'12 Years A Slave,' 'American Hustle' lead Golden Globes

From left, Zoe Saldana, Aziz Ansari and Olivia Wilde chat onstatge before the nominations for the 71st Annual Golden Globe Awards today in Beverly Hills, Calif.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Editor's note: Click here for the full list of nominees

From left, Zoe Saldana, Aziz Ansari and Olivia Wilde chat onstatge before the nominations for the 71st Annual Golden Globe Awards today in Beverly Hills, Calif.

Chiwetel Ejiofor in a scene from "12 Years A Slave."

The searing historical epic “12 Years a Slave” and the con-artist caper “American Hustle” lead the 71st annual Golden Globes with seven nominations each.

The nominations announced early today in Beverly Hills, Calif., by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association suggested “American Hustle” and “12 Years a Slave” — one outlandish and farcical, the other grimly accurate — may be this year’s Oscar favorites.

Hailed by critics as the movies’ most unblinking portrait of slavery, “12 Years a Slave” verified its front-runner status with nominations including best film drama, Chiwetel Ejiofor for best actor in a drama, Steve McQueen for best director and Michael Fassbender and Lupita Nyong’o for their supporting roles.

“All of these nominations hopefully mean that more people will go and see it and that is really exciting because I feel this film is pivotal and just so good for the world,” said Nyong’o.

“American Hustle” dominated on the Globes’ other category side: comedy or musical. The fictionalized story of the FBI’s Abscam investigation amid the disco 1970s earned nominations for best movie comedy and David O. Russell for best director. Much of its starry cast received nominations, including lead actors Christian Bale and Amy Adams, as well as last year’s Oscar darling, Jennifer Lawrence for best supporting actress.

Also in the mix are Alexander Payne’s father-son road trip “Nebraska,” with five nominations, including best actor for Bruce Dern. The space odyssey “Gravity” earned four nominations, as did the Somali pirate thriller “Captain Phillips,” starring Tom Hanks as the kidnapped cargo ship captain.

Alfonso Cuaron’s innovative 3-D spectacle “Gravity,” for which star Sandra Bullock received a best actress nomination, should be a bigger Oscar heavyweight at the Academy Awards, which honor technical categories that the Globes don’t. With more than $630 million in worldwide box office, “Gravity” also figures to be the populist favorite.

This year’s comedy competition — usually a mixed bag compared to the dramatic categories — could be the strongest field ever for the Globes. Aside from “American Hustle,” the group includes Martin Scorsese’s “The Wolf of Wall Street,” Alexander Payne’s “Nebraska,” Spike Jonze’s “Her” and the Coen brothers’ “Inside Llewyn Davis.”

The soulful futuristic romance “Her” and ‘60s Greenwich Village folk tale “Inside Llewyn Davis” both reaped three nominations, including nods for its stars: newcomer Oscar Isaac for “Llewyn Davis” and Joaquin Phoenix for “Her.”

The last film of 2013 to screen, Scorsese’s three-hour financial industry extravaganza had been one of the biggest question marks this awards season. After being snubbed Wednesday by the Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations, it earned a nomination for Leonardo DiCaprio’s performance as an out-of-control Wall Street trader, along with the best picture nomination.

The 77-year-old Dern rounds out best actor in a comedy for his performance as a taciturn Montana man who believes he’s won a mailing sweepstakes. He’s joined on the dramatic best actor side by another 77-year-old veteran, Robert Redford, who had surprisingly been overlooked by the Screen Actors. The actor, who hasn’t ever won an acting Oscar, was nominated by the Globes for his nearly unspoken performance as a man shipwrecked in the Indian Ocean in “All Is Lost.”

In the dramatic best picture category, “12 Years a Slave” was joined by “Captain Phillips,” ‘’Gravity,” ‘’Philomena” and “Rush.” Most notably shutout was “Lee Daniels’ The Butler,” the Civil Rights history told through a long-serving White House butler played by Forest Whitaker.

From left, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jeremy Renner, Christian Bale and Jennifer Lawrence in a scene from "American Hustle." The film was nominated for a Golden Globe for best motion picture, musical or comedy.

