Globes: Take It To The 'Mountain'

The cowboy romance "Brokeback Mountain" led Golden Globe contenders Tuesday with seven nominations, but left actor Jake Gyllenhaal out in the cold.

Ang Lee's cowboy movie was nominated fort best dramatic picture and honors for actors Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams, and director Lee, positioning itself as a key Academy Awards competitor.

However, Gyllenhaal, one of "Brokeback Mountain's" two stars, was not among the Golden Globe nominees, despite generally positive reviews for his role in that movie and in this fall's "Jarhead."

"He (Gyllenhaal) was left out for 'Brokeback Mountain,' which is a real surprise," Jess Cagle, People magazine senior editor, said Tuesday morning on The Early Show.

"Because he was not nominated either in the best actor category or best supporting actor category, that's a bit of a shock. Some people thought Heath Ledger might not get the best actor nomination but he did. I'm not surprised. He has gotten a consensus of critical awards so far. So that makes total sense."

Other best drama picture contenders were the murder thriller "The Constant Gardener," the Edward R. Murrow tale "Good Night, and Good Luck," the mobster story "A History of Violence," and Woody Allen's infidelity drama "Match Point."

"I was very happy to see Clooney get best director for 'Good Night, and Good Luck,' " Cagle said. "He has had a big year: 'Syriana,' 'Good Night, and Good Luck,' which he directed. Obviously, he is nominated as director. So it is really a step toward him becoming a director, which is what I think he really wants to do with his life from now on."

The Globes have a separate category for musical or comedy films. Nominated there were the theater tale "Mrs. Henderson Presents,'' the Jane Austen costume pageant "Pride & Prejudice," the Broadway musical "The Producers," the divorce story "The Squid and the Whale," and the Johnny Cash film biography "Walk the Line."

The Globes were the latest recognition for "Brokeback Mountain," a critical darling that has received top honors from critics groups in New York City, Los Angeles and Boston.

Along with Ledger, who plays a family man concealing a homosexual affair from his wife, best dramatic actor nominees included three actors playing real-life figures: Russell Crowe as Depression-era boxer Jim Braddock in "Cinderella Man," Philip Seymour Hoffman as author Truman Capote in "Capote," and David Strathairn as newsman Murrow in "Good Night, and Good Luck." The fifth nominee was Terrence Howard as a small-time pimp-turned-rap singer in "Hustle & Flow."

"The two actors who are neck-and-neck for best actor race are Heath Ledger and Philip Seymour Hoffman," said Cagle. "He (Hoffman) has also gotten acclaim for 'Capote.' If you had to sort of get a favorite, Philip Seymour Hoffman has been around a while; Heath Ledger is sort of new on the scene."

Cagle also called "Capote" a wonderful movie and said, "I'm sorry it wasn't nominated."

Felicity Huffman received two nominations, best dramatic actress in a film for her role as a man preparing for sex-change surgery in "Transamerica" and best actress in a TV musical or comedy for "Desperate Housewives." Her "Desperate Housewives" co-stars Marcia Cross, Teri Hatcher and Eva Longoria also were nominated.

Other best dramatic film actress nominees were Maria Bello as a wife learning painful secrets about her husband in "A History of Violence," Gwyneth Paltrow as an unstable math genius' daughter in "Proof," Charlize Theron as a woman leading a sexual harassment lawsuit in "North Country," and Ziyi Zhang as a poor girl who becomes the belle of Japan's geisha houses in "Memoirs of a Geisha."

Based on a short story by Annie Proulx, "Brokeback Mountain" grabbed a supporting actress nomination for Williams as Ledger's wife, who chooses to ignore his affair with a man (Gyllenhaal) to hold her family together. The movie also scored a directing nomination for Lee and received nominations for best screenplay, score and song.

For best actor in a movie, musical or comedy, Globe voters nominated Pierce Brosnan as a burned-out hit man in "The Matador," Jeff Daniels as a husband unglued by divorce in "The Squid and the Whale," Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," Nathan Lane as a Broadway con man in "The Producers," Cillian Murphy as a cross-dressing Irishman in "Breakfast on Pluto," and Joaquin Phoenix as country legend Cash in "Walk the Line."

Best musical or comedy film actress nominees were Judi Dench as a 1930s British dame who opens a nude theatrical review in "Mrs. Henderson Presents," Keira Knightley as the romantic heroine in "Pride & Prejudice," Laura Linney as a divorcing wife in "The Squid and the Whale," Sarah Jessica Parker as a woman hated by her fiancé's relations in "The Family Stone," and Reese Witherspoon as country singer June Carter in "Walk the Line."

Two years ago, the Golden Globes correctly predicted winners in most key categories, including the best-picture champ "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" and actors Sean Penn, Charlize Theron, Tim Robbins and Renee Zellweger.

But a year ago, the Globes missed the mark when it picked "The Aviator" as best picture, an honor that went to "Million Dollar Baby" at the Oscars. Jamie Foxx and Hilary Swank won lead-acting Globes and went on to earn Oscars, but Globe voters chose Clive Owen and Natalie Portman of "Closer" for supporting-actor honors, which were won at the Oscars by Morgan Freeman for "Million Dollar Baby" and Cate Blanchett for "The Aviator."

"Right now, 'Brokeback Mountain' really is the movie to beat," he said.

The Globes are awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a relatively small group of about 90 reporters for overseas news outlets. With a nationally televised awards ceremony on NBC and a historically solid knack for picking eventual Academy Award winners, the Globes wield a fair amount of sway among the 5,800 Oscar voters.

All of these awards don't necessarily translate into box-office bucks. Cagle said none of these nominees has been a high-grossing film.

" 'The Squid and the Whale' has made something like $3 million," he said. The only big hit among all the best picture nominations really is 'Walk the Line.' That's made $68 million."

Winners of the Golden Globes will be announced Jan. 16, five days before polls close for Oscar voters. Oscar nominations come out Jan. 31, and the awards will be presented March 5.

The Globes feature 13 categories for film and 11 for television. Unlike other major movie awards, the Globes have separate divisions for dramas and comedies or musicals in the best-picture and lead-acting categories.

Anthony Hopkins will receive the group's Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement.