Golden Globe Nominations Announced, Heath Ledger Scores a Nod

This year's biggest hit, "The Dark Knight," came in with one nomination, supporting actor for Heath Ledger as the Joker.

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As it was announced by Terrence Howard at the 66th Golden Globes Nominations ceremony on Thursday, December 11, late Australian actor Heath Ledger has earned a nomination for Best Performance By an Actor In a Supporting Role In a Motion Picture. He will compete against Tom Cruise and Robert Downey Jr. for their roles in war comedy "Tropic Thunder", Philip Seymour Hoffman in "Doubt" and Ralph Fiennes in "The Duchess".

Commenting on Ledger's nod, Terrence Howard said, "Heath was a friend of mine, he gave his all in that film ('The Dark Knight'). I think he will win in that category. He'll also get an Oscar."

In addition to Howard's comment, Heath Ledger's father, Kim, was also grateful for the count, telling People.com, "This nomination is deeply appreciated and is not lost on those of us who continue to love and miss him. We are so proud our boy's work is being recognized in this way."

Leading the nominations were "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button", "Doubt" and "Frost/Nixon" with 5 nods each. Meanwhile, "Bolt," "Kung-Fu Panda" and "Wall-E" were nominated for best animated feature.

The presentation of the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards will take place at The Beverly Hilton about a month after the nominations announcement, on Sunday, January 11, 2009. The awards show produced by Dick Clark Productions in association with the HFPA will be broadcast live by NBC from 8 P.M. EST.

Complete nominees list of the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards :

BEST MOTION PICTURE - DRAMA

• "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
• "Frost/Nixon"
• "The Reader"
• "Revolutionary Road"
• "Slumdog Millionaire"

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE - DRAMA

• Anne Hathaway, "Rachel Getting Married"
• Angelina Jolie, "Changeling"
• Meryl Streep, "Doubt"
• Kristin Scott Thomas, "I've Loved You So Long"
• Kate Winslet, "Revolutionary Road"

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE - DRAMA

• Leonardo DiCaprio, "Revolutionary Road"
• Frank Langella, "Frost/Nixon"
• Sean Penn, "Milk"
• Brad Pitt, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
• Mickey Rourke, "The Wrestler"

BEST MOTION PICTURE - COMEDY OR MUSICAL

• "Burn After Reading"
• "Happy-Go-Lucky"
• "In Bruges"
• "Mamma Mia!"
• "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE - COMEDY OR MUSICAL

• Rebecca Hall, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
• Sally Hawkins, "Happy-Go-Lucky"
• Frances McDormand, "Burn After Reading"
• Meryl Streep, "Mamma Mia!"
• Emma Thompson, "Last Chance Harvey"

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE - COMEDY OR MUSICAL

• Javier Bardem, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
• Colin Farrell, "In Bruges"
• James Franco, "Pineapple Express"
• Brendan Gleeson, "In Bruges"
• Dustin Hoffman, "Last Chance Harvey"

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

• "Bolt"
• "Kung Fu Panda"
• "Wall-E"

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

• "The Baader Meinhof Complex" (Germany)
• "Everlasting Moments" (Sweden/Denmark)
• "Gomorrah" (Italy)
• "I've Loved You So Long" (France)
• "Waltz With Bashir" (Israel)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE

• Amy Adams, "Doubt"
• Penelope Cruz, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
• Viola Davis, "Doubt"
• Marisa Tomei, "The Wrestler"
• Kate Winslet, "The Reader"

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE

• Tom Cruise, "Tropic Thunder"
• Robert Downey Jr., "Tropic Thunder"
• Ralph Fiennes, "The Duchess"
• Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Doubt"
• Heath Ledger, "The Dark Knight"

BEST DIRECTOR - MOTION PICTURE

• Danny Boyle, "Slumdog Millionaire"
• Stephen Daldry, "The Reader"
• David Fincher, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
• Ron Howard, "Frost/Nixon"
• Sam Mendes, "Revolutionary Road"

