Five was the magic number at this morning’s Golden Globes nominations: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Doubt, and Frost/Nixon each received five nods to lead the movie field, while HBO’s In Treatment took five nominations, to top the TV side. Benjamin Button (pictured) and Frost/Nixon join The Reader, Revolutionary Road, and Slumdog Millionaire in the best motion picture drama race. Doubt made its mark in the acting categories with nods for leads Philip Seymour Hoffman and Meryl Streep (also nominated in the comedy category for Mamma Mia!), as well as supporting actresses Amy Adams and Viola Davis. In Treatment was named in the cable-heavy best drama series category, alongside last year’s winner, AMC’s Mad Men, Showtime’s Dexter, HBO’s True Blood, and Fox’s House.
While our experts prepare their analysis — update: here’s Dave Karger’s take on the movie side, and Ken Tucker’s commentary on TV — check out the list of major categories below, which include those nominees you expected (Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight, Sean Penn for Milk) and those that made the press in the Beverly Hilton Hotel giggle (James Franco for The Pineapple Express, Tom Cruise for Tropic Thunder). Here’s the link to our full list of movie and TV nominees. As always, hit us with your snubs list.
BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
The Reader
Revolutionary Road
Slumdog Millionaire
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
Leonardo DiCaprio, Revolutionary Road
Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn, Milk
Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie, Changeling
Meryl Streep, Doubt
Kristin Scott-Thomas, I’ve Loved You So Long
Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road
BEST MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Burn After Reading
Happy-Go-Lucky
In Bruges
Mamma Mia!
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
More categories, after the jump…
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Javier Bardem, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Colin Farrell, In Bruges
James Franco, Pineapple Express
Brendan Gleeson, In Bruges
Dustin Hoffman, Last Chance Harvey
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Rebecca Hall, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky
Frances McDormand, Burn After Reading
Meryl Streep, Mamma Mia!
Emma Thompson, Last Chance Harvey
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Tom Cruise, Tropic Thunder
Robert Downey Jr., Tropic Thunder
Ralph Fiennes, The Duchess
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Amy Adams, Doubt
Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis, Doubt
Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler
Kate Winslet, The Reader
BEST DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
Stephen Daldry, The Reader
David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard, Frost/Nixon
Sam Mendes, Revolutionary Road
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
WALL-E
BEST TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
Dexter, Showtime
House, Fox
In Treatment, HBO
Mad Men, AMC
True Blood, HBO
BEST TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY
30 Rock, NBC
Californication, Showtime
Entourage, HBO
The Office, NBC
Weeds, Showtime
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
Gabriel Byrne, In Treatment
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Hugh Laurie, House
Jonathan Rhys Meyers, The Tudors
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
Sally Field, Brothers & Sisters
Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: SVU
January Jones, Mad Men
Anna Paquin, True Blood
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Steve Carell, The Office
Kevin Connolly, Entourage
David Duchovny, Californication
Tony Shalhoub, Monk
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Christina Applegate, Samantha Who?
America Ferrera, Ugly Betty
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Debra Messing, The Starter Wife
Mary Louise-Parker, Weeds
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Eileen Atkins, Cranford
Laura Dern, Recount
Melissa George, In Treatment
Rachel Griffiths, Brothers & Sisters
Dianne Wiest, In Treatment
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother
Denis Leary, Recount
Jeremy Piven, Entourage
Blair Underwood, In Treatment
Tom Wilkinson, John Adams
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Javier Bardem, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Colin Farrell, In Bruges
James Franco, Pineapple Express
Brendan Gleeson, In Bruges
Dustin Hoffman, Last Chance Harvey
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Rebecca Hall, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky
Frances McDormand, Burn After Reading
Meryl Streep, Mamma Mia!
