Aussies Cate Blanchett, George Miller and Ben Mendelsohn score Golden Globe nods

CATE Blanchett, George Miller and Ben Mendelsohn have all scored Golden Globe nominations, which also included acting nods for Lady Gaga and Sylvester Stallone.

Nominated ... George Miller with a poster of Tom Hardy from Mad Max: Fury Road. Picture: AP

CATE Blanchett, George Miller and Ben Mendelsohn have all scored Golden Globe nominations, which also included acting nods for Lady Gaga and Sylvester Stallone.

Blanchett received her best actress in a drama nod for Carol, Miller for directing Mad Max: Fury Road and Mendelsohn for supporting actor in a TV series, movie or miniseries for Bloodline.

Todd Haynes 1950s romance “Carol” landed a leading five nominations.

Co-stars to competitors ... Rooney Mara, left, as Therese Belivet, and Cate Blanchett, as Carol Aird, in a scene from the film, Carol. Picture: AP

Blanchett will contest her category against her Carol co-star Rooney Mara. Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn), Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl) and early favourite, Brie Larson (Room).

Winner ... George Miller wins the AACTA Award for Best Film for Mad Max: Fury Road. Picture: Getty

George Miller is also in a tight category against Todd Haynes (Carol), Alejandro G. Inarritu (The Revenant), Tom McCarthy (Spotlight) and Ridley Scott (The Martian).

Acclaimed ... Ben Mendelsohn appears in a scene from Bloodline. Picture: AP

Mendelsohn is nominated in the TV categories alongside Alan Cumming (The Good Wife), Damian Lewis (Wolf Hall), Tobias Menzies (Outlander) and Christian Slater (Mr Robot).

I apologize to my neighbors I'm still screaming in my apt in NY! I'm nominated as an actress for a Golden Globe what a dream is this real!

— The Countess (@ladygaga) December 10, 2015

Lady Gaga was nominated for Best Actress in a TV movie or Limited Series for American Horro Story: Hotel but faces stiff competition from Kirsten Dunst (Fargo), Queen Latifah (Bessie), Felicity Huffman (American Crime) and Sarah Hay (Flesh and Bone).

Competition ... Kirsten Dunst was nominated for her strong performance in Fargo. Picture: Supplied

Acting nomination ... Lady Gaga was overjoyed to be nominated for an acting award for her role as the Countess in American Horro Story: Hotel. Picture: Supplied

Sylvester Stallone showed his acting chops in Creed and was rewarded with a nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He will compete alongside joint-favourites Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies), Idris Elba (Beasts of No Nation), as well as Michael Shannon (99 Homes) and Paul Dano (Love & Mercy).

Classy ... Michael B. Jordan, right, as Adonis Johnson and Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa in Creed. Picture: AP

Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s nominations, spread nods around to a widespread field. Surging was Adam McKay’s finance farce The Big Short, which earned four nominations, including best picture, comedy.

Also with four nods is Alejandro Inarritu’s follow-up to his Oscar-winning Birdman: the frontier epic The Revenant, which was nominated for best picture, drama, and best actor for Leonardo DiCaprio.

Tied with four is the Aaron Sorkin-scripted Steve Jobs, though it failed to join the best picture nominees. Along with Carol and The Revenant, they are: Mad Max: Fury Road, Room and Spotlight.

Great cast ... Michael Keaton, from left, Liev Schreiber, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, John Slattery and Brian d'Arcy James in a scene from the film, Spotlight. Picture: AP

In an awards season that has so far seen honours spread around, Tom McCarthy’s Spotlight came into the Globe nominations as the Oscar favourite. While it took three top Globe nominations Thursday, including best director for McCarthy and best screenplay, its ensemble cast is failing to stand out from the pack.

After the Screen Actors Guild passed over Michael Keaton and Mark Ruffalo, the Globes did, too. Ruffalo, however, was nominated for best actor in a comedy for his performance as a bipolar father in Infinitely Polar Bear.

Most of the expected contenders came away with something to show from the nominations, including the scientific space adventure The Martian (including nods for star Matt Damon and director Ridley Scott), David O. Russell’s matriarch portrait Joy (best picture, comedy and best actress Jennifer Lawrence).

Left largely on the outside were Steven Spielberg’s Cold War thriller Bridge of Spies, which was only nominated for Mark Rylance’s supporting performance; the Irish immigrant drama Brooklyn, nominated only for Saoirse Ronan’s leading performance; and Straight Outta Compton, the popular N.W. A biopic, which landed no awards.

Snubbed ... The Hollywood Foreign Press usually loves Johnny Depp, having nominated him for some of his worst films, like The Tourist. However he got no love for his turn as Whitey Bulger in Black Mass. Picture: AP

Surprise nomination ... Will Smith in a scene from Concussion. Picture: AP

Will Smith, whose upcoming Concussion has drawn headlines for its depiction of head trauma in football, joined the best actor, drama, nominees. Also nominated were Michael Fassbender (”Steve Jobs”), Eddie Redmayne (”The Danish Girl”), DiCaprio and Bryan Cranston (”Trumbo”). Smith’s nomination came ahead of Johnny Depp for his role in Black Mass.

A number of performers came away with multiple nods. Alicia Vikander will compete for both best actress, drama, for The Danish Girl, as well as her supporting role as an artificial intelligence in Ex Machina. Rylance added a second for his TV role on the costume drama Wolf Hall.

Two nominations ... Idris Elba scored a nod for the movie Beasts of No Nation (above) as well as his Tv show, Luther. Picture: Supplied

Idris Elba also spanned both film and TV with nods for his West African rebel commander in Beasts of No Nation, as well as the British crime series Luther.

In the TV categories, Lily Tomlin (Grace and Frankie), Jamie Lee Curtis (Scream Queens), Rachel Bloom (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), Gina Rodriguez (Jane the Virgin) and Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep) were nominated for Best Actress (Comedy)

Ricky Gervais will return as host for the Globes on January 10. His third time in the gig follows three straight years of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler as hosts.

To see a full list of nominees click here.

Originally published as Aussies Cate Blanchett, George Miller and Ben Mendelsohn score Golden Globe nods