A gloomy Hollywood put aside a dismal economy and a worsening labor spat between studios and actors Thursday morning to focus on the fluff of who got Golden Globe nominations – and some big names that didn’t.
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” the Brad Pitt drama about a man who ages backwards, and “Frost/Nixon,” Ron Howard’s screen version of the Peter Morgan play, each nabbed five nominations, in nearly all the major categories. “Benjamin Button” was nominated in categories including best actor in a drama (Mr. Pitt), best dramatic picture, best director (David Fincher) and best screenplay (Eric Roth). The “Frost/Nixon” nominations included ones for best dramatic picture, best actor in a drama (Frank Langella), best director (Ron Howard), best screenplay (Mr. Morgan).
“Revolutionary Road,” meanwhile, captured nominations for best dramatic picture, best actor in a drama (Leonardo DiCaprio), best actress in a drama (Kate Winslet) and best director (Sam Mendes), and was immediately thrust into the middle of the award season’s center stage. ”
But Hollywood will focus as much on what was shut out, and there were several surprises. “Doubt” was also nominated in five categories (including Meryl Streep for best actress in a drama), but failed to make the list of the best film drama nominees. “Australia,” the epic drama starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, was shut out completely of the major categories, a terrible harbinger for its Oscar hopes. “Milk,” the biopic starring Sean Penn as the late gay rights activist Harvey Milk, was not nominated for best picture even though it has been touted as a lock for one at the Oscars.
Joining “Benjamin Button” and “Revolutionary Road” in the best dramatic picture category were “Frost/Nixon,” “The Reader” and “Slumdog Millionaire.”
The nominations were announced by the actresses Brooke Shields and Elizabeth Banks and the actors Terrence Howard and Rainn Wilson, in addition to Jorge Camara, the president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. By themselves, the Globe nominations are not deeply meaningful, but they are important for gaining momentum in the Oscar race. And while the Golden Globes are not necessarily predictive of the Academy Awards, the best-picture Oscar has mirrored the association’s choice for best drama or best comedy/musical in 14 of the last 21 years.
The Golden Globes, which turned into a glorified press conference last year due to the screenwriters’ strike, will be presented on Jan. 11 at a ceremony to be broadcast on NBC. The Globes are not expected to be affected by the current standoff between the Screen Actors Guild and studios over a new contract, although the Academy Awards, scheduled for February, may not be as safe.
A full list of the nominees is after the jump.
FILM
BEST FEATURE - DRAMA
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“Frost/Nixon”
“The Reader”
“Revolutionary Road”
“Slumdog Millionaire”
BEST FEATURE - COMEDY
“Burn After Reading”
“Happy-Go-Lucky”
“In Bruges”
“Mamma Mia!”
“Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
ACTOR - DRAMA
Leonardo DiCaprio - “Revolutionary Road”
Frank Langella - “Frost/Nixon”
Sean Penn - “Milk”
Brad Pitt - “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Mickey Rourke - “The Wrestler”
ACTRESS - DRAMA
Anne Hathaway - “Rachel Getting Married”
Angelina Jolie - “Changeling”
Meryl Streep - “Doubt”
Kristin Scott Thomas - “I’ve Loved You So Long”
Kate Winslet - “Revolutionary Road”
ACTOR - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Javier Bardem - “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
Colin Farrell - “In Bruges”
James Franco - “Pineapple Express”
Brendan Gleeson - “In Bruges”
Dustin Hoffman - “Last Chance Harvey”
ACTRESS - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Rebecca Hall - “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
Sally Hawkins - “Happy-Go-Lucky”
Frances McDormand - “Burn After Reading”
Meryl Streep - “Mamma Mia!”
