Awards Season: Golden Globe Noms Released

The Golden Globe nominations can be weird sometimes due to the fact that they split up movie awards into comedy/musical and drama and also because of the way they combine supporting awards on TV...and also because they are voted on by the foreign press. Sometimes the nominees can make you go..huh? Like this year with Breaking Bad not getting a nomination for Best TV Drama.

But while they aren't perfect, the Globes are still a good barometer to see what will come with the Academy Award nominations. This years nominees are pretty great, especially in the Best Actor - Drama category for film:

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama

Georege Clooney, "The Descendants"
Leonardo DiCaprio, "J. Edgar"
Michael Fassbender, "Shame"
Ryan Gosling, "The Ides of March"
Brad Pitt, "Moneyball"

The rest of the movie 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 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 Director - Motion Picture

Woody Allen, "Midnight in Paris"
George Clooney, "The Ides of March"
Michel Hazanavicius, "The Artist"
Alexander Payne, "The Descendants"
Martin Scorsese, "Hugo"

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture

"Midnight in Paris"
"The Ides of March"
"The Artist"
"The Descendants"
"Moneyball"

And the TV nominees:

Best Television Series - Drama

"American Horror Story"
"Boardwalk Empire"
"Boss"
"Game of Thrones"
"Homeland"

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 Grammer, "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 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 a 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 a 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"

The 69th Golden Globes will be held on Sunday, Jan. 15.

Awards Season: SAG Nominations Released

The SAG awards were released on Wednesday morning and there are some surprises among this years crop.

Best ensemble cast
The Artist
Bridesmaids
The Descendants
The Help
Midnight in Paris

Interesting fact: "No film has won Best Picture without a SAG nomination in 15 years.." Should make the rest of the awards season very interesting.

Best actor
Demián Bichir, A Better Life
George Clooney, The Descendants
Leonardo DiCaprio, J. Edgar
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Brad Pitt, Moneyball

Best actress
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis, The Help
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin
Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn

Best supporting actor
Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn
Armie Hammer, J. Edgar
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Nick Nolte, Warrior
Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Best supporting actress
Berenice Bejo, The Artist
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer, The Help

TELEVISION

Best ensemble cast in a comedy
30 Rock
The Big Bang Theory
Glee
Modern Family
The Office

Best ensemble cast in a drama
Boardwalk Empire
Breaking Bad
Dexter
Game of Thrones
The Good Wife

Best actress in a comedy
Julie Bowen, Modern Family
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Sofia Vergara, Modern Family
Betty White, Hot in Cleveland

Best actor in a comedy
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Steve Carell, The Office
Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men
Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family

Best actress in a drama
Kathy Bates, Harry's Law
Glenn Close, Damages
Jessica Lange, American Horror Story
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer

Best actor in a drama
Patrick J. Adams, Suits
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Kyle Chandler, Friday Night Lights
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Michael C. Hall, Dexter

The awards will air on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012 on TNT.

Chris Pratt, Rhys Ifans Have An "Engagement"

While both have taken different routes along the way, actors Chris Pratt and Rhys Ifans have been hot commodities in Hollywood as of late.

Pratt has been putting in steady work on "Parks and Recreation" for a couple years and has spun that into some solid film roles including in the recently released "Take Me Home Tonight" (which also stars his wife Anna Faris) and in the upcoming films "What's Your Number?," the highly anticipated "Moneyball," as well as in the Channing Tatum indie "Ten Year."

Ifans has been putting in solid supporting work for a long while and been drawing attention recently for some lower profile roles, including as notorious pot smuggler Howard Marks in the British indie "Mr. Nice," but looks to break out big as the villain in Marc Webb's upcoming "The Amazing Spider-Man.

Both actors are on the cusp of mainstream stardom and have added a new wrinkle to their resumes, joining up on a new comedy project. According to Variety Ifans along with "Parks and Recreation" star Pratt have joined the cast of Nicholas Stoller's comedy "Five-Year Engagement" for Universal Pictures.

Jason Segel and Emily Blunt star in the film which chronicles the highs and lows of a lengthy relationship. "Community" actress Alison Brie co-stars as Blunt's younger sister.

"Forgetting Sarah Marshall" and "Get Him to the Greek" scribes Segel and Stoller co-wrote the script, while Judd Apatow, Rodney Rothman and Stoller are producing.

Everything about this project seems like it should add up to a winning combination. Anything Judd Apatow produces always warrants some attention, but what this has going for it is the fact that Segel and Stoller are teaming up once again. The duo did an amazing job on "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" and although "Get Him to the Greek" wasn't as good, Stoller has shown he has a knack for comedic timing.

Adding both Pratt and Ifans is a great move as well, because both are excellent supporting actors and should provide Segel and Blunt some relief throughout the film. The cast of the film was great even before the two were added, with Emily Blunt and Allison Brie also starring in the film. Blunt is one of Hollywood's underrated talents and Brie is just perfect in her role on the NBC sitcom "Community."

Shooting kicks off next month.

"Cold Case" Star Kathryn Morris Scores "Moneyball"

Former "Cold Case" lead Kathryn Morris is heating up since switching casting agencies this past April.

In her first move since signing with the Gersh Agency, the actress is in negotiations to star in baseball drama "Moneyball" for Sony Pictures, according to Risky Business.

Morris will play the second wife of the lead character, Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane (Brad Pitt). She loves baseball as much as her husband, so she understands and shares his passion for the game.

Bennett Miller directs the film, which stars Pitt, Robin Wright, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Stephen Bishop. The script was written by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin and will shoot some scenes at Oakland Colliseum over the summer.

Morris is a solid actress, and I think a role like this could be a breakout part for her. She was always great on "Cold Case" and she also has been solid in supporting roles in “Minority Report,” “Resurrecting the Champ” and “Paycheck.”

The book "Moneyball" by Michael Lewis was fascinating, even for people who aren't baseball fans. With such a great cast and excellent director like Miller in place, "Moneyball" is a project to look forward to.

Filming kicks off in Los Angeles next week.

Pitt Tackles The Economy In "The Big Short"

Paramount Pictures and Plan B have picked up film rights to Michael Lewis' non-fiction tome "The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine" says Variety.

According to Variety: Brad Pitt’s production company Plan B are closing in on a deal to the film rights to “Moneyball” author Michael Lewis’ upcoming Wall Street book, "The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine".

Lewis's book, which comes out in March, chronicles the recent free fall of the American economy (in particular the crippled housing market), seen through the eyes of a large group of characters. It also centers on the various decisions by Wall Street power brokers, banker and mortgage agents that led to the complete collapse of the housing market in the fall of 2008.

Pitt clearly likes Michael Lewis. Pitt was slated to star in Steven Soderbergh’s adaptation of “Moneyball” which stalled out last year and is now in Bennett Miller’s hands. Hopefully this time around the film will actually get made. Pitt will produce and also consider starring.

“The Blind Side”, which is an adaptation of one of Lewis’ books, just got two Oscar nominations, for Best Picture and Best Actress (Sandra Bullock), and his new book just might be a Brad Pitt starring vehicle. I guess it’s a great week to be Michael Lewis.

No production dates have been set.