It's the official start of awards season, with the announcement of the nominations for the Golden Globes. And the reigning monarch, at least as far as nominations go, is The King's Speech, with seven nods - just ahead of The Social Network and **The Fighter **with six apiece.
Black Swan, Inception and The Kids Are All Right are behind that with four each, and then it's 127 Hours, Alice in Wonderland, Burlesque and The Tourist with three each. Yes, you read that right. Blame the Globes' insistance on separating out Drama from Comedy/Musicals.
The nominated directors precisely reflect the Best Picture - Drama nominees, with David Fincher up for The Social Network, David O. Russell for The Fighter, Tom Hooper for The King's Speech, Christopher Nolan for **Inception **and Darren Aronofsky for Black Swan.
In the acting categories, Johnny Depp gets two nominations for Alice in Wonderland and The Tourist, both in the Musical/Comedy section, where both Annette Benning and Julianne Moore are up for Best Actress for The Kids Are All Right.
Best Actress (Drama) sees entirely expected nods for Jennifer Lawrence for Winter's Bone and Natalie Portman for Black Swan. Less of a shoo-in but no less welcome is Nicole Kidman for her excellent turn in Rabbit Hole, along with Michelle Williams for Blue Valentine and Halle Berry for Frankie and Alice.
Best Actor (Drama) also sees a Blue Valentine nod for Ryan Gosling, and Jesse Eisenberg's up for The Social Network. Colin Firth, in the least surprising news ever, is up for The King's Speech, against James Franco for 127 Hours and Mark Wahlberg for The Fighter. We'll have to check, but that seems like the youngest-skewing Best Actor line-up in years.
The big shock here is that the Coen Brothers' **True Grit **is entirely absent. It's out in the US on December 22, within the Globes' cut-off date, so this appears to be a deliberate shut-out. Are the voters upset that it hasn't screened enough or something? Did the Coens withdraw it from awards consideration? There is a rumour going around that there was an argument over whether it's a comedy or drama (like many dramas and many comedies, it's both), but that doesn't seem to offer much of an explanation. This seems a bizarre decision and one we're going to have to dig into - and it seems likely to undermine the Globes' status as any sort of Oscar predictor.
The Golden Globes will be held in LA on January 16. The full list of nominations is below.
Best Picture (Drama)
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The King’s Speech
The Social Network
Best Picture (Musical or Comedy)
Alice in Wonderland
Burlesque
The Kids Are All Right
Red
The Tourist
Best Director
Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan)
David Fincher (The Social Network)
Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech)
Christopher Nolan (Inception)
David O. Russell (The Fighter)
Best Actor (Drama)
Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network)
Colin Firth (The King’s Speech)
James Franco (127 Hours)
Ryan Gosling (Blue Valentine)
Mark Wahlberg (The Fighter)
Best Actress (Drama)
Halle Berry (Frankie and Alice)
Nicole Kidman (Rabbit Hole)
Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone)
Natalie Portman (Black Swan)
Michelle Williams (Blue Valentine)
Best Actor (Musical or Comedy)
Johnny Depp (Alice in Wonderland)
Johnny Depp (The Tourist)
Paul Giamatti (Barney’s Version)
Jake Gyllenhaal (Love and Other Drugs)
Kevin Spacey (Casino Jack)
Best Actress (Musical or Comedy)
Annette Bening (The Kids Are All Right)
Anne Hathaway (“Love and Other Drugs”)
Angelina Jolie (The Tourist)
Julianne Moore (The Kids Are All Right)
Emma Stone (Easy A)
Best Supporting Actor
Christian Bale (The Fighter)
Michael Douglas (Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps)
Andrew Garfield (The Social Network)
Jeremy Renner (The Town)
Geoffrey Rush (The King’s Speech)
Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams (The Fighter)
Helena Bonham Carter (The King’s Speech)
Mila Kunis (Black Swan)
Melissa Leo (The Fighter)
Jacki Weaver (Animal Kingdom)
Best Screenplay
Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy (127 Hours)
Lisa Cholodenko, Stuart Blumberg (The Kids Are All Right)
Christopher Nolan (Inception)
David Seidler (The King’s Speech)
Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network)
Best Animated Film
Despicable Me
How to Train Your Dragon
The Illusionist
Tangled
Toy Story 3
Best Foreign Film
Biutiful (Spain)
The Concert (France)
The Edge (Russia)
I Am Love (Italy)
In a Better World (Denmark)
Best Original Score
Alexandre Desplat (The King’s Speech)
Danny Elfman (Alice in Wonderland)
A.R. Rahman (127 Hours)
Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross (The Social Network)
Hans Zimmer (Inception)
Best Original Song
“Bound to You” (Burlesque)
“Coming Home” (Country Strong)
“I See the Light” (Tangled)
“There’s a Place for Us” (The Chronicles of Narnia)
“You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me” (Burlesque)
Best TV Series, Drama
Boardwalk Empire
Dexter
The Good Wife
Mad Men
The Walking Dead
Best TV Series, Comedy
30 Rock
The Big Bang Theory
The Big C
Glee
Modern Family
Nurse Jackie
Best Actor, Drama
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Hugh Laurie, House
Best Actress, Drama
Julianne Marguiles, The Good Wife
Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men
Piper Perabo, Covert Affairs
Katey Sagal, Sons of Anarchy
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer
Best Actor, Comedy
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Steve Carell, The Office
Thomas Jane, Hung
Matthew Morrison, Glee
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
Best Actress, Comedy
Toni Collette, United States of Tara
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Laura Linney, The Big C
Lea Michele, Glee
Best Mini-Series or TV Movie
Carlos
The Pacific
Pillars of the Earth
Temple Grandin
You Don't Know Jack
Best Actor In a Mini-Series or TV Movie
Idris Elba, Luther
Ian MacShane, Pillars of the Earth
Al Pacino, You Don't Know Jack
Dennis Quaid, The Special Relationship
Edgar Ramirez, Carlos
Best Actress In A Mini-Series or TV Movie
Hayley Atwell, Pillars of the Earth
Claire Danes, Temle Grandin
Judi Dench, Return to Cranford
Romola Garai, Emma
Jennier Love Hewitt, The Client List
Best Supporting Actor In a Mini-Series or TV Movie
Scott Caan, Hawaii Five-O
Chris Colfer, Glee
Chris Noth, The Good Wife
Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family
David Strathairn, Temple Grandin
Best Supporting Actress In A Mini-Series or TV Movie
Hope Davis, The Special Relationship
Jane Lynch, Glee
Kelly McDonald, Boardwalk Empire
Julia Stiles, Dexter
Sofia Vergara, Modern Family