The Hollywood awards season is set to kick off in earnest Thursday as the Hollywood Foreign Press Association announces its nominees for the coveted Golden Globe awards at the decidedly unglamorous hour of 5 am (1300 GMT), reported dpa.
The group that organizes the event has come in for widespread criticism in recent years. Critics note that it is made up of just 81 members, few of whom are recognized as leading journalists for the hundreds of foreign media outlets that cover the movie capital of the US. Other complaints focus on the enthusiasm with which HFPA members accept the perks, junkets and other inducements offered by the movie companies seeking the prizes.
But that has done little to tarnish the event, which has been a Hollywood tradition for the last 65 years and is regarded as second only to the Oscars in the clout it wields at the box office, and its ability to draw all the biggest stars to the event.
So who is in line for Golden Globe glory this year?
Tom O'Neill, who has been handicapping such events for years as the pundit behind the Los Angeles Times' prize-tracking site theenvelope.com, sees the Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett movie, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, as the front-runner. He also had good things to say about the chances of the Batman movie The Dark Knight, which featured Heath Ledger as the Joker in his last role.
But the international sensibilities of the HFPA's members could also favour a movie like Slumdog Millionaire, the exuberant Mumbai- based extravaganza about a pauper who wins a game show. The voters' liberal bent might also favour Milk, which stars Sean Penn in the true story of the first openly gay politician in the US, who was assassinated.
Critics also expect to see the George W Bush biopic W. among the nominees, as well as Woody Allen's Vicky Christina Barcelona, and the dystopian animated movie WALL-E.
Clint Eastwood is bound to see some recognition for his directing of the period drama The Changeling, as well as his acting as a grouchy old bigot in Gran Torino. Meryl Streep is another perennial favourite. She could be nominated for her role in the Catholic abuse drama Doubt, as well as for Mamma Mia, the Abba-based musical.
The awards are to be presented on January 11, during a traditionally lavish dinner and awards ceremony. Last year's ceremony was converted into a dull press conference when striking screenwriters threatened to picket the event. The same fate could befall the awards this year as the Screen Actors Guild threatens a strike over its continued wage impasse with Hollywood producers.