IN WITH THE NEW- BUT KEEP RICKY GERVAIS

By Ginger Pennington

The international film community has spoken. The Hollywood Foreign Press released the nominations today for the 69th annual Golden Globe Awards, which will air on NBC on January 15th, 2012, hosted once again by Ricky Gervais, even after (and probably because of) all the ruckus he created last year.

The silent black-and-white device worked well for The Artist, which led the pack with six nominations, including 'Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical'. Its competitors in that category may surprise you with their range: 50/50, Bridesmaids, Midnight in Paris, and My Week With Marilyn. The snub that everyone’s talking about? The Muppets, which was notably absent from this and every category.

The noms for 'Best Motion Picture – Drama' were a little more predictable with Hugo, The Ides of March, The Help, Moneyball, War Horse, and Alexander Payne’s The Descendants, which recieved five total nominations. Harry Potter fans may feel slighted that The Deathly Hallows Part 2 received not a mention.

In confirmation that Ryan Gosling was the 'it' guy this year, he recieved a 'Best Actor' nod in both the comedy and drama categories,  for Crazy, Stupid Love and The Ides of March.

In television, the attitude was 'in with the new', as new series like Game of Thrones, New Girl, Episodes, American Horror Story and Homeland took the slots of older shows, though Glee and Modern Family are still in the running.

For a complete list of the nominations, visit the Golden Globes website.