Irish talent well represented at Golden Globes

ACTORS Michael Fassbender and Brendan Gleeson have been nominated for Golden Globe Awards while Irish drama Albert Nobbs, which was filmed in Dublin, has received three nominations.

Fassbender got the nod in the best actor category for his role in the Steve McQueen-directed film Shame. The star, who grew up in Killarney, finds himself facing tough competition, with George Clooney, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ryan Gosling and Brad Pitt the other nominees.

Gleeson has been shortlisted for his role in The Guard in the best comedy or musical category while Albert Nobbs has been shortlisted for three awards, including best original song for Lay Your Head Down, written by actress Glenn Close and Brian Byrne and sung by Sinead O’Connor.

But it’s the silent-era tale The Artist that is stealing headlines. It leads with six nominations, among them best comedy or musical and acting honours for its French stars, Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo.

Tied for second place in the nominations are the 1960s tale The Help and George Clooney’s The Descendants. Both films are up for best drama, while Clooney was nominated for best dramatic actor and The Help earned acting slots for Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer and Jessica Chastain.

Also competing for best drama: Martin Scorsese’s Paris adventure Hugo; Clooney’s political thriller The Ides of March; Brad Pitt’s baseball chronicle Moneyball; and Steven Spielberg’s First World War epic War Horse.

Joining The Artist in the best musical or comedy category are: The cancer story 50/50; Kristen Wiig’s wedding romp Bridesmaids; Woody Allen’s romantic fantasy Midnight in Paris; and Michelle Williams’s Marilyn Monroe tale My Week with Marilyn.

Clooney has three nominations. Besides best dramatic actor for The Descendants, he’s up for directing and screenplay for The Ides of March.

For the acting prize, Clooney will compete against Ides co-star Ryan Gosling, who had a second nomination for best musical or comedy actor for the romance Crazy, Stupid, Love.

The Globes field helps narrow down prospects for the Academy Awards, the nominations for which come out on January 24.

With drinks and dinner, the Globes are a laid-back affair for Hollywood’s elite compared to the Oscars.

The show turned a bit touchy last year as host Ricky Gervais made sharp wisecracks about stars and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a group of entertainment reporters for overseas outlets that presents the Globes.

But Gervais helped give the show a TV ratings boost, and he has been invited back as host for a third straight year.

Five-time Academy Award and Globe nominee Morgan Freeman will receive the group’s Cecil B DeMille Award for lifetime achievement at the January 15 ceremony.

Oscar short

A SHORT Irish film about an altar boy’s love of football has been shortlisted for an Oscar nomination.

Pentecost is one of 10 international pieces of work vying for favouritism for best live action short at the gala awards at the end of February.

Written and directed by Peter McDonald and starring Andrew Bennett, Michael McElhatton and Don Wycherley, it tells the story of a young altar boy forced to serve at an important mass and has to make a difficult choice — conform to the status quo or serve an extended ban from his passion, football.

Bord Scannán na hÉireann, which funded the film, said Pentecost was selected from 107 short films and will now go forward to the next stage in the voting process.

The 84th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Tuesday January 24.