Left: U.S. actor Viggo Mortensen gestures during a photo call in Buenos Aires November 15, 2005. Mortensen, who rose to stardom for his role in the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy, is in Argentina to promote his latest film 'A History of Violence', directed by Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg. Center: Actress Rachel Wiesz poses as she arrives at the Critic's Choice Awards in Santa Monica, California January 9. Weisz, star of the film 'The Constant Gardener' is nominated for best supporting actress at the awards show.
Right: Actor Jake Gyllenhaal poses for the cameras at the Palm Springs International Film Festival gala in Palm Springs, California January 7. - REUTERS PHOTOS
(AP):
THE COWBOY gay romance flick Brokeback Mountain, the film biography Capote and the road-trip tale Transamerica were among key contenders for last night's Golden Globes, a potential breakthrough night for gay-themed movies.
Brokeback Mountain, director Ang Lee's story of two rugged Western family men (Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal) concealing their homosexual affair, led the field with seven nominations, including best drama.
Along with Ledger, Capote star Philip Seymour Hoffman was a favourite for the dramatic lead-actor prize for his role as gay author Truman Capote. Felicity Huffman was a front-runner for best dramatic actress for Transamerica, in which she plays a man preparing for surgery to become a woman.
MAJOR HONOURS
Key wins by those films could help position them for major honours at the Academy Awards, which occasionally have handed out top acting prizes for performers in homosexual or gender-bending roles but have never given the best-picture Oscar to a gay-themed film.
Oscar nominations come out January 31, with the awards presented March 5.
Besides Brokeback Mountain, Globe nominees for dramatic picture are the murder thriller The Constant Gardener, the Edward R. Murrow saga Good Night, and Good Luck the mobster tale A History of Violence and the infidelity drama Match Point.
Competing for best musical or comedy are the London theatre tale Mrs. Henderson Presents, the Jane Austen adaptation Pride & Prejudice, the Broadway musical The Producers, the divorce story The Squid and the Whale and the Johnny Cash film biography Walk the Line.
The Globes are awarded by the relatively small Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which has about 80 members, compared to 5,800 film professionals eligible to vote for the Oscars.
Still, the Globes have an excellent track record at predicting the Oscars. Globe winners catch momentum that can boost their chances at other Hollywood film honours, all of it feeding their chances to triumph come Oscar night.
Two years ago, Globe winners Sean Penn, Charlize Theron, Tim Robbins and Renee Zellweger all went on to receive the four acting Oscars. Best-picture victor The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and director Peter Jackson earned their Oscars after winning first at the Globes.
NO GUARANTEE OF OSCAR SUCCESS
A win at the Globes is no guarantee of Oscar success, though. Last year, the Howard Hughes epic The Aviator took the drama prize at the Globes, but the boxing saga Million Dollar Baby won the best-picture Oscar.
Globe winners Jamie Foxx of Ray and Hilary Swank of Million Dollar Baby went on to earn lead-acting Oscars, while supporting players Clive Owen and Natalie Portman of Closer won at the Globes but lost at the Oscars to Morgan Freeman of Million Dollar Baby and Cate Blanchett of The Aviator.
Anthony Hopkins, a six-time Golden Globe nominee for such films as The Silence of the Lambs and The Remains of the Day, was to receive the group's Cecil B. DeMille award for career achievement.
