Golden Globes nominations: “Lincoln” and HBO lead the way

Abraham Lincoln’s fortune at the theater appears to be taking a turn for the better, because the Steven Spielberg-directed biography bearing his name was nominated this morning for seven Golden Globes. HBO continues to set the bar on the small screen as it raked in 17 nominations total for its original movies (Game Change, The Girl and Hemingway & Gellhorn), dramas (Boardwalk Empire and The Newsroom) and comedies (Veep and Girls).

Although the Golden Globes are considered controversial by many — the voting is limited to roughly 90 members of the foreign press — they do serve as an indicator of what we might expect when the more prestigious Academy Award nominations are announced next month.

Most fans will tune into the Golden Globes ceremony on NBC on January 13 (hosted by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler), because it’s a rare opportunity to see movie and TV stars under the same roof. It also doesn’t hurt that  plenty of alcohol is consumed, which makes for much less stuffier acceptance speeches than we hear at the Oscars. Who can forget the year that Christine Lahti was in the bathroom when her name was announced as a winner?

In the motion picture category, the nominees for best drama include Lincoln, ArgoDjango UnchainedLife of Pi and Zero Dark Thirty. Among the other seven nominations Lincoln received were for Best Director (Steven Spielberg), Best Actor (Daniel Day-Lewis) and Best Actress (Sally Field). The films by Ben Affleck (Argo) and Quentin Tarantino (Django Unchained) earned five nods apiece.

The Best Picture nominees in the musical or comedy category are The Best Exotic Marigold HotelLes MisérablesMoonrise KindgomSalmon Fishing in the Yemen and Silver Linings Playbook — the latter of which drew best acting nominations for Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence.

There were a few surprises in the TV categories with Mad Men being skipped over for Best Drama and Peter Dinklage failing to get a nod for Game of Thrones after winning Best Supporting Actor a year ago. It also raised some eyebrows when Smash was nominated over shows like Community, Louie and Veep.

Those making the cut for Best Drama this year are Breaking Bad (AMC), Boardwalk Empire and The Newsroom (HBO), Downton Abbey (PBS) and Homeland (Showtime), which was the most nominated television series with four (the other three came in the acting categories for Claire Danes, Damian Lewis and Mandy Patinkin).

The top five picks in the comedy/musical genre are The Big Bang Theory (CBS), Episodes (Showtime), Girls (HBO), Modern Family (ABC) and Smash (NBC). Matt LeBlanc was recognized again for Episodes, which made Showtime the only network to have actors honored in both the drama and comedy categories.

Here is a list of the acting nominees for television drama and comedy (see full list of nominees at the Golden Globes website):

Best Actor, Television Drama:
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Jeff Daniels, The Newsroom
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Damian Lewis, Homeland

Best Actress, Television Drama:
Connie Britton, Nashville
Glenn Close, Damages
Claire Danes, Homeland
Michelle Dockery, Downton Abbey
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife

Best Actor, Television Comedy or Musical:
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Don Cheadle, House of Lies
Louis C.K., Louie
Matt LeBlanc, Episodes
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory

Best Actress, Television Comedy or Musical:
Zooey Deschanel, New Girl
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Lena Dunham, Girls
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation

The Golden Globes air live on NBC Jan. 13 at 8pm ET.

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Pictured: Golden Globe nominees Ed Harris and Julianne Moore in HBO’s “Game Change”; Credit: Phillip V. Caruso