'Brokeback Mountain' Leads Globes

The cowboy romance "Brokeback Mountain" led Golden Globe contenders Tuesday with seven nominations, among them best dramatic picture and honors for actors Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams and director Ang Lee, positioning itself as a key Academy Awards competitor.

But CBS News The Early Show Entertainment Contributor Jess Cagle is not surprised by Ledger's nomination. "He has gotten a consensus of critical awards so far," Cagle said.

"Brokeback Mountain" also appears on the American Film Institute's list of the top 10 movies of the year.

"Right now 'Brokeback Mountain' really is the movie to beat," Cagle added.

Other best drama picture contenders were the murder thriller "The Constant Gardener," the Edward R. Murrow tale "Good Night, and Good Luck," the mobster story "A History of Violence," and the infidelity drama "Match Point."

"Good Night" was produced and directed by George Clooney, who was also nominated for the supporting actor award for "Syriana."

"It is really a step toward him becoming a director which is what I think he really wants to do with his life from now on," said Cagle.

The Globes have a separate category for musical or comedy films. Nominated there were the theater tale "Mrs. Henderson Presents," the Jane Austen costume pageant "Pride & Prejudice," the Broadway musical "The Producers," the divorce story "The Squid and the Whale," and the Johnny Cash film biography "Walk the Line."

Along with Ledger, who plays a family man concealing a homosexual affair from his family, best dramatic actor nominees included three actors playing real-life figures: Russell Crowe as Depression-era boxer Jim Braddock in "Cinderella Man," Philip Seymour Hoffman as author Truman Capote in "Capote," and David Strathairn as newsman Murrow in "Good Night, and Good Luck." The fifth nominee was Terrence Howard as a small-time pimp-turned-rap singer in "Hustle & Flow."

"The two actors who are neck-and-neck for the best actor race are Heath Ledger and Philip Seymour Hoffman," said Cagle.

Felicity Huffman received two nominations, best dramatic actress in a film for her role as a man preparing for sex-change surgery in "Transamerica" and best actress in a TV musical or comedy for "Desperate Housewives." Her "Desperate Housewives" co-stars Marcia Cross, Teri Hatcher and Eva Longoria also were nominated.

Other best dramatic film actress nominees were Maria Bello as a wife learning painful secrets about her husband in "A History of Violence," Gwyneth Paltrow as an unstable math genius' daughter in "Proof," Charlize Theron as a woman leading a sexual harassment lawsuit in "North Country" and Ziyi Zhang as a poor girl who becomes the belle of Japan's geisha houses in "Memoirs of a Geisha."

Other nominees for the supporting movie actor Globe included Matt Dillon for "Crash," Will Ferrell for "The Producers," Paul Giamatti for "Cinderella Man," and Bob Hoskins for "Mrs. Henderson Presents."

But not Jake Gyllenhaal for "Brokeback Mountain," which surprised Cagle. Gyllenhaal was named best supporting actor by the National Board of Review.

Best original score nominees were "Syriana," "King Kong," "Brokeback Mountain," "The Chronicles of Narnia," and "Memoirs of a Geisha."

Two years ago, the Golden Globes correctly predicted winners in all key categories, including best-picture champ "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" and actors Sean Penn, Charlize Theron, Tim Robbins and Renee Zellweger.

Yet a year ago, the Globes missed the mark, picking "The Aviator" as best picture, an honor that went to "Million Dollar Baby" at the Oscars. Jamie Foxx and Hilary Swank won lead-acting Globes and went on to earn Oscars, but Globe voters chose Clive Owen and Natalie Portman of "Closer" for the supporting-actor honors, which were won at the Oscars by Morgan Freeman for "Million Dollar Baby" and Cate Blanchett for "The Aviator."

The Globes are handed out by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a relatively small group of about 90 reporters for overseas news outlets. Yet with a nationally televised awards ceremony on NBC and a historically solid knack for picking eventual Academy Award winners, the Globes wield a fair amount of sway among the 5,800 Oscar voters.

Winners of the Golden Globes will be announced Jan. 16, five days before polls close for Oscar voters. Oscar nominations come out Jan. 31, and the awards will be presented March 5.

The Globes feature 13 categories for film and 11 for television. Unlike other major movie awards, the Globes have separate divisions for dramas and comedies or musicals in the best-picture and lead-acting categories.

Anthony Hopkins will receive the group's Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement.