Golden Globes countdown

Awards season frenzy will reach a fever pitch today as the Golden Globe Awards are broadcast from the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

From tonight through the Academy Award ceremony on Feb. 25, hopeful talent and their handlers will be in full-tilt boogie mode – all campaigning, all the time.

"Babel" was the somewhat surprising leader in feature film nominations at the Golden Globes this year, with seven including best motion picture drama. Also nominated in that category are "Bobby," "The Departed," "Little Children" and "The Queen."

This year numerous performers are nominated in multiple categories, and a few find themselves competing against themselves.

Leonardo DiCaprio is nominated twice for best performance by an actor in a motion picture drama, for his performances in "Blood Diamond" and "The Departed." Clint Eastwood is nominated twice for best director, for "Flags of Our Fathers" and "Letters From Iwo Jima."

Toni Collette, Helen Mirren, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Emily Blunt all find themselves with nominations in multiple acting categories in television and film.

Alongside DiCaprio, the nominees for best actor drama are Peter O'Toole for "Venus," Will Smith for "the Pursuit of Happyness" and Forest Whitaker for "The Last King Of Scotland."

The nominees for best performance by an actress in a motion picture drama are Penelope Cruz for "Volver," Judi Dench for "Notes On A Scandal," Maggie Gyllenhaal for "Sherrybaby," Helen Mirren for "The Queen" and Kate Winslet for "Little Children."

On the musical/comedy side, Sacha Baron Cohen received a nomination for best actor for "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan," while the film itself is up for best motion picture comedy.

Other nominees in the best actor in a motion picture musical or comedy are Johnny Depp for "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," Aaron Eckhart for "Thank You For Smoking," Chiwetel Ejiofor for "Kinky Boots" and Will Ferrell for "Stranger Than Fiction."

Up for best actress in a motion picture musical or comedy are Annette Bening for "Running With Scissors," Toni Collette for "Little Miss Sunshine," Beyonce Knowles for "Dreamgirls," Meryl Streep for "The Devil Wears Prada" and Renee Zellweger for "Miss Potter."

Alongside "Borat," the nominees for best motion picture musical of comedy are "The Devil Wears Prada," "Dreamgirls," "Little Miss Sunshine" and "Thank You For Smoking."

This is also the first year the Golden Globes have featured a best animated film category. The nominees are "Cars," "Happy Feet" and "Monster House."

Due to the vagaries of the HFPA bylaws, the nominees for best foreign language film make for an especially unusual group this year. Alongside more expected films such as "The Lives of Others" from Germany, "Pan's Labyrinth" from Mexico and "Volver" from Spain are "Apocalypto" and "Letters From Iwo Jima" directed by Hollywood powerhouses Mel Gibson and Clint Eastwood, respectively.

The Globes are about more than just movies, of course, and so there will also be numerous television stars trotting across the stage to accept their awards.

In the drama categories, the nominees for best television series are "24," "Big Love," "Grey's Anatomy," "Heroes" and "Lost."

The nominees for best performance by an actress in a television series drama are Patricia Arquette for "Medium," Edie Falco for "The Sopranos," Evangeline Lily for "Lost," Ellen Pompeo for "Grey's Anatomy" and Kyra Sedgwick for "The Closer."

In the best actor drama category, the nominees are Patrick Dempsey for "Grey's Anatomy," Michael C. Hall for "Dexter," Hugh Laurie for "House," Bill Paxton for "Big Love" and Kiefer Sutherland for "24."

On the lighter side, the nominees for best television series comedy are "Desperate Housewives," "Entourage," "The Office," "Ugly Betty" and "Weeds."

Nominated for best performance by an actor in a television series comedy are Alec Baldwin for "30 Rock," Zach Braff for "Scrubs," Steve Carell for "The Office," Jason Lee for "My Name Is Earl" and Tony Shaloub for "Monk."

For best actress in a comedy, the nominees are Marcia Cross for "Desperate Housewives," America Ferrera for "Ugly Betty," Felicity Huffman for "Desperate Housewives," Julia Louis-Dreyfus for "The New Adventures Of Old Christine" and Mary-Louise Parker for "Weeds."

Five-time Golden Globe winner Warren Beatty will receive the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement. Lorraine Nicholson, 16-year-old daughter of Jack Nicholson and Rebecca Broussard, will assist throughout the ceremony as Miss Golden Globe.