Emma Thompson, Last Chance Harvey
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Tom Cruise, Tropic Thunder
Robert Downey Jr., Tropic Thunder
Ralph Fiennes, The Duchess
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Amy Adams, Doubt
Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis, Doubt
Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler
Kate Winslet, The Reader
BEST DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
Stephen Daldry, The Reader
David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard, Frost/Nixon
Sam Mendes, Revolutionary Road
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
WALL-E
BEST TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
Dexter, Showtime
House, Fox
In Treatment, HBO
Mad Men, AMC
True Blood, HBO
BEST TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY
30 Rock, NBC
Californication, Showtime
Entourage, HBO
The Office, NBC
Weeds, Showtime
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
Gabriel Byrne, In Treatment
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Hugh Laurie, House
Jonathan Rhys Meyers, The Tudors
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
Sally Field, Brothers & Sisters
Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: SVU
January Jones, Mad Men
Anna Paquin, True Blood
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Steve Carell, The Office
Kevin Connolly, Entourage
David Duchovny, Californication
Tony Shalhoub, Monk
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Christina Applegate, Samantha Who?
America Ferrera, Ugly Betty
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Debra Messing, The Starter Wife
Mary Louise-Parker, Weeds
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Eileen Atkins, Cranford
Laura Dern, Recount
Melissa George, In Treatment
Rachel Griffiths, Brothers & Sisters
Dianne Wiest, In Treatment
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother
Denis Leary, Recount
Jeremy Piven, Entourage
Blair Underwood, In Treatment
Tom Wilkinson, John Adams
Comments (1-30) of 155 Add your comment
Christopher Nolan should have gotten a nod for The Dark Knight
The Golden Globes is the poor man’s Oscar. Sorry.
Was hoping to see The Dark Knight grab a best drama nom. Ah well.
No Pushing Daisies?????? After it snagged 12 Emmy nominations for 9 episodes last year and it gets NO!! Golden Globe nominations? What is up with that?
It’s a travesty that Lost wasn’t nominated for anything. At the very least, Michael Emerson and Henry Ian Cusack were robbed.
“Milk” not nominated for Best Picture?? Seriously??? But Tom Cruise is for his lame, “comedic” turn in the wildly overrated “Tropic Thunder”? For shame.
While Franco was definitely the best part of Pineapple Express, I feel that they should have picked Paul Rudd in Role Models instead. In my eyes, his was the best comedic performance of the year.
how do they expect to be taken seriously with a nomination for Tom Cruise in the best supporting actor’s category? Seriously. That was what they deemed as a better performance than, say James Franco or Josh Brolin in MILK? C’mon!
I have to agree with the Pushing Daisies comment. With the show being cancelled, they could have at least given us fans some sort poetic justice.
Looking at these nominations shows that the Golden Globes are becoming a bigger jokes than the academy awards. DO they think the public actually agrees with their nominations? No way. People are now realizing that nominations are given financially. Boycott the awards shows. Make the advertiers lose money.
The Dark Knight and Milk were both robbed of nominations. Looks like a pretty dismal awards ceremony this go around.
Where in the F is Robert Downey Jr. for Tropic Thunder??? HIGHWAY robbery!
Why does Michael Sheen always miss out?! He was just as good, if not better than Frank Langella in Frost/Nixon, yet gets nothing. For shame. Just like with The Queen before. Just because he gets the less showy role…don’t actors always say you’re only as good as the people you’re on screen with?
Why does Michael Sheen always miss out?! He was just as good, if not better than Frank Langella in Frost/Nixon, yet gets nothing. For shame. Just like with The Queen before. Just because he gets the less showy role…don’t actors always say you’re only as good as the people you’re on screen with?
I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I was really surprised that Josh Brolin didn’t get a nod for W. Everyone raved about his performance when it came out. I did hear that there was some confusion about which genre it fell into (submitted as drama, but HFPA declared it a comedy).
Downey Jr. is nominated for Tropic Thunder, and so is Tom Cruise for his role. EW just didn’t list the supporting catergories yet.
@Rhonda – Downey was nominated for Tropic Thunder in the Best Supporting Actor category.
FYI, this is not a complete list. Robert Downey Jr. was indeed nominated for supporting actor for Tropic Thunder (thank God. He totally deserves it. Actually, so does Cruise, for probaly the most innovative performance of his career.)
But can we call BS to the Hollywood Foreign Press for ignoring Gus Van Zandt, Dustin Lance Black and Emile Hirsch for MILK, arguably one of the most moving films of the year? What idiots. I say Sean Penn for Best Actor, now and at the Oscars.
Ronda, Robert Downey WAS nominated for Tropic Thunder, as a supporting actor. The Tom Cruise nom is ludicrous, though. I’m also happy to see In Bruges get some attention.
