by Gregg Kilday and Nellie Andreeva
LOS ANGELES (The Hollywood Reporter) --- Universal/DreamWorks' A Beautiful Mind, a sensitive true story of a tortured genius, and 20th Century Fox's Moulin Rouge, a no-holds-barred musical love story, lead the film nominees for the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn.'s 59th annual Golden Globe Awards, announced Thursday morning at the Beverly Hilton.
The two films earned six nominations apiece, including acting mentions for their respective stars, Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman.
Kidman, nominated for best actress in a musical or comedy for Moulin, pulled double duty, also picking up a nomination for actress in a drama for the haunted mother she plays in Dimension's The Others. The equally versatile Billy Bob Thornton pulled off a similar trick in the male division, earning a best actor in a drama nomination as the cuckolded title character in The Man Who Wasn't There and a comedy actor nom for his performance as a two-bit thief in MGM's Bandits.
On the television side, drama newcomers "Six Feet Under" from HBO, ABC's "Alias" and Fox's "24" earned series nods -- alongside CBS' "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation", HBO's "The Sopranos" and NBC's "The West Wing" -- but the HFPA stuck with the tried and true on the comedy series front.
NBC's "Will & Grace", which repeated last year's sweep of five noms -- for best comedy series and all four cast members -- tops the list of most-nominated TV programs.
But if Academy Awards handicappers had hoped the Golden Globes would begin to clarify a seemingly wide-open Oscar race, they were out of luck. While ignoring critically acclaimed year-end arrivals like Sony/Revolution's demanding war movie Black Hawk Down, overlooking performances like Sean Penn's turn as a mentally challenged father in I Am Sam and giving the silent treatment to such directors as Ali's Michael Mann and The Shipping News' Lasse Hallstrom, the HFPA spread its awards among 33 features.
"I'm not going to predict anything," said MGM vice chairman Chris McGurk about his films' Oscar chances after the MGM/UA roster snapped up seven Golden Globe noms, including two for Bandits, a critical hit that was a commercial failure. "But I'm very encouraged by these nominations."
If in the Hollywood-as-high school metaphor the Oscars ranks as the senior prom at which the class king and queen are crowned, then this year's Golden Globes are shaping up as more of a frenzied fraternity rush.
In several instances, Globe voters appeared to be taking their cues from critics groups that have hailed such films as Gosford Park (five Globe noms), Mulholland Drive (four noms) and In the Bedroom (three noms). In addition, the HFPA lauded The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring -- which opened Wednesday and is shaping up as a formidable boxoffice draw -- with four nominations, including best drama, turning it into a major awards player.
"I've always had strong instincts about it," New Line Cinema co-chairman Robert Shaye said of his company's risky role of the dice on the $279 million trilogy. "And in the movie industry, you don't have strong instincts every day, but we also knew that to bring off the task we had set ourselves would be extremely difficult."
Added New Line co-chairman Michael Lynne: "To say people were skeptical is an understatement. But we're in kind of a unique place right now where the film is suggesting that it is connecting in the marketplace, and it has also connected with critics. We were always trying to make something of quality, and with the critics' awards and the Globe nominations, we're seeing the beginning of a recognition of that."
In addition to Mind and Rings, the other best drama nominees are Miramax's marital tale In the Bedroom, USA Films' neo-noir tale The Man Who Wasn't There and Universal/StudioCanal's Hollywood mystery tour Mulholland Drive.
Joining Moulin in the comedy/musical circle are Miramax/Universal's British comedy Bridget Jones's Diary, USA Films' British murder mystery Gosford Park, MGM's college romp Legally Blonde and DreamWorks' CG-animated Shrek.
That nomination gives Shrek a leg up in its expected battle with Pixar/the Walt Disney Co.'s Monsters, Inc., which the HFPA left off its list, in the expected battle for the first animated feature Oscar.
Miramax -- including titles released by its Miramax, Miramax Zoe and Dimension labels -- leads the studio pack with 15 nominations, followed closely by Universal Pictures with 12, DreamWorks with 10 and USA Films with nine. But in light of the pending Vivendi Universal marriage with the entertainment assets of USA Networks, the combined haul of Universal and USA titles -- 21 nominations -- would have dominated the competition had the transaction been completed.
