Up in the Air leads Globes noms

The George Clooney-starrer Up in the Air leads the field of nominations to the Golden Globe Awards, with six nominations, followed by James Cameron’s 3D epic Avatar, which garnered four – in spite of the fact it is yet to be released.

Surprisingly, Jane Campion’s Bright Star was snubbed entirely by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, in spite of stellar reviews following its Cannes debut, and Clint Eastwood’s Nelson Mandela biopic Invictus also missed out on a best film nod, although Eastwood received a director nomination, and Morgan Freeman’s performance has been acknowledged with a best actor nomination. 

Director Ivan Reitman’s Up in the Air is the hot favourite for best film, although it faces stiff competition from Kathryn Bigelow’s Iraq war drama The Hurt Locker, the gritty Precious: based on the Novel Push by Sapphire, Quentin Tarantino’s wild WW2 romp, Inglourious Basterds, and Cameron’s Avatar.

Clooney is also up for best actor for his role as a corporate downsizer, and his nearest rivals are Colin Firth as a grief-stricken college professor in Tom Ford’s A Single Man, and Jeff Bridges as a down-and-out country singer in Crazy Heart. they are joined in the category by Tobey Maguire as a shellshocked returned soldier in Brothers, and Freeman, for his protrayal of Mandela.

In the best actress category, Carey Mulligan is in contention for her role as a lovestruck teen in An Education, and her rivals include Gabourey Sidibe’s stunning debut as an obese, pregnant, abused teen in Precious. Sandra Bullock is also in the running for The Blind Side, up against Emily Blunt’s performance as The Young Victoria, and Helen Mirren for her role as Sophia Tolstoy in The Last Station. 

In the best musical or comedy awards, Rob Marshall's Nine is the clear favourite, where its rivals are bawdy comedy The Hangover, Nancy Meyers’ It's Complicated, Nora Ephron’s Julie & Julia, and the indie hit 500 Days of Summer.

Nine garnered five nominations in the musicals category. including acting nods for Daniel Day-Lewis, France's Marion Cotillard and Penelope Cruz.

Cotillard was nominated in the best actress for a musical or comedy, where her rivals include Julia Roberts (Duplicity) Sandra Bullock (The Proposal) and Meryl Streep, who received dual nods for her roles in It's Complicated and Julie & Julia.

The Golden Globes ceremony will take place on January 17, and the results are considered as a key barometer of which films will be up for Oscar glory in March.


THE FULL LIST OF FILM NOMINATIONS

1. BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
a.    AVATAR
Lightstorm Entertainment; Twentieth Century Fox
b.    THE HURT LOCKER
Voltage Pictures; Summit Entertainment
c.    INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
The Weinstein Company/Universal Pictures/A Band Apart/Zehnte Babelsberg GmbH Production; The Weinstein Company/Universal Pictures
d.    PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE
A Lee Daniels Entertainment / Smokewood Entertainment Group Production;
Lionsgate
e.    UP IN THE AIR
Paramount Pictures; Paramount Pictures

2. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
a.    EMILY BLUNT
THE YOUNG VICTORIA
b.    SANDRA BULLOCK
THE BLIND SIDE
c.    HELEN MIRREN
THE LAST STATION
d.    CAREY MULLIGAN
AN EDUCATION
e.    GABOUREY SIDIBE
PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE

3. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
a.    JEFF BRIDGES
CRAZY HEART
b.    GEORGE CLOONEY
UP IN THE AIR
c.    COLIN FIRTH
A SINGLE MAN
d.    MORGAN FREEMAN
INVICTUS
e.    TOBEY MAGUIRE
BROTHERS

4. BEST MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
a.    (500) DAYS OF SUMMER
Watermark Pictures; Fox Searchlight Pictures
b.    THE HANGOVER
Warner Bros. Pictures; Warner Bros. Pictures
c.    IT’S COMPLICATED
Relativity Media, Scott Rudin Productions; Universal Pictures
d.    JULIE & JULIA
Columbia Pictures; Sony Pictures Releasing
e.    NINE
The Weinstein Company/Relativity Media/Lucamar Productions/Marc Platt Productions; The Weinstein Company

5. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR
MUSICAL
a.    SANDRA BULLOCK
THE PROPOSAL
b.    MARION COTILLARD
NINE
c.    JULIA ROBERTS
DUPLICITY
d.    MERYL STREEP
IT’S COMPLICATED
e.    MERYL STREEP
JULIE & JULIA

6. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY
OR MUSICAL
a.    MATT DAMON
THE INFORMANT!
b.    DANIEL DAY-LEWIS
NINE
c.    ROBERT DOWNEY JR
SHERLOCK HOLMES
d.    JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT
(500) DAYS OF SUMMER
e.    MICHAEL STUHLBARG
A SERIOUS MAN

7. BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
a.    CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS
Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation; Sony Pictures Releasing
b.    CORALINE
Laika, Inc.; Focus Features
c.    FANTASTIC MR. FOX
American Empirical Picture; Twentieth Century Fox
d.    THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG
Walt Disney Pictures/Walt Disney Animation Studios; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
e.    UP
Walt Disney Pictures/PIXAR Animation Studios; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

8. BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
a.    BAARIA (ITALY)
Medusa Film; Summit Entertainment
b.    BROKEN EMBRACES (SPAIN)
El Deseo SA; Sony Pictures Classics
c.    THE MAID (CHILE)
(LA NANA)
Forastero; Elephant Eye Films
d.    A PROPHET (UN PROPHETE) (FRANCE)
Chic Films/Page 114/Why Not Productions; Sony Pictures Classics
e.    THE WHITE RIBBON (GERMANY)
(DAS WEISSE BAND – EINE DEUTSCHE KINDERGESCHICHTE)
X Filme Creative Pool/Les Films Du Losange/Lucky Red; Sony Pictures Classics

9. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A
MOTION PICTURE
a.    PENÉLOPE CRUZ
NINE
b.    VERA FARMIGA
UP IN THE AIR
c.    ANNA KENDRICK
UP IN THE AIR
d.    MO’NIQUE
PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE
e.    JULIANNE MOORE
A SINGLE MAN

10. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A
MOTION PICTURE
a.    MATT DAMON
INVICTUS
b.    WOODY HARRELSON
THE MESSENGER
c.    CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER
THE LAST STATION
d.    STANLEY TUCCI
THE LOVELY BONES
e.    CHRISTOPH WALTZ
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

11. BEST DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE
a.    KATHRYN BIGELOW
THE HURT LOCKER
b.    JAMES CAMERON
AVATAR
c.    CLINT EASTWOOD
INVICTUS
d.    JASON REITMAN
UP IN THE AIR
e.    QUENTIN TARANTINO
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

12. BEST SCREENPLAY – MOTION PICTURE
a.    NEILL BLOMKAMP, TERRI TATCHELL
DISTRICT 9
b.    MARK BOAL
THE HURT LOCKER
c.    NANCY MEYERS
IT'S COMPLICATED
d.    JASON REITMAN, SHELDON TURNER
UP IN THE AIR
e.    QUENTIN TARANTINO
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

13. BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – MOTION PICTURE
a.    MICHAEL GIACCHINO
UP
b.    MARVIN HAMLISCH
THE INFORMANT!
c.    JAMES HORNER
AVATAR
d.    ABEL KORZENIOWSKI
A SINGLE MAN
e.    KAREN O, CARTER BURWELL
WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE

14. BEST ORIGINAL SONG – MOTION PICTURE
a.    “CINEMA ITALIANO” — NINE
Music & Lyrics by: Maury Yeston
b.    “I WANT TO COME HOME” — EVERYBODY'S FINE
Music & Lyrics by: Paul McCartney
c.    “I SEE YOU” — AVATAR
Music by: James Horner, Simon Franglen
Lyrics by: James Horner, Simon Franglen, Kuk Harrell
d.    “THE WEARY KIND (THEME FROM CRAZY HEART)” — CRAZY HEART
Music & Lyrics by: Ryan Bingham, T Bone Burnett
e.    “WINTER” — BROTHERS
Music by: U2
Lyrics by: Bono