Golden Globe Awards an Indication of Academy Award (Oscar) Success?

The 68^th Golden Globe Awards recently wrapped up, which means that nominations for the 83^rd Academy Awards (Oscars) will be announced soon. The 83^rd annual Academy Awards show will air Sunday, February 27^th at 8pm.

The question at hand is, "What can the results of the 68^th Golden Globe Awards tell us about the 2011 Oscars?" Well, if history is any indication, the answer might be "quite a bit."

In 2010 (awards given for 2009 films), acting awards passed out at the Golden Globes were a great indication of Oscar Awards doled out later that year.

At the 2010 Golden Globes, Jeff Bridges won a Golden Globe Award for "Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama" for his performance in "Crazy Heart." Later that year, Jeff Bridges won his first Academy Award (Oscar) for "Actor in a Leading Role" for his role in "Crazy Heart."

Also at the 2010 Golden Globes, Sandra Bullock won a Golden Globe Award for "Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama" for her performance in "The Blind Side." Later that year, Sandra Bullock won her first Academy Award (Oscar) for "Actress in a Leading Role" for her role in "The Blind Side."

For the 2010 Golden Globes, Christoph Waltz won a Golden Globe Award for "Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture" for his performance in "Inglorious Bastards." Later that year, Christoph Waltz won his first Academy Award (Oscar) for "Actor in a Leading Role" for his role in "Inglorious Bastards."

Similarly, at the 2010 Golden Globes, Mo'Nique won a Golden Globe Award for "Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture" for her performance in "Precious: Based on the novel 'Push' by Sapphire." Later that year, Mo'Nique won her first Academy Award (Oscar) for "Actress in a Leading Role" for her role in "Precious: Based on the novel 'Push' by Sapphire."

For all four actors/actresses, it was their first Academy Award (Oscar) win. For Sandra Bullock, Christoph Waltz and Mo'Nique, 2010 marked their first Oscar nominations. Jeff Bridges had previously received four other Oscar nominations between 1971 and 2000.

No matter how you slice it, the four main acting Oscars awarded in 2010 (for the 2009 movie year) derived directly from Golden Globe Award winners earlier that year. What makes this Oscar trivia even more intriguing is the fact that three of them - Sandra Bullock, Christoph Waltz and Mo'Nique - had never even been nominated for an Oscar before. So, whether a first timer or a veteran, the Golden Globe Awards can be a great indication of Academy Award (Oscar) success for actors and actresses.

For an analysis of correlations between "Best Motion Picture" in the Academy Awards (Oscars) and Golden Globes see this article.

Sources:

http://www.goldenglobes.org/nominations/year/2009/

http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/82/nominees.html

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000313/awards

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000113/awards

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0910607/awardshttp://www.imdb.com/name/nm0594898/awards