GOLDEN GLOBE NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED

The nominees are in, and while “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, “Doubt”, “Frost/Nixon” led the way with 5 nominations each, 2 movies created some surprises for me “Revolutionary Road” and “The Reader” knocked out some of my picks.   But I have to remember the Golden Globes are as much about the celebrities on the night of the awards as the awards themselves.  So that makes sense why Leonardo DiCaprio gets the nomination over Will Smith – because the Golden Globes probably want to see Leo and Kate at the awards together since they are both nominated.  

I’ve starred (***) the ones I predicted correctly….

BEST PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL:
***”Mamma Mia!”
***”Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
“Burn After Reading”
“Happy-Go-Lucky”
“In Bruges
No real surprises here. I got 2 predictions correct (”Mamma Mia!” and “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”), although I told Avi, our TV Geek last night that “Burn After Reading” should have been on my list !!!

BEST PICTURE – DRAMA:
***”Frost/Nixon”
***“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
***“Slumdog Millionaire”
“The Reader”
“Revolutionary Road”
2 surprises here – I got 3 right – I really thought “Milk” and “The Dark Knight” would make it over “The Reader” and “Revolutionary Road”… there’s still the Academy Awards to get it right.

BEST DIRECTOR:
***Ron Howard (”Frost/Nixon”)
***David Fincher (”The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”)
***Danny Boyle (”Slumdog Millionaire”)
Steven Daldry (”The Reader”)
Sam Mendes (”Revolutionary Road”)
3 out of 5… 1 surprise here – no Clint Eastwood for “Changeling”

BEST ACTOR – DRAMA:
***Sean Penn (”Milk”)
***Brad Pitt (”The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”)
***Frank Langella (”Frost/Nixon”)
***Mickey Rourke (”The Wrestler”)
Leonard DiCaprio (”Revolutionary Road”)
4 out of 5 – 1 surprise here – Leo instead of Will Smith for “Seven Pounds”

BEST ACTOR – COMEDY/MUSICAL:
Javier Bardem (”Vicky Cristina Barcelona”)
Colin Farrell (”In Bruges”)
James Franco (”Pineapple Express”)
Brenden Gleason (”In Bruges”)
***Dustin Hoffman (”Last Chance Harvey”)
1 out of 5, but 1 VERY BIG surprise here – John Malkovich SHUTOUT of this category!!!!

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:
***Heath Ledger (”The Dark Knight”)
***Ralph Fiennes (”The Duchess”)
Tom Cruise (”Tropic Thunder”)
Robert Downey, Jr. (”Tropic Thunder”)
Philip Seymour Hoffman (”Doubt”)
2 out of 5, I’m very surprised that Tom Cruise’s smaller role in “Tropic Thunder” knocks out John Malkovich’s big role in “Burn After Reading”.  This IS A TRAVESTY and might be another case of the Golden Globes wanting to see Tom Cruise at the awards.  Downey, Jr. and Seymour Hoffman should have been on my list.  I hope the Academy Awards get it right and give Malkovich the nod!!!

BEST ACTRESS – DRAMA:
***Meryl Streep (”Doubt”)
***Kristin Scott Thomas (”I’ve Loved You So Long”)
***Angelina Jolie (”Changeling”)
***Anne Hathaway (”Rachel Getting Married”)
Kate Winslet (”Revolutionary Road”)
4 out of 5, not a big surprise here, although it is the first of 2 nominations for both Meryl Streep and Kate Winslet

BEST ACTRESS – COMEDY/MUSICAL:
***Frances McDormand (”Burn After Reading”)
***Sally Hawkins (”Happy-Go-Lucky”)
***Emma Thompson (”Last Chance Harvey”)
***Meryl Streep (”Mamma Mia”)
*Rebecca Hall (”Vicky Cristina Barcelona”)
4.5 out of 5, not a real surprise here because I had Rebecca Hall in Best Supporting Actress

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
***Penelope Cruz (”Vicky Cristina Barcelona”)
***Amy Adams (”Doubt”)
***Kate Winslet (”The Reader”)
Viola Davis (”Doubt”)
Marisa Tomei (”The Wrestler”)
Minor surprise here – no Queen Latifah for “The Secret Life of Bees”, although critics are saying that Viola and Marisa were good in their roles

OTHER NOMINATIONS NOT ANNOUNCED/NOT PREDICTED

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM:
“Bolt”
“Kung Fu Panda”
“WALL-E”

BEST 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”)

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – MOTION PICTURE:
Alexandre Desplat (”The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”)
Clint Eastwood (”Changeling”)
James Newton Howard (”Defiance”)
A. R. Rahman (”Slumdog Millionaire”)
Hans Zimmer (”Frost/Nixon”)

BEST ORIGINAL SONG – MOTION PICTURE:
“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)

“The 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards” are scheduled be telecast live Sunday, January 11, 2009 at 8:00pm from The Beverly Hilton on NBC.