HOLLYWOOD—The 68th annual Golden Globe nominees were announced on Tuesday, December 14, and leading the pack was the film “The King’s Speech” with seven nominations including Best Motion Picture-Drama. The film will battle with “Black Swan,” “Inception,” “The Social Network” and “The Fighter.” “The Social Network” and “The Fighter” both tied for six nominations. What looks to be one of the most competitive races this year is for Lead Actress in a Motion Picture-Drama with nominees Natalie Portman “Black Swan,” Jennifer Lawrence “Winter’s Bone,” Michelle Williams “Blue Valentine,” Nicole Kidman “Rabbit Hole” and Halle Berry “Frankie and Alice.” Berry is a nice surprise in this category and has been generating quite a bit of buzz for her performance, as well as fellow Oscar-winner Nicole Kidman.
Contenders for Lead Actor in a Motion Picture-Drama are Colin Firth “The King’s Speech,” James Franco “127 Hours,” Jesse Eisenberg “The Social Network,” Ryan Gosling “Blue Valentine” and Mark Wahlberg “The Fighter.” This is a tough category with some riveting performances, but Firth is the front runner among all nominees at the moment. Nominees for Best Supporting Actress include Amy Adams “The Fighter,” Helena Bonham Carter “The King’s Speech,” Melissa Leo “The Fighter,” Mila Kunis “Black Swan” and Jacki Weaver “Animal Kingdom.” For Best Supporting Actor nominees include Christian Bale “The Fighter,” Michael Douglas “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps,” Andrew Garfield “The Social Network,” Jeremy Renner “The Town” and Geoffrey Rush “The King’s Speech.” Both Bale and Rush are receiving rave reviews for their performances this awards season, but Douglas is a definitive dark horse in the category.
In the category for Best Motion Picture-Comedy/Musical nominees include “Burlesque,” “Alice in Wonderland,” “The Kids Are All Right,” “Red” and “The Tourist.” Johnny Depp is a double nominee for Lead Actor in a Motion Picture Comedy/Musical for “ Alice in Wonderland” and “The Tourist.” He’ll face off against Paul Giamatti “Barney’s Version,” Jake Gyllenhaal “Love and Other Drugs” and Kevin Spacey “Casino Jack.” Annette Bening is the one to beat in the category for Lead Actress in a Motion Picture Comedy/Musical, but will face competition from her co-star Julianne Moore, Anne Hathaway “Love and Other Drugs,” Angelina Jolie “The Tourist” and Emma Stone “Easy A.”
In the Best Director category nominees include Darren Aronofsky “Black Swan,” Christopher Nolan “Inception,” David Fincher “The Social Network,” Tom Hooper “The King’s Speech” and David O. Russell “The Fighter.” The buzz surrounding “The Social Network,” makes Fincher a favorite, but Aronofsky and Russell are receiving high praise for their pictures. Missing from that category was Danny Boyle for his incredible performance in “127 Hours.”
On the television side, the nominees for Best Comedy Series are “30 Rock,” “The Big Bang Theory,” The Big C,” “Glee,” “Modern Family” and “Nurse Jackie.” While “Glee” is a favorite in this category, “Modern Family” and “The Big C” can certainly capture the top prize. Lead Actress contenders include Lea Michele “Glee,” Tina Fey “30 Rock,” Edie Falco “Nurse Jackie,” Laura Linney “The Big C” and Toni Collette “United States of Tara.” Lead Actor nominees include Alec Baldwin “30 Rock,” Steve Carell “The Office,” Thomas Jane “Hung,” Matthew Morrison “Glee” and Jim Parsons “The Big Bang Theory.”
The dramatic side of television has some great performances in the Lead Actor race from Steve Buscemi “Boardwalk Empire,” Bryan Cranston “Breaking Bad,” Michael C. Hall “Dexter,” Jon Hamm “Mad Men” and Hugh Laurie “House.” While Cranston looks like a lock in this category, Buscemi, Hall and Laurie could all be upsets. Lead Actress nominees include Julianna Margulies “The Good Wife,” Elisabeth Moss “Mad Men,” Piper Perabo “Covert Affairs,” Katey Sagal “Sons of Anarchy” and Kyra Sedgwick “The Closer.” Best Drama picks include “Mad Men,” “The Good Wife,” “Dexter,” “Boardwalk Empire” and “The Walking Dead.” A surprise in this category is “The Walking Dead,” which has been a hit on AMC this season.
The Golden Globe Awards have been known to be a solid predictor of nominees for the Academy Awards. The ceremony will take place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Sunday, January 16, 2011, at 8 p.m. (EST) on NBC. The show will be once again be hosted by comedian Ricky Gervais. Any guesses as to who will be the big winners of the night?
