during stolen moments over the next two decades. Among its Globe nods are best supporting actress for Michelle Williams -- Ledger's on-screen wife and real-life fiancee -- and best director for Lee. Other contenders for best dramatic film are Woody Allen's "Match Point," conspiracy thriller "The Constant Gardener," "Good Night" and the psychological mob hit "A History of Violence." "Mrs Henderson Presents," about a racy London theatre; "Pride and Prejudice"; "The Producers"; the Johnny Cash story "Walk the Line"; and "The Squid and the Whale," the story of two children dealing with their parents' divorce, are vying for best comedy or musical, with "Walk the Line" widely tipped to win. Ledger faces stiff competition for the best actor in a drama trophy from Philip Seymour Hoffman for his acclaimed turn in the title role of "Capote." Also vying for the statuette are Russell Crowe for "Cinderella Man," Terrence Howard for "Hustle and Flow" and David Strathairn for "Good Night," Clooney's chronicle of newsman Ed Murrow's stand against the communist witchhunt of 1950s America. Felicity Huffman is favoured to snatch the best actress in a drama prize for her turn as a transsexual in "Transamerica" but must fend off Maria Bello for "A History of Violence," Gwyneth Paltrow for "Proof," Charlize Theron for "North Country" and China's Zhang Ziyi for "Memoirs of a Geisha." Reese Witherspoon is tipped by many experts to go home with the best actress in a musical or comedy award for her role as June Carter Cash in "Walk the Line," while Joaquin Phoenix was favoured to win the male equivalent for his role as Johnny Cash. But challenging Witherspoon are Keira Knightley for Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice," Judi Dench for "Mrs Henderson," Laura Linney for "The Squid," and Sarah Jessica Parker for "The Family Stone." Fighting Phoenix for best actor in a comedy or musical are former James Bond Pierce Brosnan for "The Matador," Jeff Daniels for "The Squid," Nathan Lane for "The Producers" and Irishman Cillian Murphy for "Breakfast on Pluto." Clooney also stands a chance of winning the best supporting actor award for the war drama "Syriana," if he beats out Matt Dillon for "Crash," Will Ferrell for "The Producers," Paul Giamatti for "Cinderella Man" and Bob Hoskins for "Mrs Henderson." The tightly fought best supporting actress race features Scarlett Johannson for "Match Point," veteran star Shirley MacLaine for "In Her Shoes," Frances McDormand for "North Country," Rachel Weisz for "Constant Gardener" and Williams for "Brokeback." Last year's big-budget blockbusters from major studios -- Peter Jackson's "King Kong," "Geisha" and Steven Spielberg's "Munich" -- were largely snubbed in the Globe nominations, losing out to a raft of small-budget independent films. But Jackson and Spielberg were both compensated with best director nods, along with Lee, Allen, Fernando Meirelles for "The Constant Gardener" and Clooney for "Good Night." The Globes will be handed out at a relaxed banquet-ceremony in Los Angeles's Beverly Hilton hotel starting at 5:00 pm Monday (0100 GMT Tuesday). AFP
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