Golden Globe 2010 nominations

The film critics of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association have got awards season rolling with a selection of Golden Globe-nominated films that is both expected and surprising.

Not unexpectedly, The King's Speech leads the field with 7 noms: a 100% strike rate. Its three principal cast members - Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and HBC - all receive noms as does the director, Tom Hooper. Next up, and still going with form, is The Social Network on 6 noms.

However, next comes the first (good) surprise: David O Russell's The Fighter has also nabbed 6 noms, including those for all three principal cast members.

A clutch of releases have grabbed 4: Black Swan; Inception; and The Kids Are All Right.

Other nice surprises include: RED justly getting a nod; the performances of Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams in Blue Valentine getting recognition; Emma Stone being nominated for her potentially career-making turn in Easy A; and Jeremy Renner being noted for his role in The Town.

But, good god, the mind-numbing shocks are plentiful: let's start with the international embarrassment that is The Tourist - it's got 3 noms for Best Film, Actor (for Johnny Depp's off-kilter act) and Actress (Angelina Jolie in quite possibly her worst ever performance by some considerable magnitude). Hello????? And to add insult to injury, Depp picks up a second nom for Alice In Wonderland (also recognised for Best Film). WTF????

Matching its flop status, Burlesque garners just 3 noms - and a pair of them are for songs. And perhaps a little surprising is that 127 Hours didn't get a nod for Best Film.

Predicting winners is not easy at this early stage, but it's hard to see Toy Story 3, Colin Firth and Annette Bening being beaten in their respective categories. And the HFPA critics may be more open to Black Swan than Academy members...

Best Motion Picture - Drama
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The King's Speech
The Social Network

Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Alice in Wonderland
Burlesque
The Kids Are All Right
Red
The Tourist

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama
Jesse Eisenberg for The Social Network
Colin Firth for The King's Speech
James Franco for 127 Hours
Ryan Gosling for Blue Valentine
Mark Wahlberg for The Fighter

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama
Halle Berry for Frankie and Alice
Nicole Kidman for Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence for Winter's Bone
Natalie Portman for Black Swan
Michelle Williams for Blue Valentine

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Johnny Depp for The Tourist
Johnny Depp for Alice in Wonderland
Paul Giamatti for Barney's Version
Jake Gyllenhaal for Love and Other Drugs
Kevin Spacey for Casino Jack

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Annette Bening for The Kids Are All Right
Anne Hathaway for Love and Other Drugs
Angelina Jolie for The Tourist
Julianne Moore for The Kids Are All Right
Emma Stone for Easy A

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Christian Bale for The Fighter
Michael Douglas for Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
Andrew Garfield for The Social Network
Jeremy Renner for The Town
Geoffrey Rush for The King's Speech

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Amy Adams for The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter for The King's Speech
Mila Kunis for Black Swan
Melissa Leo for The Fighter
Jacki Weaver for Animal Kingdom

Best Director
Darren Aronofsky for Black Swan
David Fincher for The Social Network
Tom Hooper for The King's Speech
Christopher Nolan for Inception
David O. Russell for The Fighter

Best Screenplay
127 Hours
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The King's Speech
The Social Network

Best Animated Film
Despicable Me
How to Train Your Dragon
The Illusionist
Tangled
Toy Story 3

Best Foreign Language Film
Biutiful (Mexico/Spain)
The Concert (France)
The Edge (Russia)
I Am Love (Italy)
In a Better World (Denmark)