Awards Watch: Global Awareness

Those of us who were hoping that today's Golden Globe nominations would clarify the 2007 award races were dealt a mixed hand by the always fickle Hollywood Foreign Press Association: no less then seven films are up for Best Picture - Drama. Add in the five nominated for Best Picture - Comedy or Musical, and one thing is certain this year: nothing is certain this year. Which means it should be a fun (albeit possibly frustrating) next couple of months for movie fans and award pundits alike.

Atonement leads the pack with seven nominations, with Charlie Wilson's War following with five. This is good news for these two films, as they were pretty much left out of the last round of critics' kudos, who instead went for grittier fare like No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood, both of which join Atonement in the Best Picture - Drama category here. Also nominated in the big race is American Gangster, Eastern Promises, Michael Clayton and The Great Debaters, which, in typical Globe fashion, received no other nominations. The same is true of Across the Universe, nominated for Best Picture - Comedy or Musical, along with Hairspray, Juno, Sweeney Todd and Charlie Wilson.

In the acting categories, both Cate Blanchett and Philip Seymour Hoffman netted two nominations each, with Blanchett joining John Travolta in the supporting categories for their gender-bending performances. And then there's Marion Cotillard, sticking out like a misplaced thumb in the nominees for Best Actress- Comedy or Musical.

On the TV side, a special shout out to Pushing Daisies, up for three awards (Best Comedy Series and acting nods for Lee Pace and Anna Friel), plus nominations for other favorites such as Brothers and Sisters, Grey's Anatomy and Ugly Betty, which, although it won last year, is not nominated for Best Comedy; again, those fickle HFPA-ers.

The Golden Globes will be handed out in a live telecast on NBC on Sunday, January 13 ... that is, if the writers strike doesn't derail it. For a quick look at all the film nominees, see the comments section below.

Links via GoldenGlobes.org and LATimes.com.