You can't blame Paramount for crowing this morning about the fact that films released by their studio received a total of 15 Golden Globe Award nominations this morning - more than any rival studio and a record for Paramount.
You see, Paramount had been in something of an awards drought since 1999 when it napped 13 nods.
"Babel," the first title released under the studio's newly-named specialty label Paramount Vantage, got seven nods while the musical "Dreamgirls" got five. "Two co-productions with Warner Bros., "Flags of Our Fathers" and "Letters From Iwo Jima" got one a piece.

Warner Bros was a close second with 13 nods followed by six a piece for Miramax, Sony Pictures, and 20th Century Fox.
As far as television nets go, HBO leads with 14 nods followed by ABBC (11) and NBC (9). NBC was boosted nominations for performers in its Thursday night comedies who snagged four of the five slots: Alec Baldwin for "30 Rock," Zach Braff for "Scrubs" Steve Carrell for "The Office": and Jason Lee for "My Name is Earl."

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Meryl Streep may only have two Oscars (criminal!) but she has had 14 nominations overall. Her record is slightly better at the Golden Globes where she have won five trophies and this morning, received her TWENTY-FIRST nomination for her performance in "The Devil Wears Prada." The first was for 1979's "The Deer Hiunter" and the first win came a year later for "Kramer vs. Kramer." In between there were wins for "Angels in America," "Adaptation," "Sophie's Choice" and "The French Leuitenant's Woman" and nominations for "The Mancharian Candidate," "The Hours," "One True Thing," "Music of the Heart," "Marvin's Room," "The Bridges of Madison County," "Postcards from the Edge," "Ironweed," "A Cry in the Dark," "Out of Africa," "Silkwood," the comedies "She Devil" and "Death Becomes Her" and the TV movie "First Do No Harm..."

What a body of work.

Streep's co-star in "Heartburn" and "Ironweed," Mr. Jack Nicholson also added to his impressive total landing his 17th nomination in the supporting actor category for "The Departed." Nicholson has won seven Globes and was also the recipient of the Cecil B. DeMille lifetime achievement award.
Congrats to both of these acting legends!!!

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 11:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's always nice when you can get a star or two on the horn to get their reaction to the BIG NEWS that they are nominated for a Golden Globe Award. But this year, who has the time? But we do have prepared statements from three nominees that I am happy to share with you and as prepared statements go, the ones from Helen Mirren and Judi Dench are actually pretty good:

Triple-nominee Helen Mirren had a lot to make a statement about. She's up for best actress-drama for "The Queen" and was nominated twice in the best actress television movie category for "Elizabeth I" and "Prime Suspect."
"I am extremely honored to be recognized by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for The Queen, Elizabeth 1 and Prime Suspect. This has been an unprecedented year for me, and I am grateful to have had such well-written roles and to have worked with wonderful directors, actors and crews. I am amazed by the timeliness of The Queen, a story about a leader out of touch withthe people, and how the film has struck such a chord with audiences, both British and American, and around the world. Likewise the roles of Elizabeth I and Jane Tennison are so very different from each other, but both are powerful, vulnerable and flawed women, and have a strong
impacton audiences as well."

Best actress-drama nominee Judi Dench (NOTES ON A SCANDAL) -- "I am incredibly grateful that the
HFPA has been able to see past my sinister deeds as the deliciously wicked Barbara Covett by acknowledging my work. This is also recognition of Patrick Marber's thrilling screenplay, Richard Eyre's impeccable direction, the ever-astonishing Cate Blanchett and Bill Nighy, and our incredible cast and crew. I am proud to be in the same company as Penelope, Maggie, Helen, and Kate."

And finally, this from Peter O'Toole, up for best actor-drama for "Venus" but it's pretty generic: "I am very pleased and honored to be nominated and I would like to thank the Hollywood Foreign Press very much for thinking of me. I would also like to thank everyone who worked on'Venus' as they share this honor with me."

