Covering their backs, the voters - a coterie of LA-based international showbiz correspondents - have two best actor awards, one for drama, another for musical /comedy, which lets in Sacha Baron Cohen for Borat, with Pirates of the Caribbean star Johnny Depp as his main rival and possibly Will Ferrell (Stranger Than Fiction).

Helen Mirren (The Queen) seems a shoe-in as best actress (drama), with two other Brits, Judi Dench (Notes On A Scandal) and Kate Winslet (Little Children), also in contention, although my favourite would be Penelope Cruz (Volver). Beyoncé Knowles could be a popular choice for Dreamgirls as best actress (musical/comedy), with Meryl Streep (The Devil Wears Prada) her main challenger.

If it's finally going to be Martin Scorsese's Oscar year with The Departed, he'll need to beat Clint Eastwood (Flags of Our Fathers and Letters From Iwo Jima), Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, whose Babel has seven Globe nominations, and Stephen Frears (The Queen). Dreamgirls is tipped for best supporting actor and actress in Jennifer Hudson and Eddie Murphy, while the two best picture awards are between Babel, Bobby, The Departed, Little Children and The Queen in drama, and Borat, The Devil Wears Prada, Dreamgirls, Little Miss Sunshine and Thank You For Smoking in musical/comedy.