‘Up In the Air’, ‘Avatar’ head Golden Globes contenders

Wednesday, December 16, 2009
BEVERLY HILLS: Futuristic epic “Avatar” and recession drama “Up In the Air” led the field as nominees for the 67’th Golden Globes were unveiled on Tuesday, signalling the start of Hollywood’s awards season.

Despite the fact that it has yet to be released in North America, Oscar-winner James Cameron’s groundbreaking “Avatar” scored four nominations including best drama and best director for the January 17 awards show. The nominations will fuel hype about “Avatar,” which has garnered stellar reviews following its world premiere in London last week. However, “Titanic” director Cameron’s big budget labour of love faces stiff competition from “Up In the Air,” the acclaimed story about a corporate downsizer played by George Clooney who starts to question his life. The film topped the list of nominees with six including best drama, a best actor nod for Clooney, and best director for Jason Reitman. It also earned acting nominations for Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick. The hopes of “Avatar” and “Up In the Air” could be threatened however by Iraq war drama “The Hurt Locker,” director Kathryn Bigelow’s gripping story about a maverick bomb disposal expert. As well as a best drama nomination, the film earned a best director nod for Bigelow, whose previous films include the cult Patrick Swayze surfing and bank-robbing action film “Point Break.

Other nominees for best drama include Quentin Tarantino’s blood-soaked World War Two revenge fantasy “Inglourious Basterds” and the gritty “Precious,” about the struggles of an obese, illiterate and abused teenager. Tarantino also earned a best director nomination for “Inglourious Basterds,” which picked up four nominations. However, there was a surprising best picture snub for “Invictus,” Clint Eastwood’s drama about former South African President Nelson Mandela’s efforts to unite the apartheid-scarred country around the 1995 Rugby World Cup. Although the film secured a best director nomination for Eastwood and a best actor nod for Morgan Freeman — who plays Mandela — the film was overlooked in the blue riband best drama category.

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