<I>Angels in America, The Reagans, Soldier's Girl,</i> and <i>Normal</i> score multiple Golden Globe nods (10800)

The Civil War epic Cold Mountain collected a leading eight Golden Globe nominations Thursday, including best drama, as Hollywood marked the start of its annual trophy-giving season. Lost in Translation, starring Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson, and Mystic River, the story of three adult friends linked by tragic crimes, received five nominations each. Along with Cold Mountain and Mystic River, best movie drama contenders were the seafaring epic Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, the true-life horse-racing story Seabiscuit, and the fantasy saga The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. The third film in a hugely successful trilogy, The Return of the King had four nominations, including Peter Jackson for best director.

Big Fish, director Tim Burton's offbeat story of a charismatic father and his repressed son--from out producers Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen--also got four nominations, including best musical or comedy. It competes against the year's highest-grossing movie, the computer-animated Finding Nemo, and three smaller films: Lost in Translation, the soccer coming-of-age story Bend It Like Beckham, and the British holiday romance anthology Love Actually.

Out producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron's The Reagans, which CBS dropped after Reagan admirers complained that it dwelled on the negative, got made-for-TV movie nominations for James Brolin and Judy Davis, who played former president Reagan and first lady Nancy. The Showtime cable channel eventually picked up the movie. While the film was not nominated as one of the year's best films made for television, four GLBT-inclusive titles were: Angels in America, Normal, Soldier's Girl, and Tennessee Williams's The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone. (The fifth nominee was My House in Umbria.) Angels in America scored multiple acting nods, for Al Pacino and Meryl Streep as leads, and for Mary-Louise Parker, Patrick Wilson, Ben Shenkman, and Jeffrey Wright in supporting categories. The latter three will compete against Sean Hayes, as Will & Grace's flamboyant Jack, and Lee Pace, as transgendered entertainer Calpernia Addams in Soldier's Girl.

Ben Kingsley's performance as a desperate Iranian immigrant in House of Sand and Fog joined with Russell Crowe's hardscrabble sea captain in Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World in the lead dramatic movie actor category. Other contenders are Tom Cruise for The Last Samurai, Jude Law for Cold Mountain, and Sean Penn for Mystic River. "Everything's rushing this morning, it's so exciting for us and for the film," Kingsley told the Associated Press. Nicole Kidman's role as a prim Southerner in Cold Mountain earned her a nomination for lead dramatic actress in a movie, along with Uma Thurman for Kill Bill: Vol. 1, Charlize Theron for her portrayal of lesbian serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster, Evan Rachel Wood for thirteen, and Cate Blanchett for Veronica Guerin.

Johansson had two lead performance nominations--one for the drama Girl With a Pearl Earring and one in the comedy class for Lost in Translation. Also nominated with Johansson in the lead comedy film actress category were Diane Keaton for Something's Gotta Give and Helen Mirren for Calendar Girls, two films about beauty and romance among older women. Jamie Lee Curtis was also recognized in the category for playing a mom who switches bodies with her teenage daughter in the remake Freaky Friday, while Diane Lane received a bid for the romance Under the Tuscan Sun. Curtis stepped into Freaky Friday after Annette Bening opted out. "I literally stepped onto something that was already moving, a train already going, and I jumped on at the last minute," she said Thursday. "If I'd had time to think about things, I probably would have stunk."

Jack Black was a surprise nominee for lead comedy or musical film actor for his role as a phony music teacher in School of Rock, while Johnny Depp was nominated for playing a wobbly buccaneer in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Other nominees in the category: Murray for Lost in Translation, Jack Nicholson for Something's Gotta Give, and Billy Bob Thornton for Bad Santa. Renee Zellweger as a tough mountain woman in Cold Mountain and Hope Davis as the wife of a dowdy comic book scribe in American Splendor were among supporting movie actress nominees along with Patricia Clarkson in Pieces of April, Holly Hunter in thirteen, and Maria Bello in The Cooler.

In the supporting movie actor class, Albert Finney was nominated for playing a tall-tale teller in Big Fish, while Alec Baldwin was recognized for playing a casino boss in The Cooler. William H. Macy also received a bid for playing a colorful but fictional horse-race announcer in Seabiscuit. Other nominees: Ken Watanabe for his role as a warrior in The Last Samurai, Tim Robbins as a grown-up abuse victim in Mystic River, and Peter Sarsgaard as a skeptical editor in Shattered Glass. Along with Jackson for The Return of the King, the best movie director nominees were Sofia Coppola for Lost in Translation, Clint Eastwood for Mystic River, Anthony Minghella for Cold Mountain, and Peter Weir for Master and Commander.

In the TV categories, best drama series nominations went to NBC's perennial award-grabber The West Wing, the real-time Fox thriller 24, the FX plastic surgery drama Nip/Tuck (from out creator Ryan Murphy), CBS's CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and HBO's gay-inclusive Six Feet Under (from out creator Alan Ball). Comedy series nominations went to the cult-favorite British sitcom The Office, about a brutally bad middle manager, which airs in the United States on BBC America. Other competitors were the fledgling Fox show Arrested Development, and three critical favorites, USA's Monk, HBO's Sex and the City (from out creator Darren Star), and NBC's gay-themed Will & Grace (cocreated by Max Mutchnick). The Globes, presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, have a history of honoring future Oscar winners. Last season, the Globes were awarded January 19--and this time the live telecast is scheduled for January 25, just two days before Oscar nominations are announced on January 27. Meanwhile, the main Oscar ceremony is set for February 29, about four weeks earlier than usual.

