Gladiator, Traffic Top Globe Nods

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) â€” The Roman epic ``Gladiator'' and the drug war drama ``Traffic'' led the motion picture Golden Globe nominations Thursday with five each. <br><br>In awards

Thursday, December 21st 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) â€” The Roman epic ``Gladiator'' and the drug war drama ``Traffic'' led the motion picture Golden Globe nominations Thursday with five each.

In awards that often predict the Oscar race, ``Traffic'' director Stephen Soderbergh received two best-director nominations, for that movie and ``Erin Brockovich.''

Four movies received four nominations apiece: the 1970s rock 'n' roll reminiscence ``Almost Famous,'' the French provincial romance ``Chocolat,'' Soderbergh's ``Erin Brockovich'' and the offbeat campus drama ``Wonder Boys.''

``Traffic'' also received nominations for dramatic picture, supporting actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, supporting actor Benicio Del Toro and the screenplay by Stephen Gaghan.

``Gladiator'' was nominated for dramatic picture, best dramatic actor for Russell Crowe, supporting actor Joaquin Phoenix, director Ridley Scott and its musical score.

The other best dramatic picture nominees were ``Billy Elliot,'' ``Erin Brockovich,'' ``Sunshine'' and ``Wonder Boys.''

The nominees for best musical or comedy picture were ``Almost Famous,'' ``Best in Show,'' ``Chicken Run,'' ``Chocolat'' and ``O Brother, Where Art Thou?''

Nominees for best actress in a dramatic movie were Joan Allen for ``The Contender,'' Bjork for ``Dancer in the Dark,'' Ellen Burstyn for ``Requiem for a Dream,'' Laura Linney for ``You Can Count on Me'' and Julia Roberts for ``Erin Brockovich.''

Besides Crowe, the other dramatic actor nominees were Javier Bardem for ``Before Night Falls,'' Michael Douglas for ``Wonder Boys,'' Tom Hanks for ``Cast Away'' and Geoffrey Rush for ``Quills.''

Best actress nominees for a musical or comedy were Juliette Binoche for ``Chocolat,'' Brenda Blethyn for ``Saving Grace,'' Sandra Bullock for ``Miss Congeniality,'' Tracey Ullman for ``Small Time Crooks'' and Renee Zellweger for ``Nurse Betty.''

Best musical or comedy actor nominees were Jim Carrey for ``Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas,'' George Clooney for ``O Brother, Where Art Thou?,'' John Cusack for ``High Fidelity,'' Robert De Niro for ``Meet the Parents'' and Mel Gibson for ``What Women Want.''

Nominees in 13 movie and 11 television categories for the 58th annual Golden Globes were announced by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

The other supporting actress nominees included Kate Hudson and Frances McDormand for ``Almost Famous,'' Judi Dench for ``Chocolat'' and Julie Walters for ``Billy Elliot.''

The other supporting actor nominees were Jeff Bridges for ``The Contender,'' Willem Dafoe for ``Shadow of the Vampire'' and Albert Finney for ``Erin Brockovich.''

Besides Scott and Soderbergh, the best movie director nominees were Ang Lee for ``Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'' and Istvan Szabo for ``Sunshine.''

``Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'' received two other nominations including best foreign language film.

The other foreign language film nominees were ``Amores Perros'' from Mexico, the Italian films ``The Hundred Steps'' and ``Malena,'' and the French film ``The Widow of St. Pierre.''

Acting nominee Bjork also received a nomination for best original song, ``I've Seen it All,'' for which she wrote the music. Other song nominees were Sting and David Hartley for ``My Funny Friend and Me'' from ``The Emperor's New Groove,'' ``One in a Million'' by Steffan Olsson from ``Miss Congeniality,'' Bob Dylan for ``Things Have Changed'' from ``Wonder Boys'' and Garth Brooks and Jenny Yates for ``When You Come Back to Me Again'' from ``Frequency.''

NBC led television nominees with 15, followed by HBO with 12, then CBS, Fox and Showtime with seven each.

The best dramatic TV series nominees were ``CSI,'' ``ER,'' ``The Practice,'' ``The Sopranos'' and ``The West Wing.''

The best musical or comedy series nominees were ``Ally McBeal,'' ``Frasier,'' ``Malcolm in the Middle,'' ``Sex in the City'' and ``Will & Grace.''

Among notable TV acting nominees were Robert Downey Jr., who received a supporting actor nod for ``Ally McBeal.'' Downey came to the show after his release from prison in a drug case, but has since been arrested again.

``Chocolat'' nominee Dench also got a TV nod for best actress in a miniseries or TV movie for ``Last of the Blonde Bombshells.''

The Golden Globe nominations often serve as indicators for how the year's movies will fare when Oscar nominees are announced in February. In past years, movies such as ``American Beauty,'' ``Saving Private Ryan'' or ``Titanic'' emerged as clear front-runners.

Nominees are chosen by the association's roughly 90 members, who cover Hollywood for overseas publications.

Unlike the Oscars, top categories for the Golden Globes are divided into two sets, dramatic movies and musicals or comedies. Winners in the Globe dramatic categories are more likely to go on to win Oscars.

In the past 57 years, one of the two best-picture winners at the Golden Globes has taken the same honor at the Oscars 41 times.

``The Golden Globe is a genuine crystal ball for the Oscars,'' said Thomas O'Neil, author of ``Movie Awards,'' a book due out next month that examines film honors.

The 1999 Golden Globes correctly predicted Oscar wins for ``American Beauty'' and director Sam Mendes, ``Boys Don't Cry'' star Hilary Swank and ``Girl, Interrupted'' supporting actress Angelina Jolie.

The Golden Globe Awards will air live on NBC on Jan. 21.

â€”â€”â€”

On the Net:

http://www.goldenglobes.org