Robert Downey Jr. was nominated for Tropic Thunder in the supporting actor category. As much as I would love to see him win for such an awesome performance I think it will go to Heath Ledger .
Lack of Pushing Daisies is appalling. Per usual, 30 Rock gets tons of love even though this has been an uneven season. Meanwhile Ugly Betty is back and better than ever and all it gets is a pity nomination for America Ferrera. If 30 Rock gave more attention to Jenna, you know that the Golden Globes would jump at the chance to give her a Best Actress nomination over America. And to me, that’s sad. Krakowski’s great, but 30 Rock has had only 2 great episodes and 3 very mediocre ones. Also, where is Milk in Best Picture, Screenplay, Director, and supporting actor (Josh Brolin)? Replace Cruise and almost every nomination for The Reader (except Kate Winslet’s). Also, Ralph Fiennes for The Duchess? Really? Again, there being absolutely nothing for Pushing Daisies really irritates me.
I’m a bit disappointed that Dark Knight didn’t get at Best Pic nom. Also,I agree that Michael Sheen does seem to always get the short end of the stick for helping to carry a movie.
Other than that, I’m pretty happy with the nominations. I’d have been more disappointed if the GG’s hadn’t given us some sort of noms to laugh about. Do you guys really expect anything less from the HFPA?
What is up w/all the hate? Tom Cruise may be a psycho, but he was brilliant in his supporting (yes, it was supporting, why does that seem to be a point of contention?) comedic role in “Tropic Thunder.” He didn’t beat out anybody in “Milk” because that was a DRAMA people. You can’t look at the race for the Lead Actor and say this year’s nominations are a joke. As always, of COURSE, there is work overlooked…but there is also some absolutely stellar work on the list and it’s unfair to let a few notable snubs take away from the great work that was recognized. I am very much looking forward to seeing if Sean Penn or Frank Langella take home the trophy…or if there is an upset. At the end of the day, this is all about Hollywood politics anyway–not necessarily about quality or what audiences enjoyed. Then again, if everything were left up to what made money and what the avg. viewer liked, I feel a lot of crap would probably get nominated–ala the People’s Choice Awards.
Where is Darren Arnofsky? Or Rosemarie Dewitt? Bugh, I’m so tired of Penelope Cruz getting all these nominations.
They’re silly awards but they do provide momentum going into the Oscars. Milk/Van Sant and Dark Knight/Nolan were robbed, As were
Lost and Pushing Daisies on the TV side.
I’m just happy that the Globes didn’t let their love of Sarah Jessica Parker interfere with their judgement that the Sex and the City Movie sucked. I was scared that they would give her a “Sarah Jessica Parker can do no wrong” nomination. The Family Stone? Anybody? The Family Stone?
Can’t believe no Clint Eastwood or Josh Brolin. Tom Cruise? give me a break they just want TomKat on the red carpet. Same for Brangelina. The Oscars don’t buy that so TomKat and Brangelina will probably be snubbed at the Oscars.
Yay for Revolutionary Road. I told people the film hadn’t been screened for all the critics. Screenings were overbooked. Go Winslet. Blanchett didn’t even get nominated?
I see Cruz taking supporting, Winslet leading, Penn leading, Ledger supporting.
Golden Globes should be ashamed for nominating Tom Cruise though. So starstruck. It’s not enough that you got Brangelina on the red carpet but you want TomKat too? Eww..way to inflate that weirdo’s ego even more.
The golden golbes have proven their non-worth this year. They haven’t selected a best picture winner correctly since the obyios slam bunk Lord of the Rings: the Return of the King. The Dark Knight and Milk snub is unbelivable. There is no bigger Tom Cruise fan than me, but over Josh Brolin in Milk, Gary Oldman in The Dark Knight. Christopher Nolan did one othe best directing jobs in years in therms of scope and storytelling. The Dark Knoght is the best films in years. Not nominating this film is like not nominating saving Private Ryan 10 years ago.
Sometimes the Golden Globes make great picks the establishment ignores, but this year, I think some chemical substances were maybe being overused by the voters. There’s a lot of silliness and irrelevance here, unfortunately. Probably the GGs will be less of an Oscar bellweather than usual this year.
How do you NOT give The Dark Knight best picture and director nods?? The Golden Globes needs to get off its high horse and realize that well made comic book movies are just as respectable.