WASHINGTON — The Golden Globe Award nominations announced Tuesday were dominated by the story of a man living his life in perpetual limbo.
“Up in the Air” — the critically lauded drama that stars George Clooney as a professional downsizer who never misses an airline connection but fails to connect with his family — led the field with six nominations, including nods for best motion picture — drama; best director, best screenplay, best actor and best supporting players.
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association — the group of international journalists behind the Globes, which revealed its field of contenders during an early morning news conference at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. — routinely breaks its best-picture field into two categories, honoring five musicals or comedies in addition to the dramas.
Among the surprises:
Tobey Maguire’s nod for best actor in a drama for “Brothers,” a film in limited release that never built much buzz in the all-important trophy-prediction blogosphere;
A nod for Julia Roberts as best actress in a musical-comedy for the almost-forgotten “Duplicity”;
Not one, but two, nominations for Sandra Bullock, first for her turn as a no-nonsense businesswoman in “The Proposal” (musical/comedy), and second for her portrayal of a no-nonsense Tennessee woman who takes in a homeless high schooler in “The Blind Side” (drama).
Awards prospects for both “The Road” and “The Lovely Bones” took substantial hits Tuesday. Neither has received great reviews, but Viggo Mortensen (“The Road”) was a strong possibility for best actor. “The Lovely Bones,” which is planning a wider release for January, at least earned a nomination for Stanley Tucci’s supporting performance.
Clint Eastwood’s “Invictus” and the British coming-of-age drama “An Education” are both forecast by insiders to reap Oscar nominations for best picture, which is now a field of 10 nominees. Neither, though, won a best picture (drama) nomination from the Globes.
Nominees for the main categories of the 67th annual Golden Globe Awards:
Motion pictures
Picture, Drama: “Avatar,” “The Hurt Locker,” “Inglourious Basterds,” “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire,” “Up in the Air.”
Picture, Musical or Comedy: “(500) Days of Summer,” “The Hangover,” “It’s Complicated,” “Julie &Julia,” “Nine.”
Actor, Drama: Jeff Bridges, “Crazy Heart”; George Clooney, “Up in the Air”; Colin Firth, “A Single Man”; Morgan Freeman, “Invictus”; Tobey Maguire, “Brothers.”
Actress, Drama: Emily Blunt, “The Young Victoria”; Sandra Bullock, “The Blind Side”; Helen Mirren, “The Last Station”; Carey Mulligan, “An Education”; Gabourey Sidibe, “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire.”
Director: Kathryn Bigelow, “The Hurt Locker”; James Cameron, “Avatar”; Clint Eastwood, “Invictus”; Jason Reitman, “Up in the Air”; Quentin Tarantino, “Inglourious Basterds.”
Actor, Musical or Comedy: Matt Damon, “The Informant!”; Daniel Day-Lewis, “Nine”; Robert Downey Jr., “Sherlock Holmes”; Joseph Gordon-Levitt, “(500) Days of Summer”; Michael Stuhlbarg, “A Serious Man.”
Actress, Musical or Comedy: Sandra Bullock, “The Proposal”; Marion Cotillard, “Nine”; Julia Roberts, “Duplicity”; Meryl Streep, “It’s Complicated”; Meryl Streep, “Julie &Julia.”
Television
Series, Drama: “Big Love,” HBO; “Dexter,” Showtime; “House,” Fox; “Mad Men,” AMC; “True Blood,” HBO.
Actor, Drama: Simon Baker, “The Mentalist”; Michael C. Hall, “Dexter”; Jon Hamm, “Mad Men”; Hugh Laurie, “House”; Bill Paxton, “Big Love.”
Actress, Drama: Glenn Close, “Damages”; January Jones, “Mad Men”; Julianna Margulies, “The Good Wife”; Anna Paquin, “True Blood”; Kyra Sedgwick, “The Closer.”
Series, Musical or Comedy: “30 Rock,” NBC; “Entourage,” HBO; “Glee,” Fox; “Modern Family,” ABC; “The Office,” NBC.
Actor, Musical or Comedy: Alec Baldwin, “30 Rock”; Steve Carell, “The Office”; David Duchovny, “Californication”; Thomas Jane, “Hung”; Matthew Morrison, “Glee.”
Actress, Musical or Comedy: Toni Collette, “United States of Tara”; Courteney Cox, “Cougar Town”; Edie Falco, “Nurse Jackie”; Tina Fey, “30 Rock”; Lea Michele, “Glee.”
Miniseries or Movie: “Georgia O’Keeffe,” Lifetime Television; “Grey Gardens,” HBO; “Into the Storm,” HBO; “Little Dorrit,” PBS; “Taking Chance,” HBO.
Actor, Miniseries or Movie: Kevin Bacon, “Taking Chance”; Kenneth Branagh, “Wallander: One Step Behind”; Chiwetel Ejiofor, “Endgame”; Brendan Gleeson, “Into the Storm”; Jeremy Irons, “Georgia O’Keeffe.”
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