‘Babel’ leads Golden Globe nominees

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - Helen Mirren, Leonardo DiCaprio and Clint Eastwood were among the multiple Golden Globe nominees Thursday, while the multinational ensemble drama "Babel" led all
contenders with seven nominations, including best dramatic picture.

Also nominated for best dramatic picture: the Robert Kennedy story "Bobby," the mob tale "The Departed," the suburban drama "Little Children" and the royalty-in-crisis "The Queen."

Mirren received nominations for playing both Queen Elizabeth I and II. She was nominated for dramatic movie actress for playing the current monarch in "The Queen," and for the title role in the TV miniseries "Elizabeth I." She also had a nomination for best actress in a TV miniseries or movie for "Prime Suspect: The Final Act."

Other multiple nominees included DiCaprio, who had two nominations for best dramatic film actor in "Blood Diamond" and "The Departed"; Eastwood, who had two directing nominations for his World War II companion films "Flags of Our Fathers" and "Letters from Iwo Jima"; and Toni Collette, nominated for best actress in a movie comedy or musical for the road-trip romp "Little Miss Sunshine" and TV supporting actress for "Tsunami: The Aftermath."

Told in Japanese, "Letters From Iwo Jima" also was nominated for foreign language film, along with Mel Gibson's bloody Mayan epic "Apocalypto." Under Globe rules the two films were eligible only in the foreign language category, not the best picture category.

"Babel," a story of families around the globe connected by a tragic shooting in the North African desert, also had nominations for performers Brad Pitt, Rinko Kikuchi and Adriana Barraza, director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, and best screenplay and musical score.

"The Departed" trailed "Babel" with six nominations -- including one for director Martin Scorsese.

The Globes also have a category for best comedy or musical film, the nominees for which included the American culture satire "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan." The movie's star, Sacha Baron Cohen, also was nominated for best actor in a movie comedy or musical.

The other best comedy or musical nominees were the fashion industry satire "The Devil Wears Prada," the Motown musical "Dreamgirls," "Little Miss Sunshine" and the tobacco tale "Thank You for Smoking."

Along with DiCaprio, best dramatic film actor nominees were Peter O'Toole for the would-be romance "Venus," Will Smith in the father-son story "The Pursuit of Happyness" and Forest Whitaker for the Idi Amin saga "The Last King of Scotland."

For star reaction to their Golden Globe nominations, CLICK HERE!

Joining Mirren for "The Queen" in best dramatic film actress category were Penelope Cruz for the Spanish-language tale "Volver," Judi Dench for the school drama "Notes on a Scandal," Maggie Gyllenhaal for the drug-addiction story "Sherrybaby," and Kate Winslet for "Little Children."

Besides Collette, the best musical or comedy film actress nominees were Annette Bening for the dysfunctional childhood tale "Running With Scissors," Beyonce Knowles for "Dreamgirls," Meryl Streep for "The Devil Wears Prada," and Renee Zellweger for "Miss Potter," a tale of children's author Beatrix Potter.

Along with Cohen for "Borat," the nominees for best comedy or musical actor included Johnny Depp for the summer blockbuster "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," Aaron Eckhart for "Thank You For Smoking," Chiwetel Ejiofor for the drag-queen romp "Kinky Boots," and Will Ferrell for the literary story "Stranger Than Fiction."

Ejiofor also had a nomination for best actor in a TV miniseries or movie for "Tsunami: The Aftermath."

Along with "Babel" co-stars Pitt, Barraza and Kikuchi, the supporting film categories included another "Babel" co-star Cate Blanchett for "Notes on a Scandal." The other supporting actress nominees: Emily Blunt for "The Devil Wears Prada" and Jennifer Hudson for "Dreamgirls."

"The acting was definitely a challenge for me because I've been singing for 17 years. This is my first time ever acting, other than working on a cruise ship," Hudson said on NBC's "Today" show after learning of her nomination.

"The Departed" co-stars Jack Nicholson and Mark Wahlberg were
nominated for supporting film actor along with Ben Affleck for "Hollywoodland" and Eddie Murphy for "Dreamgirls."

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