The nominations for the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards have been announced for movies and television shows released this year and the movies/TV titles that you might’ve expected (and mebbe not expected at all) walked away with quite a few noms. In movies, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon and Revolutionary Road garnered a few of the big nominations … as did Batman: The Dark Knight, which snagged an acting nom for Heath Ledger (naturally, his family is proud). In television, 30 Rock, Dexter and Mad Men are the frontrunners. It looks like the upcoming Golden Globe Awards promises to be a contest comprised of quite a few of our fave titles:

Brad Pitt and Batman are expected to be among the front-runners here Thursday as the race for Oscars glory swings into top gear with the announcement of nominees for the 66th Golden Globes. Hollywood heart-throb Pitt is vying for honors for his performance in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” an adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1922 short story about a man who ages in reverse. Director David Fincher’s movie, which sees Pitt star opposite Australian icon Cate Blanchett, does not open in the United States until December 25 but has already wowed critics and audiences at sneak previews. “I think the presumption among pundits right now is that ‘Benjamin Button’ is the front-runner,” Tom O’Neil, an awards-season expert with the Los Angeles Times’ theenvelope.com, told AFP. Long-regarded as an indicator of films likely to challenge for top honors at the Oscars, which take place on February 22 next year, the Globes have thrown up a series of red herrings in recent years. The last movie to achieve the Golden Globes best drama and Oscars best picture double was 2003’s fantasy epic “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.” However the Globes, which are chosen by around 80 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and handed out on January 11, can help to shape the overall field and give valuable momentum to front-runners. While “Benjamin Button” has emerged as the early favorite — receiving another boost on Tuesday with eight nominations for the Broadcast Film Critics Association’s annual awards — it faces stiff competition from a glut of other films including blockbuster “The Dark Knight.” As well as raking in nearly 1 billion dollars worldwide since its July release, director Christopher Nolan’s sequel was widely hailed as a masterpiece of movie-making that transcended its superhero genre. The film was also notable for an extraordinary performance from late Australian actor Heath Ledger, who is being strongly tipped to win a posthumous Oscar at next year’s Academy Awards for his cackling portrayal of the Joker. “Whether ‘The Dark Knight’ was the best movie of the year is a subject of debate, but it was certainly the movie of the year,” O’Neil said. “It was the most talked about, the one that mattered most, the one that made the most. “And the Globes have an obvious appreciation for blockbusters, the big crowed pleasers.” O’Neil cautioned however that studio films such as Paramount’s “Benjamin Button” and Warner Bros’ “The Dark Knight” could yet be upset by a crop of smaller budget movies. These include “Milk,” Gus Van Sant’s biopic starring Sean Penn as trailblazing gay San Francisco politician Harvey Milk, and “Slumdog Millionaire,” British film-maker Danny Boyle’s soaring love story about a boy seeking to escape poverty in Mumbai who appears on the Indian version of television gameshow “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.” “These uplifting movies like ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ and ‘Milk’ are likely to play a big role,” O’Neil said. I think both of those films are pretty sure bets for best picture nominations at the Oscars and the Globes.” A slew of other acclaimed films are also tipped to be in contention, including Sam Mendes drama “Revolutionary Road,” which sees “Titanic” co-stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet playing frustrated 1950s suburbanites; “Frost/Nixon,” Ron Howard’s adaptation of the successful stage play about disgraced former US President Richard Nixon’s series of interviews with British journalist Sir David Frost; and “Doubt,” starring Oscar-winner Meryl Streep as a Catholic nun locked in a duel with a priest played by Philip Seymour-Hoffman. Lew Harris, a consulting editor with the Hollywood.com website, said awards season could be “pretty chopped up” with prizes being evenly spread across several films. “You’ve got ‘Benjamin Button,’ ‘Doubt’. I just don’t see one big movie emerging,” Harris told AFP. “‘The Dark Knight’ has the most possibility of doing well across the board. But it’s hard to ignore some of the performances in films like ‘Frost/Nixon’ and ‘Milk.’ I think it’s going to be pretty chopped up.”

I think that just like in year’s past, we’ll see some of these same films nominated for Golden Globes garnering Oscar noms as well … but I’m still not convinced that the Academy is going to nominate The Dark Knight in the Best Picture category. I’d bet money that Heath Ledger will get an acting nomination (whether he wins or not is another matter) but I’m having a hard time believing TDK will get superhero treatment by the voting Academy. That being said, Beauty and the Beast (the 1992 animated Disney film) surprised everyone when it got nominated for Best Picture that year (becoming the first animated film to be nominated in that category — incidentally, it’ll prolly remain the only animated film to be nominated for Best Picture since animated films now have their own category, no other animated films would be eligible for Best Picture nomination) so it’s possible that The Dark Knight could get the nod as well. Personally, I do not feel it was the Best Picture of the year but I think it would be really cool if it did get the nom. I am really happy that Dexter and Michael C. Hall in particular received nominations … as well as Kiefer Sutherland for 24: Redemption, Danny Boyle for directing Slumdog Millionaire, WALL•E and In Treatment. I’m chagrined that Miley Cyrus got a nomination for Best Song but … well … there you have it. And so, with the announcement of the Golden Globe noms comes the start of the award season for the new year. And away we go! Click HERE to see a full list of nominees for the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards. Did any of your faves get nominated … anything that y’all are particularly thrilled/angered by?

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