The awards and their boozy telecast are known for a desire to attract stars, even if their films aren’t quite up to snuff. (It will be a long time before the HFPA, a collection of about 85 largely freelance journalists, lives down its nominations for Johnny Depp’s “The Tourist.") This year’s ceremony on Jan. 12 will again be hosted by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, who led last year’s broadcast to 19.7 million viewers, a significant bump for the Globes. They often serve a preamble to the more prestigious Oscars, which will be held March 2.

This year’s Cecil B. DeMille lifetime achievement award will be given to Woody Allen, who, long a absentee from award shows, isn’t expected to attend. His latest film “Blue Jasmine,” a portrait of a bitter, fallen socialite played by Cate Blanchett, won nominations today for Blanchett and Sally Hawkins.

The last two years, one of the Globes’ best-picture winners went on to top the Academy Awards. Last year, the Globes awarded Ben Affleck’s “Argo” best picture for drama. The year before that, the silent film ode “The Artist” won best picture for a comedy.

Though the Globes are often known for idiosyncratic choices (last year “Salmon Fishing in the Yemen” received three nominations), their 2013 picks contained few oddities.

Among the surprises were a few nominees for best actress in a comedy. Julie Delpy was nominated for her performance in the romance “Before Midnight,” the third film in Richard Linklater’s series. And Greta Gerwig received a nod for “Frances Ha,” the black-and-white story of a young, meandering New York dancer.

“When the phone rang this morning, I silenced it and I thought, UGH, who do I owe money to?” said Gerwig.

Disney’s making-of “Mary Poppins” tale “Saving Mr. Banks,” a possible Oscar contender, fared poorly today, earning only a nomination for Emma Thompson’s lead performance as “Poppins” author P.L. Travers. While the Texas HIV drama “Dallas Buyers Club” was rewarded with expected nominations for Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto, it failed to land any others.

McConaughey, Redford and Ejiofor are joined in best actor by Tom Hanks for “Captain Phillips” and Idris Elba, who plays the late Nelson Mandela in “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.”

A film that could have easily been a theatrical release, Steven Soderbergh’s Liberace drama “Behind the Candelabra,” topped the Globes’ television nominations. The HBO film helped lead the cable channel to a leading nine nominations among TV networks.

The digital platform Netflix, though, emerged as a new challenger with six total nods. The subscription service’s first major foray into original programming, the political thriller “House of Cards,” tied “Candelabra” with four nominations. “House of Cards,” produced by David Fincher and starring Kevin Spacey, is also a product of filmmakers who turned to the small screen.

List of nominees for the 71st annual Golden Globe Awards

MOTION PICTURES

Picture, Drama: “12 Years a Slave,” ‘’Captain Phillips,” ‘’Gravity,” ‘’Philomena,” ‘’Rush.”

Picture, Musical or Comedy: “American Hustle,” ‘’Her,” ‘’Inside Llewyn Davis,” ‘’Nebraska,” ‘’The Wolf of Wall Street.”

Actor, Drama: Chiwetel Ejiofor, “12 Years a Slave"; Idris Elba, “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom"; Tom Hanks, “Captain Phillips"; Matthew McConaughey, “Dallas Buyers Club"; Robert Redford, “All Is Lost.”

Actress, Drama: Cate Blanchett, “Blue Jasmine"; Sandra Bullock, “Gravity"; Judi Dench, “Philomena"; Emma Thompson, “Saving Mr. Banks"; Kate Winslet, “Labor Day.”

Director: Alfonso Curon, “Gravity"; Paul Greengrass, “Captain Phillips"; Steve McQueen, “12 Years a Slave"; Alexander Payne, “Nebraska"; David O. Russell, “American Hustle.”

Actor, Musical or Comedy: Christian Bale, “American Hustle"; Bruce Dern, “Nebraska"; Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Wolf of Wall Street"; Joaquin Phoenix, “Her.”

Actress, Musical or Comedy: Amy Adams, “American Hustle"; Julie Delpy, “Before Midnight"; Greta Gerwig, “Frances Ha"; Julia Louis-Dreyfus, “Enough Said"; Meryl Streep, “August: Osage County.”

Supporting Actor: Barkhad Abdi, “Captain Phillips"; Daniel Bruhl, “Rush"; Bradley Cooper, “American Hustle"; Michael Fassbender, “12 Years a Slave"; Jared Leto, “Dallas Buyers Club.”

