Golden Globes Nominates Brad Pitt, 'Descendants,' 'The Help'

The nominations for the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards were announced Thursday morning at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in California. Leading the pack with this year’s nods are the George Clooney drama, The Descendents, the civil rights movement piece, The Help, and the black-and-white The Artist.

Clooney is also being honored for Best Actor for The Descendants, and he faces off against his Ides of March costar, Ryan Gosling, who was nominated for his role in that film. Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Michael Fassbender round out the category. The Best Actress race is also tight this year. Glenn Close, nominated for her role in Albert Knobs, goes up against fellow veterans Meryl Streep and Tilda Swinton for The Iron Lady and We Need to Talk About Kevin, respectively, as well as Viola Davis for The Help and relative newcomer Rooney Mara for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

In the category for Best Comedy or Musical Motion Picture, The Artist will compete against the Kristen Wigg favorite, Bridesmaids, the Woody Allen flick, Midnight in Paris, the Marilyn Monroe biopic, My Week with Marilyn, and the Roman Polanski-helmed Carnage.

You can catch the Golden Globes, hosted for the third time by controversial comedian Ricky Gervais, live on Sunday, January 15 on NBC. The award is considered one of the highest honors for television and solidly foreshadows the upcoming Oscar race.

Watch a clip from the announcements here, seen on The Today Show:

Read on for a full list of nominees:

Best Motion Picture – Drama
The Descendants
The Help
Hugo
The Ides of March
Moneyball
War Horse

Best Motion Picture – Comedy Or Musical
50/50
The Artist
Bridesmaids
Midnight in Paris
My Week with Marilyn

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama
George Clooney, The Descendants
Leonardo DiCaprio, J. Edgar
Michael Fassbender, Shame
Ryan Gosling, The Ides of March
Brad Pitt, Moneyball

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis, The Help”
Rooney Mara, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Tilda Swinton, We Need To Talk About Kevin

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy Or Musical
Jodi Foster, Carnage
Charlize Theron, Young Adult
Kristen Wiig, Bridesmaids
Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn
Kate Winslet, Carnage

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Comedy Or Musical
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Joseph Gordon Levitt, 50/50
Ryan Gosling, Crazy Stupid Love
Brendan Gleeson, The Guard
Owen Wilson, Midnight in Paris

Best Performance by an Actress In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Berenice Bejo, The Artist
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer, The Help
Shailene Woodley, The Descendants

Best Performance by an Actor In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Kenneth Branagh, My Week with Marilyn
Albert Brooks, Drive
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Viggo Mortensen, A Dangerous Method
Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Best Screenplay – Motion Picture
Midnight in Paris
The Ides of March
The Artist
The Descendants
Moneyball

Best Director – Motion Picture
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
George Clooney, The Ides of March
Michael H, The Artist
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Martin Scorsese, Hugo

Best Animated Feature Film
The Adventures of Tintin
Arthur Christmas
Cars 2
Puss in Boots
Rango

Best Foreign Language Film
Flowers of War
The Land of Blood and Honey
The Kid with A Bike
A Separation
The Skin I Live In

Best Original Score – Motion Picture
The Artist
W.E
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
War Horse
Hugo

Best Original Song – Motion Picture
Gnomeo and Juliet
Machine Gun Preacher
Albert Nobbs
The Help
Masterpiece, W.E

Best Television Series – Comedy Or Musical
Enlightened
Episodes
Glee
Modern Family
New Girl

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series – Drama
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Kelsey Grammar, Boss
Jeremy Irons, The Borgias
Damian Lewis Homeland

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series – Drama
Claire Danes, Homeland
Mireille Enos, The Killing
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Madeline Stowe, Revenge
Callie Thorne, Necessary Roughness

Best Television Series – comedy or musical
Enlightened
Episodes
Glee
Modern Family
New Girl

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series – Comedy Or Musical
Laura Dern, Enlightened
Zooey Deschanel, The New Girl
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Laura Linney, The Big C
Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series – Comedy Or Musical
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
David Duchovny, Californication
Johnny Galecki, The Big Bang Theory
Thomas Jane, Hung
Matt LeBlanc, Episodes

Best Mini-Series Or Motion Picture Made for Television
Cinema Verite
Downton Abbey
The Hour
Mildred Pierce
Too Big to Fail

Best Performance by an Actress In A Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Romola Garai, The Hour
Diane Lane, Cinema Verite
Elizabeth McGovern, Downton Abbey
Emily Watson, Appropriate Adult
Kate Winslet, Mildred Pierce

Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Hugh Bonneville, Downton Abbey
Idris Elba, Luther
William Hurt, Too Big To Fail
Bill Nighy, Page Eight
Dominic West, The Hour

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Jessica Lange, American Horror Story
Kelly MacDonald, Boardwalk Empire
Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
Sofia Vergara, Modern Family
Evan Rachel Wood

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Paul Giamatti, Too Big to Fail
Guy Pearce, Mildred Pierce
Tim Robbins, Cinema Verite
Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family