Golden Globes usher in awards season in Hollywood

Golden Globes usher in awards season in Hollywood

This year's awards extravaganza in Hollywood will start with the Golden Globes on Sunday with many hopefuls trying to gain some lift from the awards show towards Oscar recognition next month. The Globes are said to be a good barometer on the chances of its nominees to win an Academy Award which is to be held later.

British drama film "The King's Speech" and "The Social Network" have emerged as early front runners for the top awards this year.

Colin Firth stars as the stuttering King George VI in "The King's Speech" which has seven nominations at the Globes. Firth is nominated for best actor and the movie also garnered nominations for best film, director, score, supporting actor and actress as well as screenplay.

It opened in limited release and has so far raked in modest profits but reviews were mostly positive. Observers note that it was a surprise nominee but is slowly garnering buzz ahead of the Oscars.

In contrast, "The Social Network", just like the social networking site it was based on, has been a huge hit among moviegoers. It is nominated in five categories including best picture, actor, supporting actor, screenplay and director.

Among the nominees for best director are David Fincher (The Social Network), Tom Hooper (The King's Speech), Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan), David Russell (The Fighter), and Christopher Nolan (Inception).

Joining Firth in the best actor nominee list are Ryan Gosling (Blue Valentine), Mark Wahlberg (The Fighter) and James Franco (127 Hours).

Some critics questioned the inclusion of "The Tourist" in the comedy or musical category as a purely marketing ploy to feature Hollywood A-listers to attend the Golden Globes. The film stars Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp.

Posted by Kade Quinn on Sunday January 16 2011, 1:30 AM EDT. Ref: Inquirer. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Entertainment, Featured News. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0