The Golden Globe nominations were announced earlier this morning, and there are definitely some surprises and disappointments. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has always been known to throw in some curve balls now and then, but of course there's always going to be some controversy over nominations when motion pictures and television shows are divided into drama or comedy/musical classifications. Also, despite much of the Academy Awards speculation coming from who was honored at the Golden Globes, it's important to note that the HFPA has about 90 members who disseminate information about movies and television to the world through their various publications throughout the world. These are the members who vote on the Golden Globes and because of this The New York Times comments that the HFPA, "functions like an exclusive club, admitting a maximum of five new members a year, though more often...accepting only one. Any single member may object to a new member, making it extremely difficult to join."

Unfortunately I can't weigh on much of the bigger nominees for now since many of the awards contenders haven't made their way to our neck of the woods here in Indiana, but as time goes on we will certainly have reviews and commentary on awards season and a growing amount of firsthand knowledge on these praised films, and as the awards themselves draw closer, predictions will most certainly be made. There may be an incoming write-up from myself and our resident TV guru, Harry Nelson venting/praising about the nominations that we can competently comment on, but that's in the future.

For now, we'll just let you soak them in. The 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards will take place on Sunday, January 11th, 2009 and will air live on NBC at 8 PM EST.

Motion Picture Nominations

Best Motion Picture (Drama)
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
The Reader
Revolutionary Road
Slumdog Millionaire

Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Burn After Reading
In Bruges
Happy-Go-Lucky
Mamma Mia
Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Best Supporting Actor
Tom Cruise - Tropic Thunder
Robert Downey Jr. - Tropic Thunder
Ralph Fiennes - The Duchess
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Doubt
Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight

Best Director
Danny Boyle - Slumdog Millionaire
Steven Daldry - The Reader
David Fincher - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard - Frost/Nixon
Sam Mendes - Revolutionary Road

Best Actor (Drama)
Leonardo DiCaprio - Revolutionary Road
Frank Langella - Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn - Milk
Brad Pitt - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler

Best Actress (Drama)
Anne Hathaway - Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie - Changeling
Meryl Streep - Doubt
Kristin Scott Thomas - I've Loved You So Long
Kate Winslet - Revolutionary Road

Best Original Song
"Down to Earth" -- WALL-E
"Gran Torino" - Gran Torino
"I Thought I Lost You" -- Bolt
"Once in a Lifetime" -- Cadillac Records
"The Wrestler" -- The Wrestler

Best Original Score
Defiance
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Slumdog Millionaire
Frost/Nixon
Changeling

Best Animated Film
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
Wall-E

Best Foreign Language Film
The Baader Meinhof Complex
Everlasting Moments
Gomorrah
I've Loved You So Long
Waltz with Bashir

Best Actor - Musical or Comedy
Javier Bardem -- Vicki Cristina Barcelona
Colin Farrell - In Bruges
James Franco -- Pineapple Express
Brendan Gleeson - In Bruges
Dustin Hoffman - Last Chance Harvey

Best Actress - Musical or Comedy
Rebecca Hall - Vicki Cristina Barcelona
Sally Hawkins - Happy-Go-Lucky
Frances McDormand - Burn After Reading
Meryl Streep - Mamma Mia
Emma Thompson - Last Chance Harvey

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams - Doubt
Penelope Cruz - Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis - Doubt
Marisa Tomei - The Wrestler
Kate Winslet - The Reader

Best Screenplay
Simon Beaufoy - Slumdog Millionaire
David Hare - The Reader
Peter Morgan - Frost/Nixon
Eric Roth - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
John Patrick Shanley - Doubt

Television Nominations

Best Television Drama
Dexter
House
In Treatment
Mad Men
True Blood

Best Actor - Television Drama
Gabriel Byrne, In Treatment
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Hugh Laurie, House
Jonathan Rhys Meyers, The Tudors

Best Actress - Television Drama
Sally Field, Brothers & Sisters
Mariska Hargitay, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit
January Jones, Mad Men
Anna Paquin, True Blood
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer

Best Television Musical/Comedy
30 Rock
Californication
Entourage
The Office
Weeds

Best Actor - Television Musical/Comedy
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Steve Carell, The Office
Kevin Connolly, Entourage
David Duchovny, Californication
Tony Shalhoub, Monk

Best Actress - Television Musical/Comedy
Christina Applegate, Samantha Who?
America Ferrera, Ugly Betty
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Debra Messing, The Starter Wife
Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds

Best Mini-Series - Television
A Raisin in the Sun
Bernard and Doris
Cranford
John Adams
Recount

Best Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture - Television
Ralph Fiennes, Bernard and Doris
Paul Giamatti, John Adams
Kevin Spacey, Recount
Kiefer Sutherland, 24: Redemption
Tom Wilkinson, Recount

Best Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture - Television
Judi Dench, Cranford
Catherine Keener, An American Crime
Laura Linney, John Adams
Shirley MacLaine, Coco Chanel
Susan Sarandon, Bernard and Doris

Best Supporting Actor - Television
Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother
Denis Leary, Recount
Jeremy Piven, Entourage
Blair Underwood, In Treatment
Tom Wilkinson, John Adams

Best Supporting Actress - Television
Eileen Atkins, Cranford
Laura Dern, Recount
Melissa George, In Treatment
Rachel Griffiths, Brothers and Sisters
Dianne Wiest, In Treatment