Here is a complete list of 2003 Golden Globes nominations:

Best Motion Picture, Drama: Cold Mountain, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King; Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World; Mystic River; Seabiscuit

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama: Cate Blanchett, Veronica Guerin; Nicole Kidman, Cold Mountain; Scarlett Johansson, Girl with a Pearl Earring; Charlize Theron, Monster; Uma Thurman, Kill Bill, Vol. 1; Evan Rachel Wood, thirteen

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama: Russell Crowe, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World; Tom Cruise, The Last Samurai; Ben Kingsley, House of Sand and Fog; Jude Law, Cold Mountain; Sean Penn, Mystic River

Best Motion Picture, Musical of Comedy: Bend It Like Beckham, Big Fish, Finding Nemo, Lost in Translation, Love Actually

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy: Jamie Lee Curtis, Freaky Friday; Scarlett Johansson, Lost in Translation; Diane Keaton, Something's Gotta Give; Diane Lane, Under the Tuscan Sun; Helen Mirren, Calendar Girls

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy: Jack Black, School of Rock; Johnny Depp, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl; Bill Murray, Lost in Translation; Jack Nicholson, Something's Gotta Give; Billy Bob Thornton, Bad Santa

Best Foreign Language Film: The Barbarian Invasions (Canada), Good Bye, Lenin (Germany), Monsieur Ibrahim (France), Osama (Afghanistan), The Return (Russia)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture: Maria Bello, The Cooler; Patricia Clarkson, Pieces of April; Hope Davis, American Splendor; Holly Hunter, thirteen; Renee Zellweger, Cold Mountain

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture: Alec Baldwin, The Cooler; Albert Finney, Big Fish; William H. Macy, Seabiscuit; Tim Robbins, Mystic River; Peter Sarsgaard, Shattered Glass; Ken Watanabe, The Last Samurai

Best Director, Motion Picture: Sofia Coppola, Lost in Translation; Clint Eastwood, Mystic River; Peter Jackson, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King; Anthony Minghella, Cold Mountain; Peter Weir, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

Best Screenplay, Motion Picture: Sofia Coppola, Lost in Translation; Richard Curtis, Love Actually; Brian Helgeland, Mystic River; Anthony Minghella, Cold Mountain; Jim Sheridan, Naomi Sheridan, Kirsten Sheridan, In America

Best Original Score, Motion Picture: Alexandre Desplat, Girl With a Pearl Earring; Danny Elfman, Big Fish; Howard Shore, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King; Gabriel Yared, Cold Mountain; Hans Zimmer, The Last Samurai

Best Original Song, Motion Picture: "The Heart of Every Girl," Mona Lisa Smile; "Into the West," The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King; "Man of the Hour," Big Fish; "Time Enough for Tears," In America; "You Will Be My Ain True Love," Cold Mountain

Best Television Series, Drama: 24, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Nip/Tuck, Six Feet Under, The West Wing

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series, Drama: Frances Conroy, Six Feet Under; Jennifer Garner, Alias; Allison Janney, The West Wing; Joely Richardson, Nip/Tuck; Amber Tamblyn, Joan of Arcadia

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series, Drama: Michael Chiklis, The Shield; Anthony LaPaglia, Without a Trace; William Petersen, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation; Martin Sheen, The West Wing; Kiefer Sutherland, 24

Best Television Series, Musical or Comedy: Arrested Development, Monk, The Office, Sex and the City, Will & Grace

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series, Musical or Comedy: Bonnie Hunt, Life With Bonnie; Reba McEntire, Reba; Debra Messing, Will & Grace; Sarah Jessica Parker, Sex and the City; Bitty Schram, Monk; Alicia Silverstone, Miss Match

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series, Musical or Comedy: Ricky Gervais, The Office; Matt LeBlanc, Friends; Bernie Mac, The Bernie Mac Show; Eric McCormack, Will & Grace; Tony Shalhoub, Monk

Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: Angels in America, My House in Umbria, Normal, Soldier's Girl, Tennessee Williams's The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone

Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television: Judy Davis, The Reagans; Jessica Lange, Normal; Helen Mirren, Tennessee Williams's The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone; Maggie Smith, My House in Umbria; Meryl Streep, Angels in America

Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television: Antonio Banderas, And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself; James Brolin, The Reagans; Troy Garity, Soldier's Girl; Al Pacino, Angels in America; Tom Wilkinson, Normal

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series, or Motion Picture Made for Television: Kim Cattrall, Sex and the City; Kristin Davis, Sex and the City; Megan Mullally, Will & Grace; Cynthia Nixon, Sex and the City; Mary-Louise Parker, Angels in America

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series, or Motion Picture Made for Television: Sean Hayes, Will & Grace; Lee Pace, Soldier's Girl; Ben Shenkman, Angels in America; Patrick Wilson, Angels in America; Jeffrey Wright, Angels in America