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 9:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

They are literally disassembling the ballroom. Guys with power drills are talking down platforms and all the glitzy TV folks are long gone. It's just me and some radio reporters and wire reporters. I swear, 30 minutes ago, there was glitz and glam, cameras everywhere and a real buzz in the air. Hollywood is all smoke and mirrors.
So, movies nominated for one category or another that I have never heard of: "Sherrybaby," "Mrs. Potter," two of the foregn language films, and "Nomad."

Pleasant surprises: "Thank You For Smoking" getting a best motion picture nod (comedy or musical) and the film's Aaron Eckhart for best actor. Eckhart (pictured at top of post) rarely gets the recognition he deserves....America Ferrera nominated for best actress in a comedy series for "Ugly Betty,"...Alec Baldwin's nod for best actor in a comedy series for "30 Rock," Justin Kirk for supporting actor television ("Weeds").

Personal faves: Kyra Sedgwick for TV actress drama ("The Closer"), Meryl Streep for musical/comedy actress ("The Devil Wears Prada"), Best Comedy of Musical movie nominees "Prada" and "Little Miss Sunshine," Jennifer Hudson and Emily Blunt for supporting actress in a movie for "Dreamgirls" and "Prada," respectively, Eddie Murphy, supporting actor for "Dreamgirls," best comedy actor nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor for "Kinky Boots," the song "Listen" from "Dreamgirls," Bill Paxton for "Big Love," and the wicked funny Elizabeth Perkins for "Weeds."

Left out: Hmmmmm. I guess I expected Jamie Foxx to be nominated for musical/comedy actor for "Dreamgirls" and not Will Ferrell ("Stranger than Fiction") and everyone expected Clint Eastwood's "Flags of Our Fathers" to get a best picture-drama nod instead of Emilio Estevez's "Bobby."

OK, time to leave. The STAGE is being taken out, there is no food left and the lights are going out!

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 6:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

You've got Leonardo DiCaprio (pictured with co-star Matt Damon) and Clint Eastwood each up for two, in Helen Mirren's case, it's a case of triple-vision. The actress is up for best actress/drama for "The Queen" and is the front-runner to win the Globe and just about everything else. Her compeition will be Penelope Cruz ("Volver"), Judi Dench ("Notes on a Scandal"), Maggie Gyllenhaal ("Sherrybaby"), and Kate Winslet ("Little Children").

Mirren competes against herself in the TV movie best actress competition ("Elizabeth I" and "Prime Suspect: The Final Act") and will also face-off against double nominee Anette Bening ("Mrs. Harris"), Gillian Anderson ("Bleak House") and Sophie Okonedo ("Tsunami, The Aftermath).

Emily Blunt got a pair of nods in the supporting categories: movie: "The Devil Wears Prada" and tv movie "Gideon's Daughter." Toni Collette, so often overlooked for her stellar work in film after film, also got two nominations: best actress- musical or comedy ("Little Miss Sunshine") and best supporting actress (television) for "Tsunami, The Aftermath."
*Eastwood might have three nods if he produced "Letters from Iwo Jima" which got a foreign film nod.

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 6:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I've already mentioned the supporting actor race w/Pitt, Nicholson, Wahlberg, Affleck and Murphy but it is not the only superstar face-off.
Start with best actor in a drama: Leonardo DiCaprio in "Blood Diamond" will face off against a star of equal stature: Leonardo DiCaprio in "The Departed." He will compete with acting legend and sentimental fave Peter O'Toole up for "Venus." Then there's a little-known actor named Will Smith who was nominated for "The Pursuit of Happyness." All will likely lose though to the fifth nominee: Forest Whitaker for "The Last King of Scotland."

The competition for best actress in a movie (musical or comedy) is also a doozy. You've got Beyonce Knowles up for "Dreamgirls," Toni Collette for "Little Miss Sunshine" and Renee Zellweger for "Miss Potter" (never HEARD of it!). But the race will come down to marvelous Meryl Streep in "The Devil Wears Prada" and Annette Bening for "Running With Scissors." I give the edge to Streep who is a Globe fave.
For best director, Martn Scorsese ("The Departed") is up against not one, but two familiar foes: Clint Eastwood ("Flags of Our Fathers") and Clint Eastwood (Letters From Iwo Jima"). Also in the running are Stephen Frears ("The Queen") and (say this one fast five times): Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu ("Babel").

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 6:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The record nine nominations for "Nashville" is safe for another year. "Babel" came closest with seven nominations followed by "Departed" with six. "Dreamgirls" was in third-place with five nominations while "The Queen" nabbed four nods. Movies that received three nominations were: "The Devil Wears Prada," "Little Chilren" and "Notes on a Scandal."

On the TV side of things, "Grey's Anatomy" and "Weeds" led the way with four nods each while the following series or movies got three nominations overall: "Broken Trail," "Desperate Housewives," "Elizabeth I," "Mrs. Harris," and "Tsunami, the Aftermath."

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 6:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Jessica Biel says she considered just staying up all night since she had to be up at 3:15 a.m. to start getting ready for her gig announcing the nominees. She looked fresh as a daisy and is still over there happily doing interviews as I type. Here's what I got from this talented and gorgeous actress:
On announcing the nominees:
"It's really cool. I feel really honored to be a part of it. But 3:15 to start getting ready. I've never been up this early! I fell asleep at 12:30. It was not good. I couldn't fall asleep because I was so excited. I'm really happy to be here and to share the joy with others."

So sweet.

As for Rosario Dawson, what a star! I loved her in "Rent," I loved her in "Clerks 2" and I'm sure I'll love her in her next project in which "I play a make-up and hair artist for Lindsay Lohan. I think that's pretty insane!"
I'm not sure what movie it is and to stop and look it up this early in te morning seems just a little too daunting for me right now.
Rosario says the Golden Globe competition "is going to be really intense. I haven;t seen a lot of the stuff but I love a lot of the people who were nominated. 'Borat' was one of the most hilarious things I've ever seen in my life!"

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 6:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm not a name dropper (ha!), but I was just talking to Matthew Perry. Well, sorta. I was standing next to the TV reporter from "Access Hollywood" intervewing Matthew and I think at one point Matthew looked at me as he was talking to the other dude.
Anyway, Matthew told "us" that he had text-messaged his "Live on the Sunset Strip" co-star Sarah Paulsen about her nomination during the break they had between the first and second batch of announcements. Matthew wasn't nominated for "Strip" but he could console himself for a nod for "The Ron Clark Story" which aired on Lifetime.
"I'm thrilled. I'm happy," Perry said. "It's very nice to get a nomination this early in the morning, or in the afternoon or evening!"
He said "you get warned" by the Foreign Press Assn. peeps that just because you have been asked to read the nominations, it by no means is any kind of indication that you will be nominated. "They even tell youj, it doesn't mean anything."
Of the role, he says: "It was an interesting challenge. I've never played a real person before. He's a great guy."
Of Pauseln, he said: "She's one happy chick!"

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 5:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

These stars read those nominations fast but I scribbled down what I could for now. Mel Gibson did get a nomination for "Apocalypto" in the foregn language category. His competition will include Clint Eastwood for "Letters from Iwo Jima."

Helen Mirren deservedly is up two Globes already (and will definitely make it three when actress in a movie is announced) but for now can celebrate nods for "Prime Suspect" and "Elizabeth I." Meanwhile, Emily Blunt was nominated for "The Devil Wears Prada" and a supporting actress television but no one sitting near me can remember for which program! Well, it IS early.

back in a few.

Oh yea, it was kinda cute that Matthew Perry was nominated for lead actor in a TV movie and is here this morning. He took the stage to read some nominees and said, "I Love You All!"

