Golden Globes are a winner-take-all for oddsmakers

1/13

By Patrick Kevin Day, Los Angeles Times

Initial reports stated that a sewage pipe had burst near the Beverly Hilton, flooding the red carpet. But the actual problem was a sprinkler malfunction, depositing a much cleaner form of water under the feet of Hollywood’s most hoity-toity. Still, in the ulta-controlled, ultra-pampered world of awards shows, even a minor malfunction such as this merited extensive discussion in the media. At least the weather remained pleasant. (Jason H. Neubert / Los Angeles Times)

2/13

Matthew McConaughey apparently did not walk the red carpet for 25 minutes after arriving at the Globes. Instead, he signed autographs and posed for “selfies.” And for that, the E! anchors Ross Mathews and Kelly Osbourne spoke of the “Dallas Buyers Club” actor as though he’d arrived with a limo full of orphans and the cure for cancer in his back pocket. Standing on the red carpet, apparently, does not help give anyone a healthy sense of perspective. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

3/13

“Mad Men” star Elisabeth Moss was asked to do E!’s famous (infamous?) mani-cam, and she finally became the first star to fulfill America’s collective dream of giving the E! audience the finger in extreme close-up. Lucky for the cable channel, a quick-thinking director cut away at the last moment. Still, we all know what she did. And for that, a nation is grateful. (Jordan Strauss / Invision / AP)

4/13

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler reunited to cohost the Golden Globes again this year, and they didn’t disappoint. Perhaps no other joke went over in the room as huge as Fey’s dig at George Clooney’s dating habits when discussing “Gravity:” “George Clooney would rather float into space and die than spend one more minute with a woman his own age.” Runner-up was their comment about Woody Allen getting the Cecil B. DeMille Award so soon after Martin Scorsese had won it, causing them to speculate if it was supposed to always go to the tiniest man with the biggest glasses. (Paul Drinkwater / Associated Press)

5/13

Jennifer Lawrence has proven herself to be a lovable goofball in the endless promotional tour for “American Hustle” and “Hunger Games: Catching Fire.” And yes, her trip on the stairs at the Oscars further endeared her to viewers. But let’s be honest, after you’ve won an Oscar, getting a Golden Globe is no reason to get nervous. So there’s really no reason Lawrence should have been giving a speech from the Taylor Swift-Sarah Jessica Parker playbook when she accepted for supporting actress. Come the next awards show, Lawrence better be a little more jaded or that massive reservoir of goodwill toward her may start to dry up. (Paul Drinkwater / Associated Press)

6/13

It only took two awards, but Jacqueline Bisset clearly gave the speech of the night with her long, rambling, occasionally PG-13 acceptance of the award for supporting actress in a role for television for the Starz series “Dancing on the Edge.” First there was the seemingly endless walk from Bisset’s seat somewhere in the darkest recesses of the International Ballroom, then there was the dramatic pause as she apparently gathered herself. And let’s not forget the occasional swearing, the battle against the music that attempted to usher her off the stage and finally her mother’s advice to her: “Go to hell and don’t come back.” (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

7/13

Some nominees must climb the stairs from the audience to accept their Golden Globes. U2 descends from the heavens. The Irish rockers came down to our mortal plane to accept the award for original song, “Ordinary Love” from the Nelson Mandela biopic “Mandela: The Long Walk to Freedom,” and connect themselves to the recently departed South African leader’s struggles in whatever way they could. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

8/13

Actor Shia LaBeouf’s recent scandals were spared any jokes from Fey and Poehler in the show opening, but presenter Jim Carrey wouldn’t let LaBeouf off the hook that easily. While introducing the nominated film “American Hustle,” Carrey said, “Dying is easy. Comedy is hard. I think it was Shia LaBeouf who said that. So young, so wise.” (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

