Here we are on the precipice. The critics have weighed in and now it’s time for the media-focused awards to take a spotlight ahead of the Oscar nominations on January 16. The Golden Globes are the oldest awards celebration other than the Oscars that has been televised. The Broadcast Critics and Screen Actors Guild programs have now joined the fray, but the Globes will always be the Granddaddies of the Precursors. As such, keen attention will be paid to their outcomes.

With the nominations largely void of questionable selections, the Globes have made a concerted effort to be less fanboy-ish and more Oscar prognosticating-ish. As such, the unusual winners may not be as evident this year as in previous years, but never count the Globe voters out when it comes to making odd choices. After the break, you will find our contributors’ predictions for this year’s Golden Globe Awards along with commentary. There are a lot of places we agree, but a lot we don’t, so enjoy the information. Our primary selections are highlighted in bold while the runners-up are listed in a normal font.

GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS

Best Picture, Drama

12 Years a Slave (Wesley, Peter, Tripp)
Captain Phillips
Gravity (RU:Wesley, RU:Peter, RU:Tripp)
Philomena
Rush

Wesley Lovell: This year’s category splits will ensure that only two key contenders emerge. It’s likely the two currently-discussed lead contenders for Best Picture at the Oscars are split between the drama and comedy categories, so expect both to win. 12 Years a Slave should have little trouble taking this prize, but if anyone else does, including Gravity, you can expect a lot of hubbub about 12 Years a Slave fading into also-ran position.
Peter J. Patrick: The message wins out over the technical splendor.
Tripp Burton: The Golden Globes tend to be early enough that they award the perceived December front-runner, which is how you have winners like Atonement, The Social Network or Avatar that weren’t able to hold on until Oscar time. This year, that should probably help 12 Years a Slave, but don’t discount Gravity, which plays better to an international audience (see Avatar).

Best Picture, Comedy/Musical

American Hustle (Wesley, Tripp)
Her (RU:Wesley, RU:Peter)
Inside Llewyn Davis (Peter)
Nebraska (RU:Tripp)
The Wolf of Wall Street

Wesley Lovell: American Hustle is the other film currently being discussed as a prime Best Picture contender, so it also needs to win here to be taken seriously. If it loses, then whatever wins the drama category will likely become the primary frontrunner. As for runner-up, that’s more difficult and I lean towards Her, which feels more international than the other efforts even though all five of these nominees are take place in the United States.
Peter J. Patrick: A close call, but the Coen’s look at the Greenwich Village folk scene seems likely.
Tripp Burton: American Hustle is the juggernaut right now, and should win this shockingly strong category pretty easily. Alexander Payne has won Best Picture twice here, though, so don’t forget about Nebraska looming in the background.

Best Picture, Animated

The Croods (RU:Peter)
Despicable Me 2 (RU:Wesley, RU:Tripp)
Frozen (Wesley, Peter, Tripp)

Wesley Lovell: Disney has no real competition here. The two primary competitors it would have faced at the Oscars aren’t nominated. Monsters University was surprisingly ignored and The Wind Rises was declared eligible in the foreign language category and Globe rules prohibit films from competing in more than one Best Picture category. Frozen walks away with the only guaranteed award of the night.
Peter J. Patrick: Disney animation plus music is virtually unbeatable.
Tripp Burton: Frozen looks like a lock in this category, but people do love those minions!

Best Director

Alfonso Cuaron – Gravity (Wesley, Peter, Tripp)
Paul Greengrass – Captain Phillips
Steve McQueen – 12 Years a Slave (RU:Wesley, RU:Peter)
Alexander Payne – Nebraska
David O. Russell – American Hustle (RU:Tripp)

Wesley Lovell: This is the only category that will be considered a bellwether for the Oscars. Alexander Payne didn’t make the DGA list, but the others did. On top of that, the three strongest Best Picture candidates are all nominated here. Still, Globe voters have shown a proclivity for recognizing international talents and that gives Alfonso Cuaron an edge. Since he and his film have few other possible awards to win while 12 Years a Slave and American Hustle have plenty, voters may choose to recognize the film here and in Best Original Score. If Steve McQueen or David O. Russell win, you know which one will win the associated Best Picture prize and that name will instantly move to the head of the pack as frontrunner.
Peter J. Patrick: Toss a coin on this one.
Tripp Burton: What could be the most competitive category of the night, where any of these five could find a way to the podium (remember Julian Schnabel won here in 2007). I think the edge right now goes to Alfonso Cuaron (again, James Cameron took this for Avatar), but don’t be surprised to see David O. Russell up there. Or Steve McQueen. Or Alexander Payne. Or Paul Greengrass.

