65th Annual Golden Globe Nominations Announced; Hairspray Producers Share Reaction

Nominations for the 65th Annual Golden Globe Awards, given by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for the best in film and television, were announced this morning. The awards will be bestowed on Los Angeles on Sunday, January 13 and broadcast live on NBC.

The film version of Hairspray received a nomination for Best Film, Comedy or Musical, and for star Nikki Blonsky as Best Actress in a Musical/Comedy Film, and for John Travolta, who was nominated for Best Supporting Actor. The news was greeted heartily by producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron.

“We were praying for Nikki and John to be recognized, because they worked so hard and so brilliantly,” the pair said. “John was so very brave in his choice to go against the image he’s cultivated in the past 30 years by playing Edna, and to give such a textured performance. It was just the greatest thing to be able to call him this morning and tell him he was nominated. He was in tears.”

Zadan and Meron did register disappointment that Queen Latifah was overlooked for her work as Motormouth Maybelle and that the song, “Come So Far” did not get a nomination. But that doesn’t mean things won’t change by next month, when the Oscar nominations are announced. “We’re going to keep pushing that song, because we think it’s terrific. And the same thing happened when John Kander and Fred Ebb wrote a new song for Chicago, which we produced, and they ended up getting an Oscar nomination.”

Among Hairspray’s competition is Sweeney Todd, which picked up nods for Best Film, Comedy or Musical, as well as for stars Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter and director Tim Burton. Rounding out the Best Film category are Across the Universe, directed by Julie Taymor of The Lion King, Charlie Wilson’s War, directed by Tony Award and Oscar winner Mike Nichols, and the indie hit Juno, which stars nominee Ellen Page and current Broadway leading lady Jennifer Garner.

Theater veterans who received two nominations for their film work were Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth: The Golden Age and I’m Not There), and Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Savages and Charlie Wilson’s War), Also receiving nominations were John C. Reilly (Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story), Julia Roberts (Charlie Wilson’s War), and Amy Ryan (Gone Baby Gone).

Stage actors recognized for their television work include Christina Applegate (Samantha Who), Alec Baldwin (30 Rock), Glenn Close (Damages), Edie Falco (The Sopranos), Sally Field (Brothers and Sisters), Anna Friel (Pushing Daisies), Michael C. Hall (Dexter), Bryce Dallas Howard (As You Like It), Holly Hunter (Saving Grace), Lee Pace (Pushing Daisies), Mary-Louise Parker (Weeds), and Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer).

Nominees for Best Screenplay went to playwrights Ethan Coen and brother Joel (No Country for Old Men), Christopher Hampton (Atonement), Ronald Harwood (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly), and Aaron Sorkin (Charlie Wilson’s War).

For a complete list of nominees, visit www.hfpa.org.