Whatever you might think of them, with this morning's announcements of the Golden Globe nominees the awards season officially kicked into gear. What exactly the Hollywood Foreign Press's 2011 nominations mean—The Artist, The Descendants and The Help lead the film pack while Downton Abbey, Mildred Pierce, and Boardwalk Empire lead the TV noms—is debatable considering some of the predictably odd choices in this years group (i.e., American Horror Story gets a nom for Best TV Series but Breaking Bad did not). So the real question now is, without Angelina Jolie or Johnny Depp to kick around, who will returning host Ricky Gervais decide to decimate this year? more ›

The nominations for the 2011 Tony Awards were announced today, and the South Park boys Trey Parker and Matt Stone have reason to rejoice. Their show, The Book of Mormon lead the pack with 14 nominations including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score, two nods for Best Lead Actor in a Musical (Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells), Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Nikki M. James) and Best Director (Casey Nicholaw and Trey Parker). Coming in second with 12 nominations was the short-lived on Broadway musical The Scottsboro Boys. more ›

This year the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences decided to bump up the number of films eligible for Best Picture nomination from five to ten. The nominations were announced before dawn on the west coast this morning by Anne Hathaway and Academy President Tom Sherak. Some, like Jeffrey Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere, had threatened "a tsumani of shame" if the Coen brothers' superb film A Serious Man was left out of the newly-expanded Best Picture category. But Old Testament wrath was mercifully averted, and the film was nominated for Best Picture and Best Screenplay. Now it better win, lest Hollywood feel our hurricane of hate. more ›

Up in the Air is up on top of the Golden Globe award contenders (full list after the jump), receiving six nominations, including props for best drama and nominations for George Clooney, Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick. The tense Iraq war drama, The Hurt Locker, which just scored with the critics' awards in New York and LA, was also nominated for best drama, and Kathryn Bigelow was nominated for best director. James Cameron (Avatar), Clint Eastwood (Invictus), Jason Rietman (Up in the Air), and Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds) were also nominated for best director. more ›

The 2009 Tony Award nominees were announced this morning, and competition for a nod was particularly intense this year because the 2008-09 theater season saw the highest number of new Broadway plays, musicals, and revivals in 25 years—and an unusually large percentage of them weren't just flashy drivel. Take for example, reasons to be pretty, Neil LaBute's stirring relationship-wreckage play: the Broadway production nabbed three desperately-needed Tony nominations—including Best Play and one for Gothamist crush Marin Ireland—but the show is hanging by a thread at the Lyceum Theatre, filling just 30% of the house last week. more ›

Earlier today, President Obama said, "We know the only way to solve the great challenges of our time is to put aside stale ideology and petty partisanship, and embrace what works," while introducing new Commerce Secretary nominee Judd Gregg, a Republican senator. Of course, Gregg is the second nominee for that position—former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson dropped out due to a corruption probe. And, today, two other appointees—Nancy Killefer, Chief Performance Officer nominee, and former Senate majority leader Tom Daschle, Health and Human Services Secretary nominee—withdrew their names from the running due to tax issues, an issue that mired Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's confirmation process in some drama. more ›

Hey, cheer up bankrupt, war-weary America! The nominees for the 81st Academy Awards were announced this very morning in Beverly Hills at 5:30 in the freaking morning—of course, everyone over there is always up at dawn doing yoga and colonics anyway. And it's a big day for local Off Broadway star and Red Hook denizen Michael Shannon, who was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Revolutionary Road. He'll no doubt lose to Heath "Know How I Got These Oscars?" Ledger, and rightfully so, but it's nice to see a local boy (yes, via Chicago) make good. (We most recently caught Shannon in Lady.) more ›

• Perhaps the big surprise (besides Juno getting nominated for Best Director and Best Picture) was Ruby Dee for her work in American Gangster (its only other nomination was for art direction)