Best Actor, Drama

Chiwetel Ejiofor – 12 Years a Slave (Peter, RU:Wesley, RU:Tripp)
Idris Elba – Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Tom Hanks – Captain Phillips
Matthew McConaughey – Dallas Buyers Club (Wesley, Tripp, RU:Peter)
Robert Redford – All Is Lost

Wesley Lovell: Part of me wants to say Chiwetel Ejiofor will win, but of the other nominees, Tom Hanks, Matthew McConaughey and Robert Redford are all much bigger stars and with Hanks and Redford already seeming like also-rans, I suspect McConaughey may take the prize, though Ejiofor winning would be built on strong love for his film.
Peter J. Patrick: A battle between two real-life characters, could go either way but Eijofor seems to have the edge.
Tripp Burton: I think this is going to be a season long battle between McConaughey and Ejiofor, but I give round one to the big movie star (this is the Globes, after all).

Best Actress, Drama

Cate Blanchett – Blue Jasmine (Wesley, Tripp, RU:Peter)
Sandra Bullock – Gravity (RU:Wesley)
Judi Dench – Philomena (Peter, RU:Tripp)
Emma Thompson – Saving Mr. Banks.
Kate Winslet – Labor Day

Wesley Lovell: The current leader for the Oscar should take an easy win here. Cate Blanchett is a big star overseas and while no one else is a slouch in that department, Globe voters like to go for clear frontrunners and she is it. If they go anywhere else and I think Bullock might be that choice, conversations will divert to Blanchett being vulnerable for the Oscar.
Peter J. Patrick: If Dench can’t win over Blanchett here, she likely won’t win the SAG or Oscar either.
Tripp Burton: Cate Blanchett is the front-runner in this category across the board, and with 2 Globes already should be the formative candidate here. The HFPA loved Philomena, though, and Dench hasn’t won a Globe since 1997.

Best Actor, Comedy/Musical

Christian Bale – American Hustle (Wesley)
Bruce Dern – Nebraska (Peter, Tripp, RU:Wesley)
Leonardo DiCaprio – The Wolf of Wall Street (RU:Tripp)
Oscar Isaac – Inside Llewyn Davis (RU:Peter)
Joaquin Phoenix – Her

Wesley Lovell: I want to predict someone else, but American Hustle has been buzzing hard lately and that may bolster Bale’s chances. Of course, there is a much bigger international star on this list and if the Globes revert to their old ways, DiCaprio could be the winner. However, Bruce Dern could also compete here since he’s the veteran of the competition. This is a very tight race (as our predictions indicate), so anything can happen.
Peter J. Patrick: Dern’s non-stop campaigning should prove effective here.
Tripp Burton: The Globes love a comeback, awarding people like Robert Downey Jr., Peter Fonda, Mickey Rourke and John Travolta over the years, so this year Bruce Dern has the best story.

Best Actress, Comedy/Musical

Amy Adams – American Hustle (Wesley, Peter, Tripp)
Julie Delpy – Before Midnight (RU:Wesley, RU:Peter)
Greta Gerwig – Frances Ha
Julia Louis-Dreyfus – Enough Said
Meryl Streep – August: Osage County (RU:Tripp)

Wesley Lovell: Three actresses from tiny independent films. One huge star whose film hasn’t been performing well. Then there’s Amy Adams who has the appeal Globe voters love to recognize. Ultimately, anyone could surprise, but this seems like one of the safer bets of the night and might be Adams’ only chance to pick up a prize.
Peter J. Patrick: Any one of the five nominees could win, but Adams has the most popular role.
Tripp Burton: Amy Adams is the only nominee here in a presumptive Best Picture contender, which is always a plus. Meryl Streep is the most likely Oscar nominee here, though, which helps her.

Best Supporting Actor

Barkhad Abdi – Captain Phillips
Daniel Bruhl – Rush (RU:Tripp)
Bradley Cooper – American Hustle
Michael Fassbender – 12 Years a Slave (Tripp, RU:Wesley, RU:Peter)
Jared Leto – Dallas Buyers Club (Wesley, Peter)

Wesley Lovell: It’s difficult to know where Globe voters will go with their change of direction, but Jared Leto would be a follow-the-pack kind of choice, but I wouldn’t put it past them to recognize Michael Fassbender. Of course, Daniel Bruhl and Bradley Cooper are also possible.
Peter J. Patrick: Leto’s charismatic turn seems more likely than Fassbender’s horrid villain.
Tripp Burton: This is another category where seemingly anything can happen. Fassbender has been Globe nominated before, and is seemingly “due” for some awards attention, while Jared Leto has taken the majority of the focus in the race so far. The Globes loved Rush, though, so Daniel Bruhl could be the chance to push that film into the conversation.

