The low-down on Golden Globes

Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in “Revolutionary Road”; the film is generating much buzz this awards season.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association must feel like it has woken from a bad dream. Last year, the Golden Globes, its annual awards show and the primary reason the organization holds any influence in Hollywood, was turned into an embarrassingly bizarre press conference because top actors and filmmakers boycotted the traditional event in support of the striking writers guild. This year, barring an unlikely work stoppage by the Screen Actors Guild, the show will go on.
The movie business as a whole is doing gangbusters at the box office, but the economy has Hollywood jittery.
But this is about awards and it's the perfect escape from reality. Taking that into account, and the fact that the HFPA only has about 80 members (whose choices have become quite predictable), here is a list of nominees and some good bets on who will win what and why in the all important movie categories on January 11.

Best Actress - Drama
Anne Hathaway, "Rachel Getting Married"
Angelina Jolie, "Changeling"
Meryl Streep, "Doubt"
Kristin Scott Thomas, "I've Loved You So Long"
Kate Winslet, "Revolutionary Road"
Your winner: Winslet for "Road." Unlike Streep, she has been nominated seven times previously and never won. Her better performance may be in "The Reader," but the HFPA will recognise her here.
Long shot: Hathaway for "Married." The HFPA loves the young ingénue actresses and may feel the "Get Smart" star is ready to receive her first major award.

Best Actor - Drama
Leonardo DiCaprio, "Revolutionary Road"
Frank Langella, "Frost/Nixon"
Sean Penn, "Milk"
Brad Pitt, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Mickey Rourke, "The Wrestler"
Your winner: Penn for "Milk." With no Best Picture nomination for "Milk" and numerous critics groups awards (and counting) to his credit, Penn is the easiest way for the HFPA to reward the well-admired biopic.
Long shot: Langella for "Nixon." It's a great performance and it's not hard to see certain awards-season consultants convincing HFPA members that they are making a statement by giving it to the veteran actor.

Best Actress - Musical/ Comedy
Rebecca Hall, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
Sally Hawkins, "Happy-Go-Lucky"
Frances McDormand, "Burn After Reading"
Meryl Streep, "Mamma Mia!"
Emma Thompson, "Last Chance Harvey"
Your winner: Hawkins for "Happy." As much as the Academy loves Meryl Streep, the HFPA wants to push an ingénue who might actually get an Oscar nod this year, and that's clearly Hawkins.
Long shot: Bizarrely, Streep. She won for a similarly effective comedy role two years ago in "The Devil Wears Prada." It would be surprising for them to go back to the well again so soon.

Best Actor - Musical/Comedy
Javier Bardem, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
Colin Farrell, "In Bruges"
James Franco, "Pineapple Express"
Brendan Gleeson, "In Bruges"
Dustin Hoffman, "Last Chance Harvey"
Your winner: This is the toughest of all the awards this year, but put your money on Farrell. The HFPA obviously loves this winter release (it received three nominations) and this is the perfect place for them to recognise it.
Long shot: Franco, for "Express." But if he wins, the HFPA is collectively taking his stellar work in "Milk" into consideration as well.

Best Actor - Supporting Role
Tom Cruise, "Tropic Thunder"
Robert Downey Jr., "Tropic Thunder"
Ralph Fiennes, "The Duchess"
Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Doubt"
Heath Ledger, "The Dark Knight"
Your winner: Ledger, for "The Dark Knight." Put money on it.
Long shot: Downey Jr., but it's not gonna happen. Ledger's family is going to be in the ballroom. Do you really think the HFPA is going to embarrass them after the tragedy they went through and after they flew all the way from Australia to accept the award on his behalf?

Best Actress - Supporting Role
Amy Adams, "Doubt"
Penelope Cruz, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
Viola Davis, "Doubt"
Marisa Tomei, "The Wrestler"
Kate Winslet, "The Reader"
Your winner: Cruz, for "Barcelona." She shows up halfway in and steals the movie from her co-stars, and she is going to steal this from Winslet, too.
Long shot: Tomei for "Wrestler." It's the exact sort of critically acclaimed but underdog surprise winner the Globes occasionally delivers.

Best Director
Danny Boyle, "Slumdog Millionaire"
Stephen Daldry, "The Reader"
David Fincher, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Ron Howard, "Frost/Nixon"
Sam Mendes, "Revolutionary Road"
Your winner: Boyle for "Slumdog." A movie shot in the slums of Mumbai with a predominantly Indian cast speaking both Hindi and English? That audiences also adore?
Long shot: Fincher for "Button." Chronicling Button's life over eight decades was a difficult task, and Fincher made it appear seamless.

Best Picture - Drama
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
"Frost/Nixon"
"The Reader"
"Revolutionary Road"
"Slumdog Millionaire"
Your winner: "Slumdog Millionaire." The HFPA has loved it for months, and the international perspective doesn't hurt either.
Long shot: "Button." If it gains momentum as the likely Oscar winner, it could influence last-minute votes.

Compiled by Cultural Correspondent