It's touted as the best indicator of the battle for Oscar glory.So British thespians Kenneth Branagh, Kate Winslet and Tilda Swinton could all be in the running on film's biggest night after being nominated for Golden Globe awards. Tilda has been put forward in the best actress in a drama category for her role in We Need to Talk About Kevin. She is up against Meryl Streep's mesmerising turn as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady.
Kate, meanwhile, is up for two gongs. She's vying for the best comedy actress trophy for her role in the Roman Polanski film Carnage and best TV actress for Mildred Pierce.
Meanwhile Kenneth gets a best supporting actor nod for playing Laurence Olivier opposite Michelle Williams' in My Week With Marilyn.
Leading the field with six nominations is silent film homage The Artist. It has been put forward for best musical and comedy and has nods for its stars Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo. Following close behind was George Clooney film The Descendants and The Help - both with five nods apiece. It was a good day for George, who received his first ever best director nominations for Ides of March as well as best original screenplay for the flick. He was also nominated for best actor for The Descendants.
Costume drama Downton Abbey got four nominations in the TV categories. The ceremony kicks off awards season in earnest on January 15. It will be hosted for the second year in a row by controversial British funnyman Ricky Gervais.
69th Golden Globes Awards® Nominations
- BEST MALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA
- Michael Fassbender - Shame
- George Clooney - The Descendants
- Leonardo DiCaprio - J. Edgar
- Ryan Gosling - The Ides of March
- Brad Pitt - Moneyball BEST FEMALE ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
- Glenn Close - Albert Nobbs
- Viola Davis - The Help
- Meryl Streep - The Iron Lady
- Tilda Swinton - We Need To Talk About Kevin
- Rooney Mara - The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
- Kenneth Branagh - My Week With Marilyn
- Albert Brooks - Drive
- Jonah Hill - Moneyball
- Viggo Mortensen - A Dangerous Method
- Christopher Plummer - Beginners BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
- Bérénice Bejo - The Artist
- Jessica Chastain - The Help
- Shailene Woodley - The Descendants
- Janet McTeer - Albert Nobbs
- Octavia Spencer - The Help BEST DRAMA
- Hugo
- The Ides of March
- The Descendants
- The Help
- War Horse
- Moneyball BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY
- Jean Dujardin - The Artist
- Brendan Gleeson - The Guard
- Joseph Gordon-Levitt - 50/50
- Ryan Gosling - Crazy, Stupid, Love
- Owen Wilson - Midnight in Paris BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
- Jodie Foster - Carnage
- Charlize Theron - Young Adult
- Kristen Wig - Bridesmaids
- Michelle Williams - My Week With Marilyn
- Kate Winslet - Carnage BEST COMEDY OR MUSICAL
- 50/50
- The Artist
- Bridesmaids
- Midnight in Paris
- My Week With Marilyn BEST ANIMATED FILM
- The Adventures of Tintin
- Arthur Christmas
- Cars 2
- Puss In Boots
- Rango BEST DIRECTOR
- Woody Allen - Midnight in Paris
- George Clooney - The Ides of March
- Michel Hazanavicius - The Artist
- Alexander Payne - The Descendants
- Martin Scorsese - Hugo BEST SCREENPLAY
- Woody Allen - Midnight in Paris
- George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon - The Ides of March
- Michel Hazanavicius - The Artist
- Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash - The Descendants
- Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin - Moneyball BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
- The Flowers of War China
- In The Land Of Blood And Honey USA
- The Kid With a Bike Belgium
- A Separation Iran
- The Skin I Live In Spain