Entertainment

Golden Globes 2015: Birdman leads with 7 nominations

Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu’s black comedy BIrdman soars above the competition with 7 Golden Globe nominations, announced this morning in Beverly Hills, Calif.

The Hollywood satire stars Michael Keaton as fading action hero trying to reclaim his glory

Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu’s Birdman is flying high with seven nominations for the 72nd annual Golden Globe Awards.

The list of contenders for the industry awards in television and film were announced Thursday morning in Beverly Hills, Calif.

Iñárritu’s Hollywood satire picked up nods in major categories including best picture in the comedy or musical category. It also earned nominations for its star, Michael Keaton, supporting actress Emma Stone and supporting actor Edward Norton.

The dark comedy, about a fading action hero trying to reclaim his fame on Broadway, also dominated the Screen Actors Guild nominations announced Wednesday.

The Golden Globes' controlling body, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), also recognized Richard Linklater's experimental coming-of-age story Boyhood and the Alan Turing biopic The Imitation Game with five nominations each.

Canadians shut out

Canada's hope in the best foreign language film category, Mommy, directed by Quebec wunderkind Xavier Dolan, was shut out, as was Regina actor Tatiana Maslany, who was overlooked for her role in the critically acclaimed TV drama Orphan Black.

Director Xavier Dolan's critically acclaimed film Mommy was overlooked in the foreign film category. (Yves Herman/Reuters)
Montreal's Jean-Marc 
Vallée was overlooked for his acclaimed new film, Wild. But its star, Reese Witherspoon, received a best-actress nomination for her role as a recovering heroin addict.

Canadians fared best in the animated feature category with nominations for the high-flying adventure How to Train Your Dragon 2 (directed by Quebec's Dean DeBlois and starring Jay Baruchel), and the quirky stop-motion feature The Boxtrolls (with Ontario-born co-director Graham Annable).

Nominees in other main categories are:

Best motion picture, comedy or musical:

  • Birdman       
  • The Grand Budapest Hotel       
  • Into the Woods       
  • Pride       
  • St. Vincent

Best screenplay, motion picture:

  • Wes Anderson —​ The Grand Budapest Hotel
  • Gillian Flynn —​ Gone Girl
  • Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr. —​ Birdman
  • Richard Linklater — Boyhood
  • Graham Moore — The Imitation Game

Best performance by an actress – TV drama:

  • Claire Danes – Homeland
  • Viola Davis – How to Get Away with Murder
  • Julianna MarguliesThe Good Wife
  • Ruth Wilson – The Affair
  • Robin Wright – House of Cards

Best actress in a TV comedy or musical:

  • Lena Dunham – Girls
  • Edie Falco – Nurse Jackie
  • Gina Rodriguez – Jane the Virgin
  • Julia Louis-Dreyfus – Veep

Best supporting actress in a series, mini-series or TV movie:

  • Uzo Aduba – Orange is the New Black
  • Kathy Bates – American Horror Story: Freak Show
  • Joanne FroggattDownton Abbey
  • Allison Janney – Mom
  • Michelle Monaghan – True Detective

One of the surprise winners of the day was Grand Budapest Hotel. Along with a best picture nod in comedy, it earned nominations for Ralph Fiennes as best actor, and Wes Anderson for screenplay and director.

Fiennes and Keaton were joined in best actor, comedy or musical, by Bill Murray (St. Vincent) and by a few less expected choices, Joaquin Phoenix for Inherent Vice and Christoph Waltz for Big Eyes.

A full list of the nominations can be found here:

Awards season heats up

Comedy duo Tina Fey, left, and Amy Poehler will return to host the 72nd Golden Globe Awards in January. (Paul Drinkwater/NBC/File/The Associated Press)

The HFPA's Golden Globes, handed out annually, are one of the biggest events of the awards season.

The race helps set up the competition for the Academy Awards.​

Comic duo Tina Fey and Amy Poehler will return to host the 72nd Golden Globes ceremony on Jan. 11th.

It will be the popular pair's third and final time emceeing the glitzy evening which has a reputation for being a looser, and frequently more lubricated event than the Oscars, thanks to the open bar. Last year's awards drew 20.9 million viewers, making it the most-watched Globes since 2004.

This year's ceremony will be broadcast live on NBC from the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

With files from The Associated Press