LOS ANGELES?Will James Cameron?s ?Avatar? follow his ?Titanic?s? record and sweep not only the box-office but also the awards derby?

While James? sci-fi blockbuster was unanimously praised, it faces stiff competition from several equally acclaimed films. It?s a wide-open race this year, unlike previous awards seasons where there were clear front-runners. Having an obvious leading contender is anathema to awards shows because it results in predictable, un-suspenseful proceedings.

The awards competitions promise to be exciting this time around. At the Golden Globe Awards show on Sunday, for example, there will be genuine anticipation for the winner of ?Best Picture-Drama.?

Each of ?Avatar?s? rivals has as much chances of being triumphant: ?The Hurt Locker,? a suspenseful Iraq war drama directed by James? ex-wife, Kathryn Bigelow; ?Inglourious Basterds,? a World War II revenge fantasy by Quentin Tarantino; ?Precious: Based on the Novel ?Push? by Sapphire,? a harrowing drama about an abused teenage girl by Lee Daniels; and ?Up in the Air,? a timely, serio-comic tale about a traveling corporate downsizer by Jason Reitman.

The Globes? Best Actress-Drama contest is just as tight. Any one of these ladies should prepare acceptance speeches: Emily Blunt as ?The Young Victoria?; Sandra Bullock, an adoptive mother of a homeless black teen in ?The Blind Side?; Helen Mirren as Leo Tolstoy?s wife in ?The Last Station?; Carey Mulligan as a schoolgirl who gets ?An Education? on life from Peter Sarsgaard; and newcomer Gabourey Sidibe, as the horribly abused ?Precious.?

The Best Actor-Drama competition is also an open field. Vying for the prize are Jeff Bridges, an alcoholic, down and out country singer-composer in ?Crazy Heart?; George Clooney, a frequent flier in his job as someone who lays off people on behalf of corporations in ?Up in the Air?; Colin Firth, a gay professor who contemplates suicide following the death of his lover in ?A Single Man?; Morgan Freeman as South African leader Nelson Mandela in ?Invictus?; and Tobey Maguire, a Marine Captain who suffers severe war trauma in Afghanistan in ?Brothers.?

Up for Best Picture-Comedy or Musical are: ?(500) Days of Summer,? a charming, non-linear look at love by director Marc Webb; ?The Hangover,? a hilarious bachelor party gone really wild and mad with a plot that works backwards by Todd Phillips; ?It?s Complicated,? Nancy Meyers? funny tale about a woman whose ex-husband rekindles a romance with her; Nora Ephron?s ?Julie & Julia,? which memorably juxtaposes the life of renowned chef Julia Child with that of a blogger who attempts to cook all 500 plus of the famous chef?s recipes in her French cookbook; and ?Nine,? Rob Marshall?s movie adaptation of the hit musical which in turn was inspired by Fellini?s ?8 ?.?

Competing against herself

Fueling the drama and excitement at the Globes is that Meryl Streep is competing against herself with her two nominated Best Actress-Comedy or Musical: as Julia Child in ?Julie ? ? and as a divorced woman pursued by her ex in ?It?s Complicated.? Potentially spoiling Meryl?s chances are Sandra Bullock?s pushy boss who forces her assistant, Ryan Reynolds, to make ?The Proposal? so she can avoid deportation; Marion Cotillard as Daniel Day-Lewis? long suffering wife in ?Nine?; and Julia Roberts as a corporate spy in ?Duplicity.?

Competing for Best Actor-Comedy or Musical are Matt Damon as ?The Informant,? an egotistic whistleblower; Daniel Day-Lewis as Guido, a philandering director suffering from creative block in ?Nine?; Robert Downey Jr. in his martial arts expert take of the super-sleuth, ?Sherlock Holmes?; Joseph Gordon-Levitt, a greeting card writer who has an offbeat romance with his co-worker; and Michael Stuhlbarg as ?A Serious Man,? a 1960s physics professor and suburban father.

While Mo?Nique had the early buzz in the Best Supporting Actress for her abusive mother portrayal in ?Precious,? she now faces strong competition from Anna Kendrick and Vera Farmiga as Clooney?s sassy new colleague and sexy lover, respectively, in ?Up in the Air?; Penelope Cruz as Day-Lewis? mistress in ?Nine?; and Julianne Moore, who has an unrequited love for her friend (Firth) in ?A Single Man.?

Christoph Waltz also had the early lead in the Best Supporting Actor sweepstakes for his unforgettable Col. Hans Landa in ?Inglourious ? ? but now he faces challenge from Matt Damon as a rugby team leader whom Mandela taps to help him unite a racially divided South Africa in ?Invictus?; Woody Harrelson, whose job as ?The Messenger? is to inform families that their loved ones have died in action; Christopher Plummer, still amazing at 80 as Leo Tolstoy; and Stanley Tucci, creepily evil in ?The Lovely Bones.?

In previous years, films by Pixar are obvious picks to win the Best Animated Film award. This time, however, Pixar?s excellent ?Up? faces a strong line-up of contenders: ?Fantastic Mr. Fox,? ?The Princess and the Frog,? ?Coraline? and ?Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.?

It?s interesting that in the Best Foreign Language Film category, two of the nominees, Germany ?s ?The White Ribbon? and Spain ?s ?Broken Embraces,? were directed by Michael Haneke and Pedro Almodovar, respectively, who lost out to Brillante ?Dante? Mendoza in the Cannes Film Festival last year. Dante?s triumph with his film ?Kinatay? over those two and other names like Quentin, Ang Lee, Jane Campion, Alain Resnais and Lars von Trier still give us a jolt to this day. The Philippines should really consider Dante?s movies as its entries to these foreign film derbies in the coming years.

Rounding out the Globes? list of five foreign language film candidates are Italy ?s ?Baaria?; Chile ?s ?The Maid?; and France?s ?A Prophet.?

Everyone? ball game

In the Best Director derby, will a woman, Kathryn Bigelow (?The Hurt Locker?) trounce her four male rivals, which include her ex, Cameron? But Cameron may reclaim his title as the ?King of the World? if he wins. However, equally solid work by Jason Reitman (?Up in??), Quentin (?Inglourious??) and Clint Eastwood (?Invictus?) make this everyone?s ballgame.

In the TV categories, the biggest question is, will the results bring ?Glee? to the many fans of the most nominated show?

The envelopes will be opened before a star-studded audience at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills and millions of TV viewers around the world on Sunday.

E-mail the columnist at rvnepales_5585@yahoo.com and read his blog, ?The Nepales Report,? on http://blogs.inquirer.net/nepalesreport.