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 5:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There are 13 more categories to go (they are breaking for the network morning shows) so some first impressions: best supporting actor in a movie category is a doozy! Five superstars looking for a Globe wins. Get this: Jack Nicholson in "The Departed," Brad Pitt for "Babel," Ben Affleck for "Hollywoodland," Eddie Murphy for "Dreamgirls" and Mark Wahlberg for "The Departed."
Wow!

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 5:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Just chatted up awards guru Tom O'Neill who shared with me some of his thoughts on what might be happening here in less than an hour. He thinks it's a lock that "Dreamgirls" will get the most nominations of any movie. The all-time record is "Nashville" which had nine nods in the 1970s. "Dreamgirls" is helped by the Globes division of categories: drama and musical or comedy. Tom says Beyonce Knowles, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Hudson and Eddie Murphy are shoo-ins.
He also thinks the Foreign Press Association will nominate Mel Gibson's "Apocalypto" for foreign film: "Some voters are saying they want to be the ones to bring Mel back. Everyone loves the comeback."
OK, they are gonna start the first batch of nominations...see ya in a few.

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 5:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here I am at the Beverly Hilton Hotel inside a ballroom where the worldwide media is setting up in anticipation of the big announcements. I'm just happy they are serving bagels and lox and hot coffee. What more do I need at 5 a.m.? Well, maybe about five hours more sleep!
The room is buzzing with excitement. I'm checking out some of the better-known TV personalities here and, well, some of them are lookin a little scary. Pat OBrien of "The Insider" is sitting at the same table as "Entertainment Tonight" host Mark Steines. Let's just say there's a reason why Mark is married to a former Miss America. He looks fresh as a daisy. Pat, well, notsomuch. There's a dude here from "Extra" whose name I can't recall but the bags under his eyes are so big that I could pack for a two-week trip to Europe in them.
Meanwhile, I look terrific! Ha!
So, the stars who will be announcing the nominations are Jessicai Beil, Matthew Perry and the Rosario Dawson. I'm gonna go wander around a bit to see if I can come up with a semi-interesting tidbit or two before the announcements.
p.s. You would not BELIEVE how much some people are eating. You'd think they'd never had free food before!

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 4:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Daily News' Greg Hernandez will blog on the Golden Globe nominations later this morning. Come back to see who is in the running for this year's awards.

Posted by at 6:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

blige, the top nominee with eight nods, is one well put-together broad. looking nice in a pants suit, with all her moving parts on display, she handled the gauntlet of TV on her path to her limo with practiced professionalism. we got her briefly. she's been through all this many times before.

"mary j. blige is gonna keep doin' what i'm doin'," she burbled. "wow! it's like 'people, i'm deep with humility and gratefulness.' "

nearby, a dark-suited fellow shouts into his cell fone: "we need some security in here."

may j. is plenty secure.

Posted by at 9:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

the whole process on stage took 10 minutes. the next step is for the stars to make their way through the crowd to their limos while answering one or two questions on the way.

keep tuned in.

Posted by at 9:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

mary j., coming off nine billboard music award wins last week, and two american music awards trophies before that, was nominated for song and record of the year, the same categories as corinne bailey rae. blige apparently is up for eight awards this year.

there will be no catfight in february on CBS. these gals are too calm for that.

Posted by at 8:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

it took an hour of hot air, but the nominations ordeal finally began when presenters ludacris, rascal flatts, kt tunstall we like HER), james blunt, corinne bailey rae, chris brown, amy lee, justin timberlake and mary j. blige were brought on stage at the music box, the down-at-the-heels theater on hollywood boulevard.

most presenters looked like their luggage was lost on the flight over. dirty jeans and uncombed hair for the boys seemed to be the order of the day. of course, the look was intentional. blunt looked like the homeless guys outside.

girls were much better. tunstall was the most appealing in a nice black outfit.

