‘Carol’, ‘The Big Short’ lead varied field in Golden Globe film race

It will compete against The Big Short, Trainwreck, Joy, and Spy.

The Australian duo has so much momentum they appear set to be nominees at February’s Academy Awards ceremony.

Swedish actress Alicia Vikander had a big day.

But Starz, which had two nominations previous year, enjoyed an uptick to six, spread across its series “Flesh & Bone”, “Blunt Talk” and time-travel romance “Outlander”, which got three nominations, including best drama, best actress (Caitriona Balfe) and best supporting actor (Tobias Menzies).

Actress Lily Tomlin, who has been making a comeback at age 76, was nominated for best actress in a comedy for “Grace and Frankie”.

The nominations on the comedy side included perhaps even more surprises.

Best television drama series nominations include HBO’s Game of Thrones and Netflix’s Narcos. I am particularly delighted for Brie Larson and Emma Donoghue.

Netflix’s flagship political thriller “House of Cards” earned one nod, for best actress contender Robin Wright.

Premium rival Showtime saw last year’s nine nominations shrink to three.

The Globes’ love affair with Steven Spielberg is burned with “Bridge.” “My work does not stand alone, and only comes together with the help of all the talented craftspeople I have had the pleasure to work with”. Getting an acting nomination for my role as Daisy in “The Hateful Eight” is a testament to the great Quentin Tarantino and would not have been possible without the cast (especially the one I was handcuffed to, Kurt Russell).

Steve Jobs did well by its actors and screenwriter Sorkin, but the film itself was left out of the best drama category.

Mark Ruffalo: The strong “Spotlight” ensemble cat got shut out entirely.

Globes’ defiance: In a year that has seen studios dubiously advocating that lead roles (including Vikander in “The Danish Girl”, Rooney Mara in “Carol”) be shoehorned into supporting categories, the Globes mostly did the right thing and positioned the performances correctly.

AHS fans were barraged with dark, enticing promos for months leading up to the show’s premiere, only to be smacked in the face with a distinct lack of what they were promised.

“The Big Short“, which takes a quirky look at the housing bubble collapse that led to the 2008 US recession, led the comedy nominees with four nods; best comedy, screenplay and actor for Christian Bale and Steve Carell. This is nearly the exact same list that was named by the SAG Awards – now Smith and Johnny Depp, who was nominated by the SAG Awards for “Black Mass”, may be vying for the last slot in this category for the Oscars. The movies that are contenders for the best drama prize are “Carol”, “Spotlight”, “Room”, “The Revenant”, and “Mad Max: Fury Road”.

The Globes’ lead actor group options Bryan Cranston for “Trumbo”, Leonardo DiCaprio for “The Revenant”, Michael Fassbender for “Steve Jobs”, Eddie Redmayne for “The Danish Girl” and Will Smith for “Concussion”. Mark Ruffalo is up for Best Actor in the Comedy Or Musical category, too – for his performance as a husband and father struggling profoundly with bipolar disorder in Infinitely Polar Bear.

The nominees for best motion picture director: Todd Haynes, “Carol”; Alejandro G. Inarritu, “The Revenant”; Tom McCarthy, “Spotlight”; George Miller, “Mad Max: Fury Road”; Ridley Scott, “The Martian”.

The Globe also give out honors for television.