As the Golden Globes event approaches zero hour -- that's Sunday night, for those keeping track -- TODAY's Matt Lauer and Savannah Guthrie wanted to get the inside scoop on what to expect on both the red carpet and the big stage on one of the industry's most-anticipated nights of the year.
First off, Guthrie, reporting from Los Angeles, sat down with senior fashion editor at Marie Claire magazine Zanna Roberts Rassi to go over the eye-catching looks actresses and (sometimes) actors will trot out on the carpet. Rassi was enthusiastic about relative newcomer Jessica Chastain (a nominee for "Zero Dark Thirty"), calling her a "fashion plate." The pair also discussed Jennifer Lawrence's (nominated for "Silver Linings Playbook") tendency to change hair color, and noted that Lena Dunham (nominated as an actress in her show "Girls") is great for keeping it real and not worrying about her body type.
Anticipated trends for the carpet, said Rassi, include black and white combos, "extreme" ruffles and "strategically-placed" skin, despite the low temperatures expected for Sunday evening.
Vote for your Golden Globes favorites!
Later, back in New York, Lauer chatted with Access Hollywood correspondent Michelle Beadle, asking her to prognosticate on who will "walk away with the hardware" from the evening.
Beadle liked "Lincoln" as a best picture and "Les Miserables" for the best musical or comedy award (the Globes separates the genres, while the Oscars does not); she also leaned toward Anne Hathaway to pick up an award for her short role in "Les Mis."
"When she sang 'I Dreamed a Dream,' I think that nailed it for her," said Beadle.
The best director list includes three names who were considered snubbed by the Oscars: Ben Affleck, Kathryn Bigelow and Quentin Tarantino, and she anticipated that Affleck would take the Globe Sunday. "Expect a funny speech out of him because I do think he feels dissed by the Academy for Oscar time," she said.
Affleck, 'Argo' win at Critics' Choice Awards
Over in best actress for a musical or comedy, Beadle had a big raised fist for Jennifer Lawrence ("Silver Linings Playbook"). "She's young, she's smart, she's the new Hollywood without all the drama and stuff off the screen," she said.
Finally, the pair explored best television drama, and the vote was for "Breaking Bad" to take it home. "This is a tough category; all five of these are obviously strong shows," Beadle said.
Later, Beadle returned for a special Globes-themed "Take 3" segment, sitting down with TODAY's Willie Geist and Tamron Hall and E!'s Jason Kennedy (Guthrie weighed in from L.A.). They compared their own predictions in key categories -- Kennedy and Geist agreed that "Argo" deserved best picture; Hall and Beadle went for "Lincoln," which left Guthrie going it alone on "Zero Dark Thirty." Viewers choice? "Lincoln."
The biggest surprise? Hall, by her own admission, hadn't seen any of the movies being discussed. "My opinions are solely based on the -- I do read a lot -- all of the reviews," she insisted.
Geist promised to hook her up with screeners so she could watch the films at home.
They also noted that the pairing of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler to host the show would be awesome. "We can boldly all predict and agree that they are going to be fabulous," said Guthrie. "There's no chance they're not going to absolutely kill it out there."
Be sure to check out the video to find out what else they had to say -- and tune in Sunday night starting at 7 p.m. ET for "TODAY at the Golden Globes" on NBC to see if their predictions come true!
Slideshow 15 photos
2013 Golden Globe nominations
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