Woody or not, Golden Globes drawing plenty of star power
If Woody Allen attends the Golden Globe Awards, he'd rival Bill Clinton as its biggest surprise guest.
Allen will receive the Cecil B. DeMille Award at Sunday's ceremony. The writer-director famously avoids awards shows, though, and skipped those for his previous 12 Golden Globe nominations.
“We've read that Woody's not going to be here,” said executive producer Barry Adelman, who kept Clinton's appearance under wraps until airtime last year. “We've heard rumors there may be some surprises.”
A few days ago, the show was still coming together.
Sounds of buzzing drills and beeping scissor lifts filled the Beverly Hilton's International Ballroom, where workers were busy hanging chandeliers, assembling a stage and installing some of the 18 cameras that will capture the starry action on show night.
Apart from Allen, most of the stars supplying that action are confirmed: Emma Stone, the lead of Allen's latest film, will present his DeMille award, and Diane Keaton “is going to join in,” Adelman said. Chris Hemsworth and Formula One driver Niki Lauda will introduce best picture nominee “Rush.” Laura Dern will present best picture nominee “Nebraska,” which stars her dad, best actor candidate Bruce Dern. Kyra Sedgwick and Kevin Bacon will introduce their daughter, Sosie Bacon, who's serving as this year's Miss Golden Globe.
Other presenters announced this week include Tom Hanks, Melissa McCarthy, Channing Tatum, Jennifer Lawrence, Reese Witherspoon, Robert Downey, Jr., Mark Ruffalo and Emma Watson.
With such a high celebrity quotient, there's a great image in every lens, said Globes director Louis J. Horvitz, who will call the shots broadcast worldwide from a giant truck parked behind the Beverly Hilton.
The Golden Globe Awards, voted on and presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, will air live on NBC from 7 to 10 p.m.
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler return as hosts for a second time after winning raves and ratings last year. They work without restriction with their own writing teams, Adelman said. They also write and improvise throughout the show.
When Clinton left the stage last year, Poehler quipped: “Wasn't that Hilary Clinton's husband?”
“That was a total ad-lib,” Adelman said.
Leading nominees this year are the con-artist caper “American Hustle” and historical drama “12 Years A Slave.” Each has seven bids, including best picture, director and actor.
Besides “12 Years A Slave,” directed by Steve McQueen, other contenders in the best dramatic film category include the Somali-pirate thriller “Captain Phillips,” racing story “Rush,” space adventure “Gravity” and the family tale “Philomena.”
David O. Russell's “American Hustle” is joined in the best musical or comedy film category by the computer love story “Her,” road movie “Nebraska,” folk-musician story “Inside Llewyn Davis” and Martin Scorsese's romp through greed and excess, “The Wolf of Wall Street.”
For best TV series, the dramatic nominees are “Breaking Bad,” “Downton Abbey,” “The Good Wife,” “House of Cards” and “Masters of Sex.” Comedy contenders are “The Big Bang Theory,” “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “Girls,” “Modern Family” and Poehler's “Parks and Recreation.”