BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — The British historical romance “Atonement” led the competition for the Golden Globes with seven nominations Thursday, including best drama and acting honors for Keira Knightley and James McAvoy.
The foreign-policy romp “Charlie Wilson’s War” ran second to “Atonement” with five nominations. And among double nominees were Cate Blanchett, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Clint Eastwood and Eddie Vedder — the latter two receiving bids for song and score.
Besides “Atonement,” the best drama nominees for the 65th Golden Globes were the crime sagas “American Gangster,” “Eastern Promises” and “No Country for Old Men,” the inspirational college drama “The Great Debaters,” the legal drama “Michael Clayton” and the California oil-boom epic “There Will Be Blood.” Because of a tie in voting, seven dramatic nominees were picked, rather than the usual five.
Nominated for best comedy or musical along with “Charlie Wilson’s War” were the Beatles musical “Across the Universe,” the Broadway adaptation “Hairspray,” the teen-pregnancy comedy “Juno” and the bloody musical “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.”
Adapted from the novel by Ian McEwan, “Atonement” earned dramatic actress and actor nominations for Knightley and McAvoy, who play lovers whose newfound romance is shattered after Knightley’s jealous younger sister (Saoirse Ronan) falsely accuses McAvoy of a crime.
“Atonement” also had nominations for Ronan as supporting actress, director for Joe Wright, screenplay for Christopher Hampton and musical score for Dario Marianelli.
“We’re all jumping around at the moment. It’s just fantastic. I’m working today, so I don’t know whether I’ll be able to celebrate, but we’ll probably have a nice dinner when we get home from work,” the 13-year-old Ronan said after learning she was a nominee.
No clear front-runners have yet emerged in the buildup to the Academy Awards race, so the big nominations haul could make an early favorite out of “Atonement,” which just opened theatrically last week. Oscar nominations come out nine days after the Golden Globes ceremony Jan. 13. The Oscars will be presented Feb. 24.
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