(MENAFN- Arab Times) LOS ANGELES Jan 13 (Agencies): Coming-of-age drama 'Boyhood' may have earned top honors at the Golden Globes weekend but industry watchers say everything is still up for grabs in the all-important Oscars race. All eyes in Hollywood are now on the Academy Award nominations to be announced Thursday after a few surprise Globes wins on Sunday injected some drama into the annual awards season.
'My first caution to Globes winners: don't get over-confident' said Variety awards editor Tim Gray warning that the Globes are a poor predictor of glory at the Oscars set for Feb 22. Gray pointed out that balloting for the Oscar nominations due to be unveiled at a traditional pre-dawn ceremony closed last week. 'So the Globes won't affect nominations. As for Oscar winners on Feb 22 nobody hurt their chances and a few people boosted their goodwill' he told AFP. Going into the Globes race the frontrunner was dark comedy 'Birdman' which had been nominated in seven categories on top of a series of nods and wins in other prize races. It won two including best comedy/musical actor for Michael Keaton now seen as being in a tight Oscar with the other Globes best actor winner Britain's Eddie Redmayne ('The Theory of Everything'). But the top prizes went to 'Boyhood' best film drama and best director for Richard Linklater. Amy Adams won best comedy/musical actress for 'Big Eyes' while Julianne Moore won best dramatic actress for 'Still Alice.' Both women have multiple Oscar nominations but neither has ever won. Possibly the biggest surprise of the evening was Wes Anderson's stylish crime caper 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' taking best comedy/musical film over 'Birdman.' 'The 'Grand Budapest' triumph throws something of a curveball into the Oscar race' wrote the Los Angeles Times. 'Long a fan favorite with modest Oscar traction awards groups have been warming to the quirky Anderson of late.' A key point as the Oscars race unfolds is the vast difference between who votes for the Globes and who chooses the Oscar winners. Whereas the Globes are selected by fewer than 100 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) the prestigious Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences which hands out the Oscars has some 6000 voting members. 'The HFPA are not the film industry' said Sasha Stone founder and editor of film/awards discussion website Awards Daily something of an understatement about a body long lampooned in Hollywood. Aspect For some pundits the reaction from the Globes audience most of whom are Academy members could be the most telling aspect of Sunday night's ceremony. 'The loud applause a certain film gets during the show is something you can feel because the audience really are the people voting on awards' Stone told AFP. 'I felt that 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' was well received with the crowd as was 'The Theory of Everything' 'Birdman' and 'Selma.'' For Variety's Gray some Globe-winning actors definitely improved their Oscar chances. 'The wins for Patricia Arquette Julianne Moore and J.K. Simmons are added to some critics' prizes and it's always nice to have a reputation as a winner' he said. 'And Michael Keaton's speech was one of the highlights of the evening' he added. Keaton teared up while talking about his childhood and his own son. 'Globes always give out two best picture prizes comedy/musical and drama. But even with doubled odds the Globes winner went on to win Oscar only four out of the past 10 years' Gray said. 'Bottom line: It's the work that counts with members of the Academy.' 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' and 'Boyhood' were the big winners at Sunday's Golden Globe Awards picking up statuettes for best comedy and best drama but the box office benefits for both films will be scant. A big part of the problem is that audiences will be hard pressed to find either film at the local multiplex. 'Boyhood' was released last summer and is only kicking around in 20 theaters. It debuted on home entertainment platforms last week. Likewise 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' hasn't been on the bigscreen for months its Blu-ray and DVD unveiling came way back in June. The win could help disc sales though not as much as a date with Oscar will boost future revenues. So why do studios campaign so aggressively spending millions of dollars in the pursuit of these shiny baubles It's because mentioning these films and the actors who star in them in such elite company can be the difference between success or failure. That's particularly true for indie productions such as 'Whiplash' and 'Birdman' which are trying to elbow into a film market that prizes special effects-driven superhero films over adult dramas. 'It's free publicity' said Eric Handler an analyst with MKM Partners. 'The nominations and the telecast provide promotional value for smaller films.' However the timing of many of the major contenders' releases is conspiring against any kind of box office lift from Golden Globes or Oscar wins. Many of the honorees are winding down their theatrical runs or have already left the bigscreen. 'Boyhood' is the first winner of the Globes' best drama prize to have opened in the height of summer since 'Gladiator' scored the honor in 2000 and 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' is the first spring release to nab the best comedy statuette since 'The Player' pulled off the feat in 1992. That's in stark contrast to prior awards seasons when films such as 'The Artist' and 'The King's Speech' debuted at the end of the calendar year allowing them to make the bulk of their grosses between the time that major nominations were announced and the Oscar telecast aired. 'This year I don't see a lot of benefit compared to past years in terms of what awards can do for movies' said Phil Contrino vice president and chief analyst at BoxOffice.com. ''Boyhood' is expected to be a big winner and that's already available on Amazon. You're not going to get that theatrical bump that's happened to some movies in years past and that's allowed them to shoot past $100 million.' There are a few exceptions. Civil Rights Movement drama 'Selma' expanded from 22 to 2179 screens last weekend and should add a few hundred more venues by Martin Luther King Jr Day. Likewise 'American Sniper' will move from four locations to more than 3000 screens this weekend. The only problem is that both pictures were shut out of the major categories on Globes night. Their distributors are hoping that Academy Awards voters feel differently when Oscar nominations are announced this week. The film that looks best positioned to capitalize on a Globes victory is likely 'Still Alice' which scored a best actress in a drama statuette for Julianne Moore and has only had an awards qualifying run in a handful of theaters. The Globes award will help attract audiences to a film about early onset Alzheimer's disease when it rolls out on more screens. That topic is not an easy sell and it's the kind of picture that can use all the help it can get. In Hollywood the Golden Globes are viewed as a boozier less prestigious cousin to the Oscars owing in part to the reputation of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association the ethically flexible organization that produces the show. That's a distinction that's lost on the viewing public however. 'Most people just view it as the minor leagues of awards' said Contrino. 'They don't understand the difference. They think that if it gets attention at the Globes it's automatically an Oscar contender. That can be beneficial.'
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