Betting tips / Paul Bugeja / 13 January 2012 / Leave a comment Bet Now

Paul Bugeja has stocked up on the popcorn and choc tops as he prepares himself for the 2012 Golden Globes, where he hopes there will be a surprise or two when the winners are announced.

With the Globes just a few days away, I am tempted to get a market up and running as to whether Ricky Gervais will lash out at the 'Holly-ratti' for a third year running as he steers the Golden ship in 2012, or whether he will have been asked to reign in his razor-sharp tongue!

Odds are Gervais will carry on regardless, having no problem raking over the rumour coals concerning Demi Moore's latest 'Cougaring' (you know what I'm talking about) of a 26-year-old model to replace Ashton Kutcher (I warned him he should never have taken over from Charlie Sheen in Two and Half Men, but would he listen...?) , or throwing care to the wind as he ponders the possibility of the Kardashians starring in a new reality TV show, "So You Think You can Think".

The entertainment of Gervais aside, the biggest laugh could ironically be for those involved in a silent film.

The Artist is set during the period of transition from silent film to the talkies and is almost unbackable, given how short the odds are, in most of the awards it us up for: Best Actor in Comedy or Musical (Jean Dujardin) , Best Picture - Comedy or Musical, Best Screenplay and Best Director (Michael Hazanavicius).

Hot-right-now Ryan Gosling might give Dujardin a run for his money for his work in Crazy, Stupid Love and thus looks good value [$13]. Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris, the much-lauded film that has revived Allen's recently flagging stocks in Tinsel Town is also worth considering in the Best Screenplay category [6.2], and possibly for Best Director, although at the $48 mark punters certainly don't rate it so much of a chance!

The most seemingly obvious markets of Best Actor (Drama) and Best Actress (Drama) are not so clear cut, even if the market predicts they are.

Yes, Meryl Streep [1.45] was remarkable in the homage to Maggie Thatcher, The Iron Lady, but she was the best thing about the film, and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association might look beyond her stand-out performance and instead make the award to another clearly deserving actress in a much better overall film.

I am, of course referring to Viola Davis from the moving civil rights story, The Help, who did an excellent job and is a little more backable [2.02] than Streep.

Best Actor, and everyone is all over George Clooney in The Descendants, a film I've not yet seen, but which, from the little pre-release material that has come out, seems uninspiring and not 'the role of his lifetime' as some of the press releases would have us believe.

He's still likely to take it out, but both Ryan Gosling, for his work on The Ides of March and Michael Fassbender, for Shame, are sneaky chances of an upset.

The same goes for Best Picture.

The Descendants is clear favourite [1.61], and yet, once again, given the slightly more discerning attitude of the Foreign Press (and freedom from politicking and marketing as the Oscar's is often loaded with), I wouldn't be surprised for either Hugo, Martin Scorsese's wonderous-looking "Amelie-esque" film, or The Help to upset the odds and take the big one home.

So, from both the perspective of its irreverent host, and for those of you who are going to have a bit of flutter, let's hope it's a night of upsets all round!

(THE GOLDEN GLOBES will air live on FOX 8 from 11am AEDT on Monday 16th January)