Best Supporting Actress

Sally Hawkins – Blue Jasmine
Jennifer Lawrence – American Hustle (Wesley, Tripp, RU:Peter)
Lupita Nyong’o – 12 Years a Slave (Peter, RU:Wesley, RU:Tripp)
Julia Roberts – August: Osage County
June Squibb – Nebraska

Wesley Lovell: Could Jennifer Lawrence win a second prize in a row? Probably. Everyone loves her and she’s become one of the biggest stars working today. This may be the best category to see how Globe voters have changed (or not). Lawrence seems an obvious choice for them, but awarding Lupita Nyong’o would show that they are wanting to go a new direction.
Peter J. Patrick: Nyong’o’s heartbreaking performance is the one to beat but unstoppable Lawrence is the one who could beat her.
Tripp Burton: This is Nyong’o’s first real chance to lay stake to the category she has been seemingly leading for months, but the Globes have no problem giving people it likes back-to-back awards, and they love Jennifer Lawrence.

Best Screenplay

12 Years a Slave (Peter, RU:Wesley)
American Hustle
Her (Wesley, Tripp, RU:Peter)
Nebraska
Philomena (RU:Tripp)

Wesley Lovell: This is another Oscar litmus test, but one which won’t mean much if it goes to something like Her, which is what I suspect. A win by either 12 Years a Slave or American Hustle could foretell bigger things during the night for that film.
Peter J. Patrick: A toss-up but more likely to go to a drama over comedy.
Tripp Burton: This is another category where I wouldn’t be surprised to see any of the nominees take the prize. Alexander Payne won this twice, but he is not the writer of Nebraska. Philomena has a lot of love from the HFPA, but the competition here is really tight. 12 Years a Slave and American Hustle both have the advantage of being carried along with their Best Picture votes, but that doesn’t always mean something for the Globes (where this award is used a lot as a consolation prize). I think in the end, this is their chance to award Her.

Best Original Score

All Is Lost (RU:Tripp)
The Book Thief
Gravity (Wesley, Tripp, RU:Peter)
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
12 Years a Slave (Peter, RU:Wesley)

Wesley Lovell: The Globe voters have always gone strange places with this award, frequently picking films with classical scores that don’t go anywhere with Oscar. That might foreshadow a Book Thief or Mandela win. However, two big Best Picture contenders are nominated and they are both strong contenders for Oscar nominations. I’m leaning towards the more noticeable Gravity score over the quieter, less noticeable 12 Years piece.
Peter J. Patrick: Not sure about this one, but a sweep for 12 Years is not out of the question.
Tripp Burton: This can be the hardest category to predict sometimes at the Golden Globes, where they are happy to award a score they like regardless of how much they liked the movie. That means that The Book Thief of Mandela could easily sneak in here. My guess is that this is a place where Gravity will hold strong.

Best Song

Atlas – The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Let It Go – Frozen (Wesley, RU:Peter)
Ordinary Love – Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (Tripp, RU:Wesley)
Please, Mr. Kennedy – Inside Llewyn Davis (Peter, RU:Tripp)
Sweeter Than Fiction – One Chance

Wesley Lovell: They could give the award to a major musical superstar, but “Let It Go” has been the song most people have discussed as being the likely Oscar winner, so I suspect Globe voters will endorse it, though “Atlas”, “Ordinary Love” and “Please, Mr. Kennedy” could also win.
Peter J. Patrick: It’s not Oscar eligible, but the catchy folk tune is a very strong contender.
Tripp Burton: The HFPA loves getting big music stars on their stage with this award, and this year that means you could see Coldplay, U2, Justin Timberlake or Taylor Swift accepting an award. I think that Ordinary Love is going to be the winner here (Mandela was nominated for a surprising 3 awards this year), but don’t discount Please, Mr. Kennedy and a chance to get Justin Timberlake some screen time (and stick it to the Oscars, who have deemed the song ineligible for a nomination).

Best Foreign Language Film

Blue Is the Warmest Color (Wesley, RU:Peter)
The Great Beauty (Peter, Tripp, RU:Wesley)
The Hunt
The Past (RU:Tripp)
The Wind Rises

Wesley Lovell: Globe voters don’t always like controversy and the most honored foreign language film of the year is definitely controversial. Will they give Blue Is the Warmest Color their prize or opt for something more obtuse and Oscar-capable? I think The Great Beauty could easily benefit, but so could The Hunt or The Past. Unfortunately, Hayao Miyazaki’s animated triumph isn’t likely to be the others to the trophy.
Peter J. Patrick: Could be either but more likely the Italian over the French this year.
Tripp Burton: The Great Beauty is the kind of critically acclaimed, luscious film that used to win this award all of the time. If Blue is the Warmest Color is a little too edgy for the HFPA, it should win easily here. Unless 2011 winner Asghar Farhadi is really loved by the voters and they want to endorse The Past.