Los Angeles (AFP)

The announcement of the Golden Globe nominations gives the signal for the start of the awards season in Hollywood on Wednesday, shaken up this year by the coronavirus pandemic and the postponement of many big productions.

The lack of sizes in this very particular edition could make the game of feature films produced by video-on-demand platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Apple, which many are among the favorites.

The Golden Globes are among the most coveted awards in American cinema: they are a major indicator of films and actors with good chances of winning an Oscar.

But the Covid-19 has muddied the forecasts this time, causing the postponement of many events, including the Oscars which will be held this year at the end of April.

Voting this year on behalf of streaming content producers, Netflix's "The Chicago Seven", director Aaron Sorkin's very current take on the police violence and the trial that followed the Vietnam War protests in Chicago in 1968, should find its place in the nominations for the Golden Globes.

David Fincher's "Mank", which explores the golden age of Hollywood and Orson Welles' creation of the film "Citizen Kane", should also defend the colors of Netflix.

At Amazon Prime, we are betting on "One Night in Miami", an adaptation of a play that features the fictitious meeting between Mohamed Ali, Malcolm X and other African-American personalities fighting for the recognition of their rights, as well as on "Sound of Metal", the story of a rock drummer becoming deaf.

To counter these probable favorites, traditional studios line up "Nomadland", which won awards at the Venice and Toronto festivals and to which some experts already predict the Golden Globe for "best film".

This Disney-affiliated Searchlight production features Frances McDormand and a community of old nomadic idealists crisscrossing America in age-old vans.

"Most of the candidates seem to be rather intimate films, or at least which are suitable for viewing at home," said Chris Beachum, expert at the Gold Derby site, specializing in cinematographic awards.

“Moreover, many big-show films - like a James Bond or a Marvel film - have been postponed. They are not even in the race this year,” he notes.

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Awarded by some 90 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the Golden Globes, unlike other awards such as the Oscars, distinguish between "dramatic films" and "comedies".

In this last category, we should find Wednesday in the selection "Borat 2" as well as the musicals "The Prom" (Netflix) and "Hamilton" (Disney +).

Foreign films are also grouped into a separate category where Minari, which features an American family of Korean descent moving to the countryside, could experience the same success as "Parasite" last year.

As for the actors, the late Chadwick Boseman ("Black Panther") could be selected twice in the Netflix team, for his role in "The Blues of Ma Rainey" and "Da 5 Bloods", directed by Spike Lee.

Other probable heavyweights of this 78th edition, Anthony Hopkins, 83, for his role in "The Father", an adaptation of the play by Frenchman Florian Zeller, who also directed the film, and Gary Oldman for "Mank".

“And you also have Golden Globes jury favorite Tom Hanks” for “News of the World,” notes Chris Beachum, for whom it's “a really hot category” this year.

Viola Davis, who stars Boseman in "The Blues of Ma Rainey", is expected to be shortlisted for "Best Actress in a Dramatic Film", alongside Carey Mulligan for "Promising Young Woman", a feminist thriller on background from #MeToo, and Frances McDormand.

Sacha Baron Cohen ("Borat 2" and "The Chicago Seven") as well as Leslie Odom Jr ("One Night in Miami" and "Hamilton") could be selected in two categories.

Last year, the Globes jury had been strongly criticized for having totally snubbed the directors.

Chloe Zhao ("Nomadland") and Regina King ("One Night in Miami") should this time wash away the affront.

The awards will be presented on February 28, at a virtual ceremony from Beverly Hills, nearly two months behind the usual schedule but still before the votes for the selection to the Oscars have started.

© 2021 AFP