The Artist leads 69th Golden Globe Award nominees

The nominations for the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards were announced in Los Angeles yesterday, with silent film The Artist leading the pack with six nominations.

There were few surprises among the contenders. Oscar favourites The Descendants and The Help were close behind The Artist with five noms a piece.

Notably absent: Stephen Daldry’s Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, which was only just recently completed.

Best Motion Picture – Drama

The Descendants
The Help
Hugo
The Ides of March
Moneyball
War Horse

Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical

50/50
The Artist
Bridesmaids
Midnight in Paris
My Week With Marilyn

Best Director – Motion Picture

Woody Allen – Midnight in Paris
George Clooney ­- The Ides of March
Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist
Alexander Payne – The Descendants
Martin Scorsese – Hugo

Best Screenplay – Motion Picture

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 Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama

Glenn Close – Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis – The Help
Rooney Mara – The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep – The Iron Lady
Tilda Swinton – We Need to Talk About Kevin

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama

George Clooney – The Descendants
Leonardo DiCaprio – J. Edgar
Michael Fassbender – Shame
Ryan Gosling – The Ides of March
Brad Pitt – Moneyball

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical

Jodie Foster – Carnage
Charlize Theron – Young Adult
Kristen Wiig – Bridesmaids
Michelle Williams – My Week With Marilyn
Kate Winslet – Carnage

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical

Jean Dujardin – The Artist
Brendan Gleeson – The Guard
Joseph Gordon-Levitt – 50/50
Ryan Gosling – Crazy Stupid Love
Owen Wilson – Midnight in Paris

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Berenice Bejo – The Artist
Jessica Chastain – The Help
Janet McTeer – Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer – The Help
Shailene Woodley – The Descendants

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Kenneth Branagh – My Week With Marilyn
Albert Brooks – Drive
Jonah Hill – Moneyball
Viggo Mortensen – A Dangerous Method
Christopher Plummer – Beginners

Best Animated Feature Film

The Adventures of Tintin
Arthur Christmas
Cars 2
Puss in Boots
Rango

Best Foreign Language Film

The Flowers of War
In The Land of Blood and Honey
The Kid with a Bike
A Separation
The Skin I Live In

To see the rest of the nominees, including those in the TV categories, head to the official Golden Globes website.

Ricky Gervais will host the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards ceremony on January 15, 2012.

Discuss: What would you like to see take home the top prizes?