Here Are Our Golden Globes Predictions

12 Years a Slave is a shoe-in for this category — it's made waves for months for its intense, important story of a man wrongfully enslaved. In fact, we're pretty sure this movie will be taking home many, many awards this season.

David O. Russell's American Hustle amasses one of the best ensembles of the year — four of the actors, including Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper, are nominees in the acting categories. The sum of those great performances has us convinced that the film will win best musical or comedy.

Chiwetel Ejiofor has been championed ever since 12 Years a Slave debuted on the festival circuit, and the fervor for him hasn't waned. It's so deserved; Ejiofor makes you feel his plight in one of the strongest performances in years.

Leonardo DiCaprio gives his best performance ever in The Wolf of Wall Street (seriously, his physical comedy in the crawling-to-the-car scene deserves its own honor), and the HFPA loves him. This is his ninth Golden Globe nomination, and he won back in 2005 for The Aviator — we can see him returning to the stage for another win.

Cate Blanchett has already won a handful of smaller awards for her role in Blue Jasmine, and we think she's going to take home her first big accolade for the film at the Golden Globes.

Meryl Streep's performance in August: Osage County is predictably masterful, but just because we're used to seeing Streep win doesn't mean she shouldn't get one more statue. She's incredible as a pill-addicted matriarch who has just lost her husband.

Jared Leo made his first role in years count — as Rayon in Dallas Buyers Club, he's the emotional center of the movie. He steals the spotlight from Matthew McConaughey as a sensitive but brash AIDS patient in a careful and affecting performance.

Her may be overshadowed by some of the other contenders in the bigger categories, but we're hoping it gets recognized for best screenplay. Writer/director Spike Jonze's script is beautifully written, and manages to be clever, insightful, and lovely all at once.

12 Years a Slave is one of the most powerful movies of the year, and director Steve McQueen is responsible for that. Not only does he completely deserve the honor of best director, but also, he'd be making history — no black directors have ever won in this category at the Globes.

Even though it's regarded as one of the best shows of its time, Breaking Bad has never won a single Golden Globe. This being the last time the show will be eligible, we think it's high time the series wins best drama (and other categories, too, but more on that later).

Girls won best comedy series at the Golden Globes last year, and we predict a streak. The show was a breath of fresh air in season one, but it's even better and more mature in season two.

It's criminal that Bryan Cranston has never won a Golden Globe for Breaking Bad. It's your last chance, HFPA. Make it count!

This is the first time Kerry Washington has been nominated for a Golden Globe, and we think the momentum and buzz of Scandal will materialize in a win for her. Plus, if she wins, we really hope she'll say, "It's handled," on stage.

Michael J. Fox has had a triumphant return to TV with The Michael J. Fox Show, and we think he'll get this honor as part of his welcome-back package. The show hasn't necessarily been groundbreaking, but Fox is everlastingly charming.

Like the series she created, Lena Dunham is, we think, going to score a consecutive win for Girls this year. Dunham plumbed more depths as Hannah in season two, particularly her crippling OCD.

Aaron Paul, too, has never gone home with a Golden Globe, but as we've been saying, it's time to turn the tides. If Paul doesn't go home with a statue for playing Breaking Bad's Jesse, we'll be disappointed.

Monica Potter may be the dark horse in this category (Parenthood has long been passed over for awards), but we're not giving up hope that the HFPA's sudden interest could turn into a win. It's not just that she plays a cancer-stricken mother — we've got a whole list of reasons.

Behind the Candelabra swept the Emmys with 10 wins, so it's pretty safe to say that it'll be taking home this award. The buzzy HBO movie is also the kind of star-studded TV movie the HFPA likes to reward — last year, the Julianne Moore-starring Game Change won.

The miniseries Top of the Lake has been tragically overlooked at award shows, but we're hoping that the Golden Globes will be the night that ends. Elisabeth Moss is stunning in this ominous mystery, showing a side of herself we haven't seen in Peggy Olson.

Michael Douglas is unforgettable as Liberace in Behind the Candelabra, and it's more than likely that he'll add a Golden Globe to his honors for the HBO movie. Also, we're really hoping for an encore performance of his dirty-joke-filled speech at the Emmys.