(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Birdman which stars former Batman Michael Keaton as a washed-up film actor trying to revive his career on stage has earned the most nominations with seven.
Los Angeles — Hollywood is holding its breath ahead of Sunday’s Golden Globes with dark comedy “Birdman” leading the race for awards glory ahead of next month’s all-important Oscars.
While an eve-of-show computer glitch appeared to suggest two other films could take the top prizes “Birdman” is still in strong position earning a string of accolades and other nominations leading up to the Globes.
Unusually rainy weather looks set to dampen the arrival of A-listers on the red carpet in Beverly Hills for the Globes second only to the Oscars in terms of Tinseltown awards buzz.
“Birdman” which stars former “Batman” Michael Keaton as a washed-up film actor trying to revive his career on stage has earned the most nominations with seven.
Coming-of-age drama “Boyhood” and Nazi code-breaking thriller “The Imitation Game” starring Britain’s Benedict Cumberbatch are also hotly tipped to take home trophies with five nods apiece.
British actors feature strongly at the Globes: Cumberbatch and his co-star Keira Knightley are among a batch of British nominees in both the film and television categories.
Comic actresses Tina Fey and Amy Poehler will be hosting the show for the third straight year at the Beverly Hilton Hotel where the festivities will begin at 5:00 pm (0100 GMT Monday).
Some industry experts have highlighted the lack of a clear frontrunner in contrast to previous years like in 2012 when “The Artist” had a virtual lock on Best Picture prizes straight through to the Oscars.
“It seems like a real toss-up” Tom Nunan of the UCLA School of Theater Film and Television told AFP adding that actors in this year’s race had all turned in “career-best performances.”
This year’s crop of nominated movies is heavy on true stories: four of the five Globes best drama contenders are based on real-life events.
Among the historical figures featured are British geniuses Stephen Hawking and Alan Turing and Martin Luther King Jr.
In the best musical or comedy category the widely acclaimed “Birdman” still seems to be the film to beat.
The movie also earned nods for best actor for Keaton best supporting actor (Edward Norton) best supporting actress (Emma Stone) and best director (Mexico’s Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu).
Its rivals include Wes Anderson’s “The Grand Budapest Hotel” Disney’s dark musical fairytale romp “Into the Woods” “Pride” and “St Vincent”
On the drama side the best film contenders are: “Boyhood” “Foxcatcher” “The Imitation Game” “Selma” and “The Theory of Everything.”
Barely 48 hours before the curtain goes up for the 72nd Globes ceremony a website glitch appeared to suggest that “Selma” and “Into the Woods” could be set for best film honors.
The films were briefly posted on the Globes website as winning the best drama and best musical/comedy film awards before the captions were taken down according to industry journal Variety.
A spokesman said the films were chosen “randomly” from nominees’ lists as Web technicians fine-tuned the website ahead of the show and that the captions should not have been live.
On the small screen “Fargo” took the most nominations with five.
In the television categories critics see a free-for-all now that the widely acclaimed “Breaking Bad” is no longer on the air or in the running.
Victories for either “House of Cards” for best drama series and “Orange is the New Black” for best comedy would be sweet for online streaming giant Netflix as it battles the traditional broadcast and cable networks.
Unlike the Oscars which are voted on by some 6000 industry members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences the Globes are selected by fewer than 100 journalists from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA).
But a Globes win can still provide a huge boost for an Oscars campaign.
Oscar nominations will be announced on Thursday. The Academy Awards will then be held on February 22.
Here are the nominees in key categories for the 72nd Golden Globe Awards which will be handed out on Sunday in Beverly Hills:
Best film drama:
“Boyhood”
“Foxcatcher”
“The Imitation Game”
“Selma”
“The Theory of Everything”
Best film musical or comedy:
“Birdman”
“The Grand Budapest Hotel”
“Into the Woods”
“Pride”
“St. Vincent”
Best actor drama:
Steve Carell “Foxcatcher”
Benedict Cumberbatch “The Imitation Game”
Jake Gyllenhaal “Nightcrawler”
David Oyelowo “Selma”
Eddie Redmayne “The Theory of Everything”
Best actor musical or comedy:
Ralph Fiennes “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
Michael Keaton “Birdman”
Bill Murray “St. Vincent”
Joaquin Phoenix “Inherent Vice”
Christoph Waltz “Big Eyes”
Best actress drama:
Jennifer Aniston “Cake”
Felicity Jones “The Theory of Everything”
Julianne Moore “Still Alice”
Rosamund Pike “Gone Girl”
Reese Witherspoon “Wild”
Best actress musical or comedy:
Amy Adams “Big Eyes”
Emily Blunt “Into the Woods”
Helen Mirren “The Hundred-Foot Journey”
Julianne Moore “Maps to the Stars”
Quvenzhane Wallis “Annie”
Best supporting actor:
Robert Duvall “The Judge”
Ethan Hawke “Boyhood”
Edward Norton “Birdman”
Mark Ruffalo “Foxcatcher”
J.K. Simmons “Whiplash”
Best supporting actress:
Patricia Arquette “Boyhood”
Jessica Chastain “A Most Violent Year”
Keira Knightley “The Imitation Game”
Emma Stone “Birdman”
Meryl Streep “Into the Woods”
Best director:
Wes Anderson “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
Ava DuVernay “Selma”
David Fincher “Gone Girl”
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu “Birdman” Richard Linklater “Boyhood” Best foreign language film:
“Force Majeure” (Sweden)
“Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem” (Israel)
“Ida” (Poland/Denmark)
“Leviathan” (Russia)
“Tangerines” (Estonia)
Best animated feature:
“Big Hero 6”
“The Book of Life”
“The Boxtrolls”
“How to Train Your Dragon 2”
“The Lego Movie”
Best drama series:
“The Affair” (Showtime)
“Downton Abbey” (PBS)
“Game of Thrones” (HBO)
“The Good Wife” (CBS)
“House of Cards” (Netflix)
Best drama actor:
Clive Owen “The Knick”
Liev Schreiber “Ray Donovan”
Kevin Spacey “House of Cards”
James Spader “The Blacklist”
Dominic West “The Affair”
Best drama actress:
Claire Danes “Homeland”
Viola Davis “How To Get Away With Murder”
Julianna Margulies “The Good Wife”
Ruth Wilson “The Affair”
Robin Wright “House of Cards”
Best comedy series:
“Girls” (HBO)
“Jane the Virgin” (CW)
“Orange Is the New Black” (Netflix)
“Silicon Valley” (HBO)
“Transparent” (Amazon)
Best comedy actor:
Louis C.K. “Louie”
Don Cheadle “House of Lies”
Ricky Gervais “Derek”
William H. Macy “Shameless”
Jeffrey Tambor “Transparent”
Best comedy actress:
Lena Dunham “Girls”
Edie Falco “Nurse Jackie”
Julia Louis-Dreyfus “Veep”
Gina Rodriguez “Jane the Virgin”
Taylor Schilling “Orange Is the New Black” Best mini-series or TV movie:
“Fargo” (FX)
“The Missing” (Starz)
“The Normal Heart” (HBO)
“Olive Kitteridge” (HBO)
“True Detective” (HBO)
Best mini-series or TV movie actor:
Martin Freeman “Fargo”
Woody Harrelson “True Detective”
Matthew McConaughey “True Detective”
Mark Ruffalo “The Normal Heart”
Billy Bob Thornton “Fargo”
Best mini-series or TV movie actress:
Maggie Gyllenhaal “The Honorable Woman”
Jessica Lange “American Horror Story: Freak Show”
Frances McDormand “Olive Kitteridge”
Frances O’Connor “The Missing”
Allison Tolman “Fargo”
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