Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt at the 2012 Golden Globes (AP)
Ricky Gervais, who is prone to ruffle feathers with sharp wisecracks aimed at celebrities, made an early arrival Sunday on the Golden Globes red carpet, along with such stars as George Clooney, Sarah Michelle Gellar and the dog from "The Artist."
Clooney came with nominations for two movies -- "The Descendants" and "The Ides of March" -- but told E! television: "I don't think I'll win four, so I suspect I'll be the big loser tonight."
The Globes, hosted by Gervais, have equally good comedy and drama masks this year. Alongside heavyweight dramas, the category for best musical or comedy at the Globes usually is more of a lark, with nominees rarely emerging with best-picture prospects for Hollywood's top prize, the Academy Awards.
Yet Sunday's musical or comedy contenders make up a strong bunch that could give their best-drama cousins at the Globes a run for their money come Oscar time.
Expected to make the most noise at the Globes ceremony, to be carried live on NBC from 8-11 p.m. EST, is the silent film "The Artist," with six nominations, including best musical or comedy, directing and writing honors for Michel Hazanavicius, and acting slots for Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo.
Tied for second with five nominations each are the Deep South tale "The Help" and Clooney's Hawaiian family story "The Descendants," both of them among best-drama contenders.
One of the stars Sunday arriving for the ceremony was definitely well behaved and well dressed. Uggie the dog from "The Artist" dis tricks on the red carpet: Standing up and rolling over to play dead. After one of the tricks, his handler adjusted his black bow tie.
With the Oscars choosing up to 10 best-picture contenders when nominations come out Jan. 24, "The Artist" could have some other lighter fare as company there. Globe musical or comedy nominees "Midnight in Paris" and "Bridesmaids" have solid Oscar nomination prospects, along with the weighty dramas academy voters historically prefer.
On the carpet, Sarah Michelle Gellar was spotted without husband Freddie Prinze Jr. "He's watching football," she told E! "This is the worst date night I could possibly think of." Nominee Sofia Vergara from "Modern Family" was in a Vera Wang gown and was asked why she liked the designer. "She sends me dresses that zip, and they close," she told E!
Red carpet interviews don't always involve words. "The Artist" actor James Cromwell was asked to describe how he felt about being at the Globe awards without talking. Wide-eyed and flashing a smile, he clapped his hands and looked skyward.
Most years, the musical or comedy category is filled with nominees that have little or no chance at the Oscars, such as last year's Globe nominees "The Tourist" and "Burlesque." The last time a musical or comedy Globe winner earned the best-picture Oscar was nine years ago, when "Chicago" triumphed at both shows.
This time, the dual categories at the Globes could create an Oscar showdown between the dramatic and musical-comedy winners.
Along with "The Artist," Kristen Wiig's wedding romp "Bridesmaids" and Woody Allen's romantic fantasy "Midnight in Paris," Globe nominees for best musical or comedy are Joseph Gordon-Levitt's cancer tale "50/50" and Michelle Williams' Marilyn Monroe story "My Week With Marilyn."
Besides "The Descendants" and "The Help," best-drama contenders are Martin Scorsese's Paris adventure "Hugo," Clooney's political thriller "The Ides of March," Brad Pitt's sports tale "Moneyball" and Steven Spielberg's World War I epic "War Horse."
Presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a group of 89 entertainment reporters for overseas outlets, the Globes used to have a strong record predicting the films that would go on to win best-picture at the Oscars. But lately, a best-picture win at the Globes has not translated into victory on Oscar night.
Over the last seven years, only one Globe best-picture winner -- 2008's "Slumdog Millionaire" -- has gone on to claim the top Oscar trophy. Before that stretch, the Globes had been on an eight-year streak in which one of its two best-picture recipients also won the main prize at the Academy Awards.
Last year, "The Social Network" won best-drama at the Globes and looked like the early Oscar favorite. But momentum later swung to eventual Oscar best-picture winner "The King's Speech." The year before, "Avatar" was named best drama at the Globes, while "The Hurt Locker" took best picture at the Oscars.
The Globes have a better track record predicting who will win Oscars for acting. A year ago, all four actors who won Oscars earned Globes first -- lead players Colin Firth for "The King's Speech" and Natalie Portman for "Black Swan" and "The Fighter" supporting stars Christian Bale and Melissa Leo.
This time, "The Help" leads the acting categories with three nominations, for Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer and Jessica Chastain. Along with Clooney, Pitt and Williams, other nominees include Meryl Streep for the Margaret Thatcher story "The Iron Lady," Leonardo DiCaprio for the J. Edgar Hoover biography "J. Edgar," Christopher Plummer for the father-son tale "Beginners" and Glenn Close and Janet McTeer for the Irish drama "Albert Nobbs."
Ryan Gosling has two nominations, as dramatic actor for "The Ides of March" and actor in a musical or comedy for the romance "Crazy, Stupid, Love."
Morgan Freeman will receive the Globes' Cecil B. DeMille award for lifetime achievement at Sunday's Beverly Hilton Hotel ceremony.
Gervais has returned to host the Globes for the third-straight time. If the caustic British comedian decides to again bite the hand that feeds him, a case working its way through federal court in Los Angeles might provide some of his material: the HFPA is fighting for the right to dump longtime Globes broadcaster NBC if it can get a better deal with another network.
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