9/13

While many, many people live-tweeted the Golden Globes, perhaps the most biting comment of anyone came from Mia Farrow, ex-partner of Cecil B. DeMille Award recipient Woody Allen, who was giving minute-by-minute commentary right up until the moment Allen’s tribute began. Then she tweeted, “Time to grab some icecream & switch over to #GIRLS. Nite all.” But if you thought her comments were tough, check out Ronan Farrow’s tweet from later in the evening: “Missed the Woody Allen tribute - did they put the part where a woman publicly confirmed he molested her at age 7 before or after Annie Hall?” Allen’s adopted daughter, Dylan, recently discussed the alleged encounter with Vanity Fair. Allen has denied the allegations of sexual abuse. (Liz O. Baylen / Los Angeles Times)

10/13

Meanwhile, Allen’s longtime friend Diane Keaton came out to accept the award for the absent Allen and in the process, give the evening’s second-strangest acceptance speech, which included a haunting, child-like performance of the song “Make New Friends.” (Paul Drinkwater / Associated Press)

11/13

Leonardo DiCaprio may have made the best mispronunciation of the night by calling the British film “Philomena” the much more jazzy “Philomania.” While some may not have been interested in seeing a low-key story of a woman seeking her long-lost son, crowds may turn out in droves for the story of a British woman seeking her long-lost son and going nuts at the same time. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

12/13

Stars rarely do impressions of themselves during awards show acceptance speeches, but there was Matthew McConaughey up there winning lead actor in a motion picture telling the crowd, “All right, all right, all right.” (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

13/13

The powerful, hard-hitting “12 Years a Slave” was widely regarded as one of the year’s best movies, but as the evening wore on, the film kept losing awards to others. By the time the night’s final award was about to be handed out, the cast and crew of this slavery drama had all but given up hope. But then the final surprise of the night came when Johnny Depp read their name and the group, led by director Steve McQueen, came to the stage, understandably relieved and energized. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

By Chris Erskine

Jan. 10, 2014 7 AM PT

In Sunday’s Golden Globes, “12 Years a Slave” looks to be the clear favorite (1-4) among dramas. Meanwhile, “American Hustle” (1-5) appears to be an easy pick over “The Wolf of Wall Street” (4-1). “Inside Llewyn Davis” is the longshot at 30-1.

At least that’s the way Bovada, an Internet oddsmaker, sees it. The gambling site, which handicaps everything from NFL games (which you’d expect) to the hair color of future British kings (which you might not), has broken down the awards show into more than a dozen categories.

Bovada’s Kevin Bradley says the Golden Globes get a fair amount of action. The Oscars are the Super Bowl of entertainment bets, he says, and betting limits are raised from $100 to $500.

PHOTOS: Golden Globes 2014 presenters by the Times

Who are the night’s other predicted winners?

Cate Blanchett is a 1-8 favorite to win lead actress for “Blue Jasmine” (fractional bets less than 1 generally indicate a heavy fave). Chiwetel Ejiofor of “12 Years a Slave” is the top pick to win the lead actor award at 10-11. Robert Redford is second, at 9-4, for “All Is Lost.”

In the musical-comedy category, “The Wolf of Wall Street’s” Leonardo DiCaprio (5-7) and “Nebraska’s” Bruce Dern (5-4) are the favorites among the men; “American Hustle’s” Amy Adams and “August: Osage County’s” Meryl Streep are tied at 7-5 atop the actress category.

In TV dramas, “Breaking Bad” is a 2-5 favorite over “House of Cards” (7-4).

LIST: Golden Globe nominations 2014

The night’s surest bet, according to Bovada, is “Frozen,” which at 1-15 tops the animated features, ahead of “Despicable Me 2” at 5-1 and “The Croods” at 20-1.

For those not particularly gambling-literate, 1-5 odds would pay 20 cents on a dollar bet. Odds of 4-1 would pay $4.

Here’s a look at the odds in some of the top categories:

Motion picture, drama

“12 Years a Slave” 1-4

“Gravity” 11-4

“Captain Phillips” 18-1

“Philomena” 50-1

“Rush” 75-1

PHOTOS: Golden Globe nominations snubs and surprises

Motion picture, comedy or musical

“American Hustle” 1-5

“The Wolf of Wall Street” 4-1