"It starts with great movies made by great filmmakers, and then we're very fortunate that the team at USA Films gets behind their movies so passionately," said USA Films chairman Scott Greenstein, pleased about the recognition afforded Gosford, The Man Who Wasn't There and the upcoming Monsoon Wedding. "We are fortunate that the Hollywood foreign press was kind enough to recognize these movies and have consistently been supporters of USA Films."
Eric Fellner, whose Working Title Films contributed both to comedy picture nominee Bridget Jones and best drama nominee The Man Who Wasn't There, also had reason to celebrate. "Both were really risky and difficult films," he said. "Man was in black and white. No one really thought Renee Zellweger could play a British girl in Jones. So I'm thrilled the HFPA singled them out."
HBO's network-leading haul of 19 noms is fueled by four mentions for "Sopranos" and three apiece for "Sex and the City" and "Six Feet Under." "It's been a really rewarding, emotional and exciting year for us," HBO Original Programming president Chris Albrecht said. " 'Six Feet Under' was a very big success, reaching unprecedented ratings for a first season of a show as well as very significant accolades; in the movie area, we had a great success in attracting A-level talent, and we finished off the year with 'Band of Brothers,' which has been a really extraordinary experience for all of us."NBC's White House drama "West Wing" also garnered four noms, with the peacock following HBO on the network nomination list with 15.
"Six Feet Under" took the mantle of most-nominated new series.
Although he could not have been hotter on the feature side in the Oscar afterglow of American Beauty, "Six Feet" creator/executive producer Alan Ball said he couldn't be happier than penning the dark-edged drama about a family that runs a mortuary business.
"This is as close as I'll ever come to writing a novel," he said. "I love the narrative scope of a series. I love being able to spend time with these characters and see their lives unfold."
Among the conspicuous absences in this year's nominations tally are CBS' smash hit "Everybody Loves Raymond" and perennial drama faves NBC's "Law & Order" and "ER" and ABC's "The Practice". After making the best comedy series list last year, Fox's "Malcolm in the Middle" dropped out of the running for the top prize, but the quirky comedy was recognized with acting nominations for Jane Kaczmarek and Frankie Muniz.
"Malcolm's" place was taken by NBC's "Friends," and repeat showings from Fox's "Ally McBeal", NBC's "Frasier" and "Will & Grace" and "Sex and the City" round out the list.
Joining Thornton in the lineup for best actor in a drama are Crowe -- last year's Oscar winner for Gladiator -- for playing the troubled John Nash Jr. in Mind, Will Smith duking it out as Muhammad Ali in Ali, Kevin Spacey playing a lonely widower in Shipping News and Denzel Washington for his performance as a corrupt cop in Training Day.
Kidman's competition for actress in a drama is Halle Berry as the wife of a death row inmate in Monster's Ball, Judi Dench as an Alzheimer's sufferer in Iris, Sissy Spacek as an embattled mother in In the Bedroom and Tilda Swinton as another protective mother in The Deep End.
Nominees for actor in a musical or comedy are Thornton; Gene Hackman, playing the patriarch of a quirky family in The Royal Tenenbaums; Hugh Jackman as a time-traveling lover in Kate & Leopold; Ewan McGregor as a love-sotted writer in Moulin; and John Cameron Mitchell for his drag act as a rock 'n' roll transsexual in Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
The best musical/comedy actress lineup brings together the ubiquitous Kidman, Thora Birch as a disaffected teen in Ghost World, Cate Blanchett as a dissatisfied housewife in Bandits, Reese Witherspoon as a Harvard Law School student in Legally Blonde and Zellweger as a neurotic single in Bridget Jones's Diary.
Supporting actress nominations go to Jennifer Connelly for Mind, Cameron Diaz for Vanilla Sky, Helen Mirren for Gosford, Maggie Smith for Gosford, Marisa Tomei for In the Bedroom and Kate Winslet for Iris.
Supporting actor nominees are Jim Broadbent for Iris, Steve Buscemi for Ghost World, Hayden Christensen for Life as a House, Ben Kingsley for Sexy Beast, Jude Law for A.I. Artificial Intelligence and Jon Voight for Ali.
Bingham Ray, the new chairman of United Artists, was elated to have had a hand in distributing Ghost World, which he inherited when he took over MGM's specialty division. "I have a lot of respect for (Newmarket's) Memento," he said. "But I honestly think Ghost World is the hippest film of the year. It's especially gratifying to see actors like Steve and Thora be recognized. I've been a big fan of both of them."
