LOS ANGELES -- The Oscar contest for best picture had been shaping up as a head-to-head fight between the plucky British drama "The King's Speech" and David Fincher's "The Social Network," but Tuesday's Golden Globes nominations may have brought a third contender into the ring: David O. Russell's "The Fighter."
Members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, who vote on the annual awards, bestowed the most nominations -- seven -- on the indie film about King George VI's stutter, including in the categories of picture, director, lead actor in a drama (Colin Firth) and supporting actor (Geoffrey Rush).
But "The Social Network," which in recent days has been recognized as 2010's best picture by several key critics groups, is giving good chase, scoring six nominations, including for director Fincher and actors Jesse Eisenberg and Andrew Garfield.
"The Fighter" too earned six nominations, as it seems to be following a trajectory akin to the movie's come-from-behind plot. It received the most actor nods of any film -- for Mark Wahlberg's performance as Boston-area middleweight fighter Micky Ward, Christian Bale's portrayal of his troubled brother, Melissa Leo as the clan matriarch and Amy Adams as Ward's girlfriend.
The HFPA filled out the best drama category with recognition for Christopher Nolan's "Inception" and Darren Aronofsky's "Black Swan," which each walked away with four nominations, including director.
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Conspicuously absent from consideration was Joel and Ethan Coen's "True Grit," which was shut out completely.
Meanwhile, Ben Affleck's "The Town" received only one nomination, for Jeremy Renner's supporting role as an unhinged bank robber, even though the film has performed strongly at the box office, factors Golden Globes voters often seem to take into account.
In the comedy/musical category, "The Kids Are All Right" scored a best picture nomination, as well as two actress slots for stars Annette Bening and Julianne Moore. (The film also was nominated for screenplay for director Lisa Cholodenko and her co-writer, Stuart Blumberg.)
Otherwise, though, the comedy/musical categories consisted of an odd mixture of films, several of which either didn't naturally fit or were so badly reviewed by critics that they seemed to stand little chance of recognition. Two Johnny Depp films, "Alice in Wonderland" and "The Tourist," were nominated for best picture comedy or musical, and he himself received two actor nominations.
With no comedic film dominating the box office and the cultural conversation as "The Hangover" did last year, the HFPA perhaps had less to choose from. The European-set "Tourist," which received some of the worst reviews of any movie in the past three months, scored surprisingly well. It earned three nominations, with Angelina Jolie scoring a nod for her role as the mysterious temptress.
Also surprising was the fact that both Anne Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhaal received nominations for their performances in "Love and Other Drugs," yet the Ed Zwick film was not nominated for best picture in the comedy/musical category. Instead, the members went with the Christina Aguilera-starrer "Burlesque," which was skewered by critics.
"When I look over these Golden Globes nominations, I have kind of mixed feelings about some of them," said Michael Barker, co-chief of Sony Pictures Classics, which received nods for Jacki Weaver in "Animal Kingdom," Paul Giamatti in "Barney's Version" and the animated film "The Illusionist." "Obviously, over years, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association likes to get as many movie stars in the room as possible. That's certainly evident given this year's nominations."
Among those celebrities is Oscar winner Halle Berry, who received a lead actress nod for her role as a woman with multiple personality disorder in the indie drama "Frankie and Alice," due out this month. The actress hopes the recognition will give the heavy film, which she calls "a dinosaur," an audience.
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"These little movies that used to be what the industry was built on, they're now becoming extinct," said Berry.
She will be vying against favorites Natalie Portman ("Black Swan") and Jennifer Lawrence ("Winter's Bone"), as well as Nicole Kidman for her portrayal as a grieving mother in "Rabbit Hole" and Michelle Williams in the racy drama "Blue Valentine."
In the lead actor (drama) category, Eisenberg, Firth and Wahlberg will compete with James Franco for his role in "127 Hours" and Ryan Gosling in "Blue Valentine." The awards will be handed out Jan. 16.