Posted by at 8:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

it became clear after the first 15 minutes of the billboard music awards that nobody very good turned up in fear of being blacklisted from the grammy telecast.
so the billboards was reduced to gwen stefani on career rebound trying to make yodeling cool, a bunch of 10th rate rappers grabbing their crotches, some band called nickelback whose music nobody on the planet has knowingly heard, and a big wrap-up that embalmed a member of '70s frat boy favorites ZZ Top along with other fogettables.
the only thing missing was john mayer -- but he's playing through eternity on a Direct TV free channel that's causing me to consider going back to cable.
OK, we're ready for the grammys. back to drawing table, billboard. time for (another) redesign. BORING!

Posted by at 10:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

why can't courtney love just go somewhere and enjoy all that nirvana money? thank of all the great dope she could do in the privacy of a nice cozy house somewhere with a nanny to take care of the kid and regular booty calls from cute tatted-up rock boys.
so when she showed up boringly sober and in disappointing control of herself at the awards, she bored everyone out of their skulls. reading the teleprompter just like all the rest, she revealed her one gteat telent - reading ability. she made no mistakes. this media creation is nothing if not a VERY GOOD READER.
kids, don't be courtney, but learn to read as well as she has.

Posted by at 9:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

god's mad as hell. there were only three shout-outs to the all-powerful on monday at the '06 billboard awards. the show started OK and then quickly devolved into a deadly bore. i wished i was shelling shrimp. i wanted to be giving foot massages to the poor on skid row. i longed to be playing in that nightmarish blues jam at a disgusting northridge bar where a FLUTE PLAYER got on stage in an outfit out of "heidi."
god wanted out, too.
these people are such phonies. hey, who was actually driving in that lane garrison crash in beverly hills saturday where the 17-year-old was killed? why is that being kept quiet?

Posted by at 9:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

gwen, the yodeling has to stop. it will never be cool, it will never be hip, it will never be interesting. what's worse is, you don't have a song. the single is awful, there's no melody, there's hardly anything. it's a yodel.
the hair looks good, tho.

Posted by at 9:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

proving that rap is either over or should be, three crotch-grabbers hit the stage - ludicris, and two others who shall remain nameless. horrible. this boasting nonsense should be enthusiastically ignored across the nation.
very hard these days if these guys are a parody of gangsta rap or the real thing - such as it is. but don't spend too much time trying to figure it out.

Posted by at 8:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

kat looked extremely edible as she and fellow "idol" contestant chris daughtry (no. 1 album this week) brought out rock winner nickelback, a faceless band nobody has ever knowingly heard. broing boring boring.
what is kat doing these days? why haven't i seen her at trader joe's or tiramisu lately?? kat, meet me at mulberry street pizza thursday at 3.

Posted by at 8:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

wynona and dave navarro -- one with the tats, the other with BLEEP - hit the podium together to bring out best country male, kenny chesney. his black hat coverin g his eyes, chesney made sure to tip the stetson to the radio stations that keep him in rotation.
unexpected oscar winners three 6 mafia were out next to announce female r&b act. but first, they brought out three prime purveyors of cheesecake. "damn!" "i could use some of that BLEEP."
make that more entertaining than the last 15 grammys.
mary j. blige, thanking god and jesus in that order (appropriate somehow), won best female r&b trophy. looking good in chocolate brown outfit and fur rug over one shoulder - call PETA...BLEEP!

Posted by at 8:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

the billboard music awards - within three minutes already more entertaining than the last 10 years of grammy awards - opened with a lively workout from janet jackson and a bit later, a non-janet-caused bleep. no wardrobe malfunction here, just an intended compliment to presenter flava flav. the co-presenter, whose name we missed, said "you must have a big BLEEP." much dirtier somehow than what was actually said.
flav has a great, infectious laugh, an entertaining personality and street cred for miles. oh how i miss the glorious music of public enemy.

Posted by at 8:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)