BEVERLY HILLS, Dec 11: Heavyweight movie stars took centre stage on Thursday as Hollywood’s awards season got under way with the unveiling of nominees for next month’s Golden Globe Awards.

A slew of A-list talent was among the nominees named at an early morning ceremony in Beverly Hills, with Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep and Angelina Jolie all picking up nods.

The Golden Globes, which take place on Jan 11, are seen as an important staging post ahead of the Academy Awards, offering clues to which films and stars will be successful at the Oscars.

No one film emerged as the overwhelming favourite in Thursday’s nominations, with love story “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” political thriller “Frost/Nixon” and “Doubt” sharing five nominations each.

Both “Benjamin Button” and “Frost/Nixon” cemented their status as Oscars contenders however with nominations in the key categories of best drama, best director and best actor.

“Benjamin Button,” an adaptation of an F. Scott Fitzgerald short story, stars heart-throb Pitt as a man who ages in reverse.

The film faces competition in the best picture race from “Slumdog Millionaire,” “Frost/Nixon,” “The Reader” and “Revolutionary Road.” Pitt’s rivals in the best actor drama race include DiCaprio, who plays a frustrated 1950s suburbanite in “Revolutionary Road,” Sean Penn, a trailblazing gay politician in “Milk,” Frank Langella, disgraced US President Richard Nixon in “Frost/Nixon” and Mickey Rourke, a washed up brawler in “The Wrestler.”

In the best actress drama race Pitt saw partner Angelina Jolie nominated for her performance as a mother searching for her son in Clint Eastwood’s period drama “Changeling.”

Other nominees included Anne Hathaway for “Rachel Getting Married,” Streep for her performance as a tyrannical nun in “Doubt,” Kristin Scott Thomas in “I’ve Loved You So Long” and British actress Kate Winslet for her role opposite DiCaprio in “Revolutionary Road.”

Winslet, who has yet to win a Globe despite five previous nominations, also received a nod in the best supporting actress category for her role as a former concentration guard in “The Reader.”

Meanwhile Australian actor Heath Ledger received a posthumous nomination in the best supporting actor category for his acclaimed performance in Batman blockbuster “The Dark Knight.”

However Ledger, who tragically died of a prescription drugs overdose in January, faces competition from Tom Cruise, Ralph Fiennes, Philip Seymour-Hoffman and Robert Downey Jr.

There was disappointment for the big budget romantic epic “Australia,” which failed to garner a nod in the best picture category. The film’s stars,

Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman were also snubbed along with director Baz Luhrmann.—AFP