Los Angeles
11 December 2008
The Hollywood award season is under way with the announcement of
nominees for the annual Golden Globes in Los Angeles. This year's top films include the Brad Pitt tale of
a man who ages backwards and a drama based on interviews with former
U.S. President Richard Nixon.
Frost/Nixon earned five
nominations. The drama centers on the 1977 interviews between British
journalist David Frost and the former president forced to resign his
office because of the Watergate scandal. Frank Langella earned an
acting nomination for his role as Mr. Nixon.
Frost/Nixon is a
contender for best drama. So is The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, a
tale of a man who lives his life backwards, beginning with his birth as
an old man.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button also earned five nominations.
So
did the drama Doubt, a story about the abuse of children by clergy in
the Catholic church. The film did not make the best drama category,
but brought acting nods for Philip Seymour Hoffman, who plays an
accused priest, and Meryl Streep, who plays his accuser.
Other
nominees for best drama are Revolutionary Road, The Reader, and Slumdog
Millionaire, the story of young Indian man who hopes to make a fortune
on a television game show.
In the musical and comedy category,
nominees include Mamma Mia!, a film based on a Broadway show, and
director Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona.
Several films
expected to make a strong showing this year had few nominations. The
Batman blockbuster The Dark Knight earned only one for supporting actor
Heath Ledger, who died of a drug overdose in January after filming was
finished. Milk, the story of the slain San Francisco gay rights and
civic leader Harvey Milk, earned a single nomination for star Sean Penn.
The
Golden Globes are presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association,
a group of entertainment reporters. Winners will be announced January
11. The ceremony is a prelude to the more prestigious Oscars, which
will be given February 22.