Golden Globes 2012 Nominations Revealed: Clooney and Pitt to Face Off For Best Actor

George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Ryan Gosling and Meryl Streep are all in the running as the Hollywood Foreign Press Association revealed the nominations for the Golden Globes 2012.

There were few major surprises as the nominations for the 69th annual awards were revealed on Thursday, with Clooney the front-runner to get his hands on at least one award.

The star picked up nominations for acting in Alexander Payne's The Descendants, while his political drama The Ides of March was nominated in both the best picture (drama) and director category.

Rising star Ryan Gosling is nominated for his turn in The Ides of March as well as his performance in romantic comedy/drama Crazy, Stupid, Love. Brad Pitt will also face-off against Clooney for the best actor award, for the sports drama Moneyball.

Silent film and already critic's favourite The Artist dominated proceedings, with nominations for best picture (musical/comedy) best actor for Michel Hazanavicious, best performance by an actor in a musical or comedy by Jean Dujardin and best supporting actress for Bérénice Bejo.

Awards magnet Meryll Streep is listed in the best actress in a motion picture (drama), up against Viola Davis from The Help, which also picked up a host of nominations.

Often seen as a blueprint when it comes to predictions for the Oscar season, the 69th Golden Globe awards will again be hosted by brit comedian Ricky Gervais, who riled many of the precious susperstars with his acerbic interludes.

The film nominations in full:

Best Picture (Drama)

The Descendants
War Horse
Hugo
The Ides of March
Moneyball
The Help

Best Picture (musical/comedy)

50/50
Bridesmaids
The Artist
Midnight in Paris
My Week With Marilyn

Best Director

George Clooney: The Ides of March
Michel Hazanavicius: The Artist
Woody Allen: Midnight in Paris
Alexander Payne: The Descendants
Martin Scorcezse: Hugo

Best Actor (drama)
George Clooney: The Descendants
Michael Fassbender: Shame
Ryan Gosling: The Ides of March
Brad Pitt: Moneyball
Leonardo Dicaprio: J Edgar

Best Actress (drama)
Meryl Streep: The Iron Lady
Tilda Swinton: We Need to Talk About Kevin
Rooney Mara: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Viola Davis: The Help
Glenn Close: Albert Nobbs

Best Actor (musical/comedy)
Ryan Gosling: Crazy, Stupid, Love
Joseph Gordon-Levitt: 50/50
Owen Wilson: Midnight in Paris
Brendan Gleeson: The Guard
Jean Dujardin: The Artist

Best Actress (musical/comedy)
Jodie Foster: Carnage
Kristen Wiig: Bridesmaids
Michelle Williams: My Week With Marilyn
Kate Winslet: Carnage
Charlize Theron: Young Adult

Best Supporting Actor
Albert Brooks: Drive
Jonah Hill: Moneyball
Christopher Plummer: Beginners
Kenneth Branagh: My Week With Marilyn
Viggo Mortensen: A Dangerous Method

Best Supporting Actress
Jessica Chastain: The Help
Bérénice Bejo: The Artist
Janet McTeer: Albert Nobbs
Shailene Woodley: The Descendants
Octavia Spencer: The Help

Best Screenplay
Midnight in Paris: Woody Allen
The Artist: Michel Hazanavicius
The Descendants: Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
The Ides of March: George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon
Moenyball: Aaron Sorkin and Steven Zaillian

Best Animated Feature
Cars 2
Puss in boots
Rango
Arthur Christmas
The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn

Best Foreign Film
A Separation
The Flowers of War
The Kid With a Bike
The Skin I Live In
In The Land of Blood and Money