BEST SCREENPLAY - MOTION PICTURE

• Simon Beaufoy, "Slumdog Millionaire"
• David Hare, "The Reader"
• Peter Morgan, "Frost/Nixon"
• Eric Roth, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
• John Patrick Shanley, "Doubt"

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE - MOTION PICTURE

• Alexandre Desplat, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
• Clint Eastwood, "Changeling"
• James Newton Howard, "Defiance"
• A. R. Rahman, "Slumdog Millionaire"
• Hans Zimmer, "Frost/Nixon"

BEST ORIGINAL SONG - MOTION PICTURE

• "Down To Earth", "Wall-E"
  Music by: Peter Gabriel, Thomas Newman. Lyrics by: Peter Gabriel
• "Gran Torino", "Gran Torino"
  Music by: Clint Eastwood, Jamie Cullum, Kyle Eastwood, Michael Stevens. Lyrics by: Kyle Eastwood, Michael Stevens
• "I Thought I Lost You", "Bolt"
  Music and Lyrics by: Miley Cyrus, Jeffrey Steele
• "Once in a Lifetime", "Cadillac Records"
  Music and Lyrics by: Beyonce Knowles, Amanda Ghost, Scott McFarnon, Ian Dench, James Dring, Jody Street
• "The Wrestler", "The Wrestler"
  Music & Lyrics by: Bruce Springsteen

BEST TELEVISION SERIES - DRAMA

• "Dexter" (SHOWTIME)
• "House M.D." (FOX)
• "In Treatment" (HBO)
• "Mad Men" (AMC)
• "True Blood" (HBO)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES - DRAMA

• Sally Field, "Brothers & Sisters"
• Mariska Hargitay, "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit"
• January Jones, "Mad Men"
• Anna Paquin, "True Blood"
• Kyra Sedgwick, "The Closer"

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES - DRAMA

• Gabriel Byrne, "In Treatment"
• Michael C. Hall, "Dexter"
• Jon Hamm, "Mad Men"
• Hugh Laurie, "House M.D."
• Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, "The Tudors"

BEST TELEVISION SERIES - COMEDY OR MUSICAL

• "30 Rock" (NBC)
• "Californication" (SHOWTIME)
• "Entourage" (HBO)
• "The Office" (NBC)
• "Weeds" (SHOWTIME)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES -COMEDY OR MUSICAL

• Christina Applegate, "Samantha Who?"
• America Ferrera, "Ugly Betty"
• Tina Fey, "30 Rock"
• Debra Messing, "The Starter Wife"
• Mary-Louise Parker, "Weeds"

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES - COMEDY OR MUSICAL

• Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock"
• Steve Carell, "The Office"
• Kevin Connolly, "Entourage"
• David Duchovny, "Californication"
• Tony Shalhoub, "Monk"

BEST MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

• "A Raisin in the Sun" (ABC)
• "Bernard and Doris" (HBO)
• "Cranford" (PBS)
• "John Adams" (HBO)
• "Recount" (HBO)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

• Judi Dench, "Cranford"
• Catherine Keener, "An American Crime"
• Laura Linney, "John Adams"
• Shirley Maclaine, "Coco Chanel"
• Susan Sarandon, "Bernard and Doris"

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

• Ralph Fiennes, "Bernard and Doris"
• Paul Giamatti, "John Adams"
• Kevin Spacey, "Recount"
• Kiefer Sutherland, "24: Redemption"
• Tom Wilkinson, "Recount"

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

• Eileen Atkins, "Cranford"
• Laura Dern, "Recount"
• Melissa George, "In Treatment"
• Rachel Griffiths, "Brothers & Sisters"
• Dianne Wiest, "In Treatment"

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

• Neil Patrick Harris, "How I Met Your Mother"
• Denis Leary, "Recount"
• Jeremy Piven, "Entourage"
• Blair Underwood, "In Treatment"
• Tom Wilkinson, "John Adams"

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