The best director nominations -- perhaps the Globes' best indicator of eventual Oscar nominees -- go to Robert Altman for Gosford>, Ron Howard for Mind, Peter Jackson for Rings, Baz Luhrmann for Moulin, David Lynch for Mulholland Drive and Steven Spielberg for A.I.
Nominated for best screenplay are Joel Coen and his brother, Ethan, for The Man Who Wasn't There, Julian Fellowes for Gosford, Akiva Goldsman for Mind, Lynch for Mulholland Drive and Christopher Nolan for Memento.
Foreign language film nominees are Amelie from France, Behind the Sun from Brazil, Monsoon Wedding from India, No Man's Land from Bosnia and Y Tu Mama Tambien (And Your Mother Too) from Mexico.
Among TV performers, ABC's "Spin City" continues to charm. Two years after Michael J. Fox and Heather Locklear both were nominated for the show and after the series underwent a transformation following Fox's departure, the comedy again has its leading duo -- Charlie Sheen and Locklear -- up for Golden Globes.
"Everyone (on the set) is smiling and happy, and they're looking on us like we announced we're having a baby," Locklear said.
Joining Locklear and Kaczmarek in contention for TV comedy actress honors are "Ally's" Calista Flockhart, "Will & Grace's" Debra Messing and two-time winner Sarah Jessica Parker for "Sex and the City".
"Spin City's" Sheen and "Ed's" Tom Cavanagh make their debuts as Golden Globe nominees, joined in the TV comedy actor race by "Malcolm's" Muniz, "Frasier's" Kelsey Grammer and this year's Emmy winner, Eric McCormack of "Will & Grace".
Joked "Will & Grace" co-creator David Kohn of the Globe voters, "This just goes to show you -- they're all gay." More seriously, he said, "A lot of time, as we write, it seems very idiosyncratic and specifically American because there's a lot of pop-culture references in the show, but evidently it's translating, and I'm very pleased about that."
New faces dominate the TV drama actor race: "Six Feet's" Peter Krause, Simon Baker (CBS' "The Guardian") and Kiefer Sutherland (Fox's "24") made the list alongside the usual suspects -- previous Golden Globe winners James Gandolfini ("Sopranos") and Martin Sheen ("West Wing").
The HFPA needed seven slots to accommodate its picks for TV drama actress. Jennifer Garner of ABC's "Alias" makes the list this year, and "Gilmore Girls" star Lauren Graham is another first-time nominee. Last year's winner, Sela Ward of ABC's "Once and Again," joins Amy Brenneman (CBS' "Judging Amy"), Marg Helgenberger ("CSI"), Lorraine Bracco and Edie Falco (both for "Sopranos") in rounding out the category.In the best miniseries or original movie category, HBO's big-budget World War II saga "Band of Brothers" faces Emmy winners "Anne Frank" (ABC) and "Wit" (HBO) as well as ABC's "Life With Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows" and HBO's "Conspiracy."
Judy Davis, who won an Emmy for her portrayal of Garland in "Me and My Shadows," garnered a nomination in the actress in a miniseries or original movie category, alongside Bridget Fonda (Lifetime's "No Ordinary Baby"), Hannah Taylor Gordon ("Anne Frank"), Julianna Margulies (TNT's "The Mists of Avalon"), Leelee Sobieski (NBC's "Uprising") and Emma Thompson ("Wit").
Kenneth Branagh received a nom for his Emmy-winning performance in "Conspiracy." In the actor in a miniseries or original movie category, he is in the company of James Franco (TNT's "James Dean"), Ben Kingsley ("Anne Frank"), Damian Lewis ("Band of Brothers") and Barry Pepper (HBO's "61*").
Supporting actor and actress noms for the Golden Globes cover both series and longform programming.
On the male side, recent Emmy winner Bradley Whitford ("West Wing"), John Corbett ("Sex and the City") and Sean Hayes ("Will & Grace") will square off with Ron Livingston ("Band of Brothers") and Stanley Tucci ("Conspiracy").
Among the women, Emmy winner Allison Janney ("West Wing"), Jennifer Aniston ("Friends"), Rachel Griffiths ("Six Feet") and Megan Mullally ("Will & Grace") will compete with Emmy winner Tammy Blanchard ("Garland: Me and My Shadows").
Hugh Jackman, Lucy Liu and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos were on hand to announce the nominations. The Golden Globe ceremony will be broadcast live Jan. 20 on NBC in a program produced by Dick Clark.
© 2001 The Hollywood Reporter