The 66th Annual Golden Globes will take place Sunday, January 11th, 2009, airing on NBC at 8 p.m. EST. Though they’re announcing the start of the show at 8 pm., my guess is that it will be the same as two years ago, and NBC will do an exclusive half-hour pre-show at eight, then the ceremony will start at 8:30 p.m.

The 65th Golden Globes didn’t go on last year because of the writers’ strike. It seems as though the Globes were sorely missed, because *everyone* is showing up for Sunday’s party. There are a lot of A-list talents nominated this year – Celebitchy covered the Golden Globes nominations here:

Here’s a run-down of the some of the top celebrities nominated: Colin Farrell, Robert Downey Jr., Tom Cruise, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Kate Winslet, Heath Ledger, Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Ralph Fiennes, Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson, Frank Langella, Phillip Seymour Hoffman and John Hamm!

Here are some highlights of who’s scheduled to present/appear: Steven Spielberg, Johnny Depp, Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, P.Diddy, Sting, Sandra Bullock, Pierce Brosnan, The Jonas Borthers, Glenn Close, Ricky Gervais, Jennifer Lopez, Salma Hayek, Kate Beckinsale, Josh Brolin, Marisa Tomei, Amy Adams, Kevin Bacon, Elizabeth Banks, Angela Bassett, Kristen Bell, Sacha Baron Cohen, Amy Poehler, Simon Baker, Laurence Fishburne, Blake Lively, Chris Rock, Seth Rogen and everybody’s favorite Scotsman, Gerard Butler.

Ron Howard will be receiving the Globes’ Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by Frank Langella. In interviews, Langella seems like the most boring man in the world, but maybe he’ll summon some personality for the presentation. I’ve got to think that Tom Hanks would have been a better choice for it, but Hanks seems to be the only celebrity not attending.

And guess who’s Miss Golden Globe this year? Rumor Willis! She was supposed to be Miss Golden Globe last year, so I guess they didn’t feel like finding someone new. Traditionally, the position goes to some semi-prominent daughter of Hollywood. Melanie Griffith was a Miss Golden Globe when she was younger, and a few years ago it was Jack Nicholson’s daughter. The job entails shepherding the presenters and winners off the stage quickly.

E! will be doing a countdown show from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., then the formal red carpet arrival show starting at six. There are some murmurings that Fox News and MSNBC will also be doing some live red carpet coverage, probably depending on whether there’s any actual breaking news in the world.

I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m crap at predictions, but who do you think will win?

Picture note by JayBird: Here are celebs attending the Golden Globes reception at The Buffalo Club in Santa Monica, California last night. Images thanks to Fame.