BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — The British monarchy tale "The King's Speech" led Golden Globe contenders Tuesday with seven nominations, including best drama and acting honors for Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter and Geoffrey Rush.
Other best-drama nominees were the psychosexual dance thriller "Black Swan," the boxing saga "The Fighter," the sci-fi blockbuster "Inception" and the Facebook chronicle "The Social Network."
Nominees in the Globes' other best-picture category, for musical or comedy, are the Lewis Carroll fantasy "Alice in Wonderland," the song-and-dance extravaganza "Burlesque," the lesbian-family tale "The Kids Are All Right," the action romp "Red" and the romantic thriller "The Tourist."
Bonham Carter, a supporting-actress nominee as Queen Elizabeth II's mother in the 1930s-era "The King's Speech," said the Globe nominations had some medicinal value for her and romantic partner Tim Burton, director of "Alice in Wonderland," which had three nominations. She and their children were nursing colds at their London home, while Burton was suffering from kidney stones.
She was uncertain if the Globe nomination might help secure her the same honor at the Academy Awards, whose nominations come out Jan. 25. But she had stronger expectations for co-star Firth, a best-actor nominee as King George VI, the reluctant monarch struggling with a lifelong stammer.
"I've had a Golden Globe nomination before and then didn't get an Oscar nomination," Bonham Carter said. "But I presume Colin will get one, and I presume Colin will win."
"The Social Network" and "The Fighter" tied for second with six nominations each. Among nominations for "The Social Network" were Jesse Eisenberg as best dramatic actor, Andrew Garfield as supporting actor and David Fincher as director.
"The Fighter" earned four acting nominations, best actor for Mark Wahlberg and supporting honors for Christian Bale, Amy Adams and Melissa Leo. Its nominations also included a directing slot for David O. Russell.
Wahlberg, also a producer on "The Fighter," stars as Boston-area boxer Micky Ward, who overcame family strife to get a title shot in his mid-30s with help from his half brother (Bale), a former fighter whose life unravels amid crime and drugs.
"Micky Ward was one of my heroes growing up. Doing what he did against all odds, he's just a very special individual," Wahlberg said. "Growing up in that neck of the woods and his family being so similar to mine and all the struggles, it's very inspiring."
Johnny Depp earned two nominations, as best musical or comedy actor for "Alice in Wonderland" and "The Tourist."
Along with Eisenberg, Firth and Wahlberg, best dramatic actor contenders are James Franco for the survival story "127 Hours" and Ryan Gosling for the marital tale "Blue Valentine."
Nominees for best dramatic actress are Halle Berry for the multiple-personality drama "Frankie and Alice," Nicole Kidman for the grieving-parent tale "Rabbit Hole," Jennifer Lawrence for the Ozarks crime yarn "Winter's Bone," Natalie Portman for "Black Swan" and Michelle Williams for "Blue Valentine."
The news of her supporting-actress nomination for "Black Swan" came as a wake-up call for Mila Kunis, who co-stars as Portman's ballet rival for a production of "Swan Lake."
"It's good news to wake up to, for sure," Kunis said. "Being woken up at 5:30 in the morning, it was very funny, people were screaming on the phone, and my poor dogs were like, 'What's happening?'"
Along with Fincher and Russell, directing nominees are Darren Aronofsky for "Black Swan," Tom Hooper for "The King's Speech" and Christopher Nolan for "Inception."
Nolan's sci-fi hit also earned nominations for screenplay and musical score, but its cast, including Leonardo DiCaprio, was snubbed for acting slots.
Joel and Ethan Coen's Western "True Grit," starring Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon, was shut out completely.
Joining Depp in the musical or comedy actor race are Paul Giamatti in the curmudgeon chronicle "Barney's Version," Jake Gyllenhaal in the romance "Love and Other Drugs" and Kevin Spacey in the Jack Abramoff saga "Casino Jack."
Depp's "The Tourist" co-star Angelina Jolie is among musical or comedy actress nominees. Also competing are Annette Bening and Julianne Moore as a lesbian couple in "The Kids Are All Right," Anne Hathaway in "Love and Other Drugs" and Emma Stone in the high school romp "Easy A."
The animation category is filled with blockbusters, led by "Toy Story 3," "How to Train Your Dragon" and "Despicable Me." The current hit "Tangled" also made the cut, along with the upcoming French tale "The Illusionist."
"When we were making `Toy Story 3,' I first and foremost did not have any awards thoughts in my mind at all while we were making it, especially because we had a `3' in the title," said director Lee Unkrich. "Sequels typically aren't included at awards time."
"Glee" leads TV contenders with five nominations, including comedy series and acting honors for Lea Michele, Jane Lynch, Chris Colfer and Matthew Morrison.
Other TV comedy series picks were "30 Rock," "The Big Bang Theory," "The Big C," "Modern Family" and "Nurse Jackie." Drama series nominees were "Boardwalk Empire," "Dexter," "The Good Wife," "Mad Men" and "The Walking Dead."
Hollywood's second-highest film honors, the Globes traditionally were a solid weather vane for predicting which film might triumph at the Academy Awards. But the Globes have provided murky forecasts in recent times. In the last six years, only a single recipient of one of the Globe best-film prizes has gone on to win best picture at the Oscars – 2008's "Slumdog Millionaire."
That came after a stretch of eight-straight years when a Globe winner in either the dramatic or musical-comedy category went on to claim the best-picture Oscar.
Like the Globes, the Oscars will feature 10 best-picture nominees, but in a single category, after academy overseers doubled the number of contenders so a broader range of films could compete.
With "The King's Speech" and "The Social Network" considered front-runners this time, there are prospects of another divergent year between the Globes and the Oscars, whose nominations come out nine days after the Globes are presented.
Key prizes already have gone to "The Social Network," starring Eisenberg as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg as he creates the Web site then feuds over its riches. The Los Angeles and New York film critics groups picked it as the year's best movie, as did the National Board of Review, a group of film historians, educators and students.
The Globes are presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a group of about 85 critics and reporters for overseas outlets.
Ricky Gervais is returning as host of the Globes ceremony, which will air live Jan. 16 on NBC.
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