Emma Thompson - “Last Chance Harvey”
SUPPORTING ACTOR
Tom Cruise, “Tropic Thunder”
Robert Downey Jr., “Tropic Thunder”
Ralph Fiennes, “The Duchess”
Philip Seymour Hoffman, “Doubt”
Heath Ledger, “The Dark Knight”
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams, “Doubt”
Penelope Cruz, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
Viola Davis, “Doubt”
Marisa Tomei, “The Wrestler”
Kate Winslet, “The Reader”
BEST DIRECTOR
Danny Boyle, “Slumdog Millionaire”
Stephen Daldry, “The Reader”
David Fincher, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Ron Howard, “Frost/Nixon”
Sam Mendes, “Revolutionary Road”
SCREENPLAY - MOTION PICTURE
Simon Beaufoy, “Slumdog Millionaire”
David Hare, “The Reader”
Peter Morgan, “Frost/Nixon”
Eric Roth, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
John Patrick Shanley, “Doubt”
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“The Baader Meinhof Complex” (Germany)
“Everlasting Moments” (Sweden)
“Gomorrah” (Italy)
“I’ve Loved You So Long” (France)
“Waltz with Bashir” (Israel)
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
“Bolt”
“Kung Fu Panda”
“Wall-E”
ORIGINAL SCORE
Alexandre Desplat– “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Clint Eastwood — “Changeling”
James Newton Howard — “Defiance”
A.R. Rahman — “Slumdog Millionaire”
Hans Zimmer — “Frost/Nixon”
ORIGINAL SONG
“Down to Earth” — “Wall-E” (Music by Peter Gabriel, Thomas Newman; Lyrics by Peter Gabriel)
“Gran Torino” — “Gran Torino (Music by Clint Eastwood, Jamie Cullum, Kyle Eastwood, Michael Stevens;
Lyrics by Kyle Eastwood, Michael Stevens)
“I Thought I Lost You — “Bolt” (Music & Lyrics by Miley Cyrus, Jeffrey Steele)
“Once in a Lifetime” — “Cadillac Records” (Music & Lyrics by Beyoncé Knowles, Amanda Ghost, Scott McFarnon, Ian Dench, James Dring, Jody Street)
“The Wrestler” — “The Wrestler” (Music & Lyrics by Bruce Springsteen)
TELEVISION
TELEVISION SERIES - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
“30 Rock”
“Californication”
“Entourage”
“The Office”
“Weeds”
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES -COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Christina Applegate - “Samantha Who?”
America Ferrera - “Ugly Betty”
Tina Fey - “30 Rock”
Debra Messing - “The Starter Wife”
Mary-Louise Parker - “Weeds”
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES -COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Alec Baldwin - “30 Rock”
Steve Carell - “The Office”
Kevin Connelly - “Entourage”
David Duchovny - “Californication”
Tony Shalhoub - “Monk”
TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
“Dexter” (Showtime)
“House” (Fox)
“In Treatment” (HBO)
“Mad Men” (AMC)
“True Blood” (HBO)
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
Sally Field — “Brothers and Sisters”
Mariska Hargitay — “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit”
January Jones — “Mad Men”
Anna Paquin — “True Blood”
Kyra Sedgwick — “The Closer
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
Gabriel Byrne — “In Treatment”
Michael Hall — “Dexter”
Jon Hamm — “Mad Men”
Hugh Laurie — “House”
Jonathan Rhys Meyers — “The Tudors”
MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
“A Raisin in the Sun”
“Bernard and Doris”
“Cranford”
“John Adams”
“Recount”
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Judi Dench — “Cranford”
Catherine Keener — “An American Crime”
Laura Linney — “John Adams”
Shirley Maclaine — “Coco Chanel”
Susan Sarandon — “Bernard and Doris”
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Ralph Fiennes — “Bernard and Doris”
Paul Giamatti — “John Adams”
Kevin Spacey — “Recount”
Kiefer Sutherland — “24: Redemption”
Tom Wilkinson –”Recount”
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Eileen Atkins — “Cranford”
Laura Dern — “Recount”
Melissa George — “In Treatment”
Rachel Griffiths — “Brothers and Sisters”
Dianne Wiest — “In Treatment”
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Neil Patrick Harris — “How I Met Your Mother”
Denis Leary — “Recount”
Jeremy Piven — “Entourage”
Blair Underwood — “In Treatment”
Tom Wilkinson — “John Adams”
