Lincoln leads, Salmon scores, Aussies appear, and chaos reigns in 70th Golden Globe nominations

Ah, the Golden Globes. Where Salmon Fishing in the Yemen is considered one of the 10 best films of the year and shows like Mad Men and Louie are inferior to Smash!

The nominations for the 70th Golden Globes Awards were announced last night, and the enigmatic Hollywood Foreign Press Association reminded us what hilarious scamps they are!

Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln dominated the field with seven nods, followed by Argo and Django Unchained with five a piece.

Though many of their picks will likely be consistent with those of the Academy’s – particularly when it comes to the Best Motion Picture – Drama category, where Argo, Django Unchained, Life of Pi, Lincoln, and Zero Dark Thirty ruled – there were still plenty of unwelcome surprises.

The aforementioned Salmon Fishing in the Yemen scored three nods (three more than, say, Beasts of the Southern Wild), while over in the TV section, the HFPA deemed the fifth season of Mad Men (in my opinion, its best season ever) inferior to the likes of HBO’s much maligned Newsroom.

The Aussies fared well. Naomi Watts and Hugh Jackman picked up Best Actress and Actor recognition for their work in The Impossible and Les Miserables respectively. Nicole Kidman was welcomed into the Best Supporting Actress contingent for her part in The Paperboy, and her hubby Keith Urban scored a Best Original Song nomination for Act of Valour (there is a chance he got the nom merely because it made the seating arrangements easier).

The winners will be announced at the January 13 ceremony hosted by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. Fittingly, both Fey and Poehler received nominations for Best Actress in a Television Series – Comedy or Musical, though their respective shows – 30 Rock and Parks and Recreation – were not deemed worthy enough to join the likes of, ahem, The Big Bang Theory, Smash, and Episodes in the Best Television Series – Comedy or Musical category.

Here is a select list of nominees.

BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
Argo
Django Unchained
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Zero Dark Thirty

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Marion Cotillard, Rust and Bone
Helen Mirren, Hitchcock
Naomi Watts, The Impossible
Rachel Weisz, The Deep Blue Sea

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Richard Gere, Arbitrage
John Hawkes, The Sessions
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
Denzel Washington, Flight

BEST MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Les Miserables
Moonrise Kingdom
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
Silver Linings Playbook

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Emily Blunt, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
Judi Dench, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Maggie Smith, Quartet
Meryl Streep, Hope Springs

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Jack Black, Bernie
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables
Ewan McGregor, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
Bill Murray, Hyde Park on Hudson

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Brave
Frankenweenie
Hotel Transylvania
Rise of the Guardians
Wreck-It Ralph

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Amour
A Royal Affair
The Intouchables
Kon-Tiki
Rust and Bone

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Amy Adams, The Master
Sally Field, Lincoln
Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
Helen Hunt, The Sessions
Nicole Kidman, The Paperboy

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Alan Arkin, Argo
Leonardo DiCaprio, Django Unchained
Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained

BEST DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE
Ben Affleck, Argo
Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty
Ang Lee, Life of Pi
Steven Spielberg, Lincoln
Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained

BEST TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
Breaking Bad
Boardwalk Empire
Downton Abbey
Homeland
The Newsroom

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
Connie Britton, Nashville
Glenn Close, Damages
Claire Danes, Homeland
Michelle Dockery, Downton Abbey
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Jeff Daniels, The Newsroom
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Damian Lewis, Homeland

BEST TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
The Big Bang Theory
Episodes
Girls
Modern Family
Smash

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Zooey Deschanel, New Girl
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Lena Dunham Girls
Tine Fey, 30 Rock
Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Don Cheadle, House of Lies
Louis C.K., Louis
Matt LeBlanc, Episodes
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory

Check out the full list of nominees here.