Golden Globe noms unveiled

The complex globe trotting drama "Babel" -- starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett -- dominated the 64th annual Golden Globe nominations announced Thursday with a field leading seven nominations, including nods for best picture and best director.

"Babel," which follows four interconnected stories on several different continents, was also nominated for best screenplay, three acting awards in the supporting categories, and best original score. With the surprisingly strong showing, the film that earned generally favorable reviews even as it did fairly tepid box office business finds itself a leading contender this awards season.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. handed out double nominations in the same category for Clint Eastwood and Leonardo DiCaprio.

DiCaprio received best actor nominations for best actor in a motion picture drama for his roles as a South African jewel-hunting mercenary in "Blood Diamond" and as an undercover cop infiltrating Boston's Irish mob in "The Departed." Other nominees in that category were Peter O'Toole as an aging actor who falls for a teenager in "Venus," Will Smith as a struggling single dad in "The Pursuit of Happyness" and Forest Whitaker as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in "The Last King of Scotland."

Eastwood, a longtime Golden Globe favorite, is vying against himself in the best directory category for his World War II dramas "Flags of Our Fathers" and "Letters from Iwo Jima." "Letters," which is largely in Japanese, also received a nomination in the best foreign film category. Other best director nominees were Martin Scorsese for "The Departed" and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu for "Babel" and Stephen Frears for "The Queen," which looks at the crisis in the British monarch after the death of Princess Diana.

Several other performers also receiving multiple nominations:

Singer Beyonce Knowles received a nod for playing best actress in a musical or comedy as a Diana Ross-esque singer in "Dreamgirls," and co-writing the film's best original song nominee, "Listen."

Helen Mirren received best actress nominations for playing the English monarch Elizabeth II in the film "The Queen" and as one of history's most famous rulers in the TV miniseries "Elizabeth I." Mirren scored a third best actress nomination as the tough-minded police inspector in the Masterpiece Theater miniseries, "Prime Suspect: The Final Act."

Chiwetel Ejiofor received a nomination for best actor in a musical or comedy for playing a cross-dressing cabaret performer in "Kinky Boots" and was also nominated for best actor in a TV miniseries or movie for playing a father searching for his child in "Tsunami, the Aftermath."

Annette Bening picked up nominations for best actress in a musical or comedy for her role as an eccentric wife and mother in "Running with Scissors" and for best actress in a minseries or movie as the murderess in "Mrs. Harris."

Emily Blunt was honored with nominations for best supporting actress in "The Devil Wears Prada" as the harried assistant to a fashion magazine editor and as a supporting actress in a series, miniseries or movie for playing the daughter of a British P.R. genius in "Gideon's Daughter."

And Toni Collette was nominated for best actress in a comedy or musical for "Little Miss Sunshine" as the mother of a young beauty pagent contestent and for supporting actress in a series, miniseries or movie for playing a local educator in "Tsunami, the Aftermath."

Best film nominees in the drama category included "Babel," "Bobby," "The Departed," The Queen" and "Little Children," a crisis-in-suburbia drama. Of the five nominees, perhaps the most surprising was "Bobby," Emilio Estevez' drama about the assassination of Robert Kennedy, which received decidedly mixed reviews and was a disappointment at the box office.

As a prognosticator for the Academy Awards, the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. -- made up of about 90 journalists from media outlets around the globe -- has a mixed record.

Last year, the group's top acting picks went on to win Oscars, as well as its best director winner. But for the last two years, the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards have failed to agree on the best picture winners. In fact, the Oscar-winning best picture of 2005 - "Crash" - only received Globe nominations for supporting actor and screenplay.