Birdman v Boyhood in the Golden Globe betting odds

The original Batman himself, Michael Keaton, could be about to go up against his toughest foe yet in the battle for Golden Globe domination – a quasi-intellectual filmmaker fresh from arguably his finest work to date.

Richard Linklater has been on the Hollywood scene his 1991 take on Generation X, Slacker, which won widespread acclaim and set him on a course that has included such notable credits as Dazed and Confused, School of Rock and Bernie.

But those efforts pale in comparison to Boyhood, the director’s much-heralded passion project shot over an 11-year period to showcase the development of the aforementioned protagonist.

A critical darling on its release, the film dominates the nominations for the 2015 Golden Globes, with Boyhood the 1/4 favourite to win Best Picture while Linklater is 1/5 to pick up Best Director.

Patricia Arquette’s efforts in the film have not gone unnoticed either with the Boyhood co-star a 1/7 favourite to win Best Supporting Actress.

But if those behind Boyhood were thinking they would grab all of the limelight, they are sorely mistaken with Birdman also the heavy favourites in a couple of categories.

Keaton is the 1/10 market leader to win the Best Actor for a film verging on semi-autobiography with the story of a washed-up film star best known for his defining performance as winged superhero.

And the film also looks to have the Best Comedy or Musical Picture category sewn up at 1/8 to win.

Arquette could face a challenge from Emma Stone, who has won plaudits for her performance in Birdman, with 7/1 offered on the Spiderman star stealing the Best Supporting Actress gong while director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu is 7/2 in the Best Director Category.

Elsewhere, one under-the-radar film that could emerge as a contender for Golden Globes glory is Foxcatcher.

Telling the story of Olympic wrestler Mark Schultz and his relationship with paranoid-schizophrenic millionaire John du Pont, the film is attracting Academy Awards-buzz.

Available at 20/1 to win Best Picture, it’s in the Best Actor category that Foxcatcher could surprise with Steve Carell, who players du Pont, available at 7/1 to win.

Mark Ruffalo, meanwhile, who plays the brother of Channing Tatum’s Mark Schultz is 10/1 to win the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor with J.K Simmons the current favourite for jazz-drumming drama Whiplash.

The closest tussle for an award comes in the Best Comedy or Musical Actress category with Emily Blunt the slight favourite at 5/6 for Into the Woods while Amy Adams is just behind at Evens for Big Eyes.

But with plenty likely to change in the coming weeks, it could pay off to bag a bet on a Foxcatcher triumph and send Keaton back to the Birdcave.

Take a look at the full list of available markets here.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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