Supporting Actress: Sally Hawkins, “Blue Jasmine"; Jennifer Lawrence, “American Hustle"; Lupita Nyong’o, “12 Years a Slave"; Julia Roberts, “August: Osage County"; June Squibb, “Nebraska.”

Foreign Language: “Blue Is the Warmest Color,” ‘’The Great Beauty,” ‘’The Hunt,” ‘’The Past,” ‘’The Wind Rises.”

Animated Film: “The Croods,” ‘’Despicable Me 2,” ‘’Frozen.”

Screenplay: Spike Jonze, “Her"; Bob Nelson, “Nebraska"; Jeff Pope and Steve Coogan, “Philomena"; John Ridley, “12 Years a Slave"; Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell, “American Hustle.”

Original Score: Alex Ebert, “All Is Lost"; Alex Heffes, “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom"; Steven Price, “Gravity"; John Williams, “The Book Thief"; Hans Zimmer, “12 Years a Slave.”

Original Song: “Atlas” (music and lyrics by Chris Martin, Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland and Will Champion), “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire"; “Let it Go” (music and lyrics by Kristen Anderson Lopez and Robert Lopez), “Frozen"; “Ordinary Love” (music by Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen Jr. and Brian Burton, lyrics by Bono), “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom"; “Please Mr. Kennedy” (music and lyrics by Ed Rush, George Cromarty, T Bone Burnett, Justin Timberlake, Joel Coen and Ethan Coen), “Inside Llewyn Davis"; “Sweeter Than Fiction” (music and lyrics by Taylor Swift and Jack Antonoff), “One Chance.”

TELEVISION

Series, Drama: “Breaking Bad,” ‘’Downton Abbey,” ‘’The Good Wife,” ‘’House of Cards,” ‘’Masters of Sex.”

Actor, Drama: Bryan Cranston, “Breaking Bad"; Liev Schreiber, “Ray Donovan"; Michael Sheen, “Masters of Sex"; Kevin Spacey, “House of Cards.”

Actress, Drama: Julianna Margulies, “The Good Wife"; Tatiana Maslany, “Orphan Black"; Taylor Schilling, “Orange Is the New Black"; Kerry Washington, “Scandal"; Robin Wright, “House of Cards.”

Series, Musical or Comedy: “The Big Bang Theory,” ‘’Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” ‘’Girls,” ‘’Modern Family,” ‘’Parks and Recreation.”

Actress, Musical or Comedy: Zooey Deschanel, “New Girl"; Lena Dunham, “Girls"; Edie Falco, “Nurse Jackie"; Julia Louis-Dreyfus, “Veep"; Amy Poehler, “Parks and Recreation.”

Actor, Musical or Comedy: Jason Bateman, “Arrested Development"; Don Cheadle, “House of Lies"; Michael J. Fox, “The Michael J. Fox Show"; Jim Parsons, “The Big Bang Theory"; Andy Samberg, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine.”

Miniseries or Movie: “American Horror Story: Coven,” ‘’Behind the Candelabra,” ‘’Dancing on the Edge,” ‘’Top of the Lake,” ‘’White Queen.”

Actress, Miniseries or Movie: Helena Bonham Carter, “Burton and Taylor"; Rebecca Ferguson, “White Queen"; Jessica Lange, “American Horror Story: Coven"; Helen Mirren, “Phil Spector"; Elisabeth Moss, “Top of the Lake.”

Actor, Miniseries or Movie: Matt Damon, “Behind the Candelabra"; Michael Douglas, “Behind the Candelabra"; Chiwetel Ejiofor, “Dancing on the Edge"; Idris Elba, “Luther"; Al Pacino, “Phil Spector.”

Supporting Actress, Series, Miniseries or Movie: Jacqueline Bisset, “Dancing on the Edge"; Janet McTeer, “White Queen"; Hayden Panettiere, “Nashville"; Monica Potter, “Parenthood"; Sofia Vergara, “Modern Family.”

Supporting Actor, Series, Miniseries or Movie: Josh Charles, “The Good Wife"; Rob Lowe, “Behind the Candelabra"; Aaron Paul, “Breaking Bad"; Corey Stoll, “House of Cards"; Jon Voight, “Ray Donovan.”

Previously announced:

Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award: Woody Allen.