Golden Globes signal a world of possibilities

Who are this year's favorites? No one knows for sure, especially on the film side, where Atonement has received mixed reviews but the most nominations.

By Times Wires
Published December 14, 2007

With no clear frontrunner in the end-of-year awards races, the movie world is mulling over Thursday's Golden Globe nominations, looking for a hint of which way the wind is blowing.

The British World War II-era drama Atonement, which debuted last week in limited release, emerged as the favorite. It got seven nominations, among them best drama, actress (Keira Knightley), actor (James McAvoy) and director (Joe Wright).

U.S. critics have given mixed reviews to Atonement, due in the Tampa Bay area Jan. 11, two days before the Globes ceremony. More highly favored are the Coen brothers' No Country for Old Men and the oil-drilling drama There Will Be Blood.

Establishment Hollywood has a love-hate relationship with the Globe folks, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. They throw what is generally considered the most fun awards party, but the joke is that you can be a Globe voter one day and a parking attendant the next.

But when the Globes speak, the industry pays attention.

Other best-drama contenders are Eastern Promises, Michael Clayton, No Country For Old Men, There Will Be Blood, American Gangster and a late arrival, The Great Debaters. Directed by and starring Denzel Washington, Debaters is about a black college debate team in the Depression; it opens Dec. 25. Because of a tie in voting, there are seven nominees instead of the usual five.

In the comedy-musical race, Tom Hanks' Charlie Wilson's War, out Dec. 21, got five nods. The Globes separately honor dramas and comedy-musicals.

The film also received three acting nods (Hanks, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Julia Roberts). It's a fact-based comedy about an ineffectual congressman who wages a secret war on the Soviets in 1980s Afghanistan.

Also in contention are Hairspray, the Beatles musical Across the Universe, the teen-pregnancy comedy Juno and the Tim Burton-Johnny Depp musical Sweeney Todd, also opening Dec. 21.

Both movie categories are thin when it comes to big audience-pleasers. Only Hairspray can be called a certifiable hit so far.

In the TV categories, the message is that the best is on cable.

Broadcast networks scored only one-third of the 60 nominations. Most of them went to Grey's Anatomy, House, 30 Rock and ABC's new Pushing Daisies.

The cable pack was led by FX's new Damages. The critically praised legal drama, which barely escaped cancellation due to low ratings, landed four nominations: best drama, actress (Glenn Close), supporting actress (Rose Byrne) and supporting actor (Ted Danson).

HBO topped all networks with 18 nominations, but best actress nominee Edie Falco got the sole nod for The Sopranos for its final season.

Information from Kansas City Star and the Associated Press was used in this report.

Major Globes nominees

Nominees in major categories for the 65th annual Golden Globe Awards. Complete list at www.goldenglobes.org.

Movies

Drama: American Gangster, Atonement, Eastern Promises, The Great Debaters, Michael Clayton, No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood.

Actress: Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth: The Golden Age; Julie Christie, Away From Her; Jodie Foster, The Brave One; Angelina Jolie, A Mighty Heart; Keira Knightley, Atonement.

Actor: George Clooney, Michael Clayton; Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood; James McAvoy, Atonement; Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises; Denzel Washington, American Gangster.

Musical or comedy: Across the Universe, Charlie Wilson's War, Hairspray, Juno, Sweeney Todd.

Actress: Amy Adams, Enchanted; Nikki Blonsky, Hairspray; Helena Bonham Carter, Sweeney Todd; Marion Cotillard, La Vie En Rose; Ellen Page, Juno.

Actor: Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd; Ryan Gosling, Lars and the Real Girl; Tom Hanks, Charlie Wilson's War; Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Savages; John C. Reilly, Walk Hard.

Television

Drama:Big Love; Damages; Grey's Anatomy; House; Mad Men; The Tudors.

Musical or comedy: 30 Rock; Californication; Entourage; Extras; Pushing Daisies.

[Last modified December 14, 2007, 00:24:33]