Following recent announcements at the Critic Choice Awards and Screen Actor’s Guild Awards, the Golden Globes have now unveiled their list of film and television contenders for 2012.

On the cinematic side of things, the historical drama Lincoln leads the pack with a lucrative seven nods, including Best Motion Picture (Drama) and Best Director for renowned filmmaker Steven Spielberg.

As expected, leading man Daniel Day-Lewis earns a Best Actor (Drama) nomination for his portrayal of President Abraham Lincoln, while co-stars Tommy Lee Jones and Sally Field are in contention for Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress respectively.

The second most Globe nominations are shared by Ben Affleck’s fact-based thriller Argo and Quentin Tarantino’s brutal western Django Unchained with five mentions each, including Motion Picture (Drama).

For Argo, Affleck receives his first directing nod for his work on the film, while veteran performer Alan Arkin is acknowledged in the Supporting Actor category. In the case of Django, Tarantino receives double noms for his writing and directing, while supporting stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Christopher Waltz are nominated together with Arkin.

The rest of the Motion Picture (Drama) field is completed by the fantasy drama Life of Pi and the fact-based war thriller Zero Dark Thirty, with filmmakers Ang Lee and Kathryn Bigelow competing for the Best Director accolade.

In terms of the dramatic acting contenders, Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty) faces stern competition from the likes of Dame Helen Mirren (Hitchcock) and Naomi Watts (The Impossible) in the Best Actress (Drama) category while Joaquin Phoenix (The Master) and Denzel Washington are among the male stars in contention for Best Actor (Drama).

 

Meanwhile, the musical epic Les Misérables and the dark romantic comedy Silver Linings Playbook lead the comedy and musical fields with four nominations each, including the coveted Best Motion Picture (Comedy or Musical) award. The pair are joined in that particular category by the indie comedy Moonrise Kingdom and British dramedies The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and, more surprisingly, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen.

On the acting front, Les Misérables receives acting nods for stars Hugh Jackman in Best Actor (Comedy/Musical) and Anne Hathaway in Supporting Actress, while Silver Linings Playbook scored leading noms for Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence.

Lawrence is joined in a versatile Best Actress (Comedy/Musical) line-up that features British Dames Judi Dench (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel) and Maggie Smith (Quartet) and a 25th(!) film nomination for Meryl Streep (Hope Springs).

Meanwhile, there are shock acting nods for British duo Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt for Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, while Javier Bardem earns a Supporting Actor mention for his villainous turn in the James Bond blockbuster Skyfall.

The rest of the notable acting nominees include Amy Adams (The Master), Jack Black (Bernie), Marion Cotillard (Rust and Bone), Richard Gere (Arbitrage), John Hawkes (The Sessions), Phillip Seymour Hoffman (The Master), Helen Hunt (The Sessions), Nicole Kidman (The Paperboy), Bill Murray (Hyde Park on Hudson), and Rachel Weisz (The Deep Blue Sea).

Elsewhere, Pixar’s Brave and Disney’s Wreck-It-Ralph compete against Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie in the Best Animated Film category while Adele, Jon Bon Jovi and Taylor Swift are among the famed musicians fighting it out in the Best Original Song field.

As expected, there were a number of significant omissions that include Anthony Hopkins (Hitchcock), Keira Knightley (Anna Karenina), Emmanuelle Riva (Amour) and Robert De Niro (Silver Linings Playbook).

On what promises to be a special occasion for the HFPA, the 70th Golden Globe Awards will take place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills on 13 January 2013 with comedian stars Tina Fey and Amy Poehler on hosting duties.

The full list of film nominations can be found below (winner predictions in blue):

BEST MOTION PICTURE (DRAMA)
ARGO
DJANGO UNCHAINED
LIFE OF PI
LINCOLN
ZERO DARK THIRTY

BEST ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE (DRAMA)
Jessica Chastain, ZERO DARK THIRTY
Marion Cotillard, RUST AND BONE
Helen Mirren, HITCHCOCK
Naomi Watts, THE IMPOSSIBLE
Rachel Weisz, THE DEEP BLUE SEA

BEST ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE (DRAMA)
Daniel Day-Lewis, LINCOLN
Richard Gere, ARBITRAGE
John Hawkes, THE SESSIONS
Joaquin Phoenix, THE MASTER
Denzel Washington, FLIGHT

 

 

 

BEST MOTION PICTURE (COMEDY OR MUSICAL)
THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL
LES MISÉRABLES
MOONRISE KINGDOM
SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN
SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

BEST ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE (COMEDY OR MUSICAL)
Emily Blunt, SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN
Judi Dench, THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL
Jennifer Lawrence, SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK
Maggie Smith, QUARTET
Meryl Streep, HOPE SPRINGS

BEST ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE (COMEDY OR MUSICAL)
Jack Black, BERNIE
Bradley Cooper, SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK
Hugh Jackman, LES MISÉRABLES
Ewan McGregor, SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN
Bill Murray, HYDE PARK ON HUDSON

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE
Amy Adams, THE MASTER
Sally Field, LINCOLN
Anne Hathaway, LES MISÉRABLES
Helen Hunt, THE SESSIONS
Nicole Kidman, THE PAPERBOY

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE
Alan Arkin, ARGO
Leonardo DiCaprio, DJANGO UNCHAINED
Phillip Seymour Hoffman, THE MASTER
Tommy Lee Jones, LINCOLN
Christoph Waltz, DJANGO UNCHAINED

BEST DIRECTOR
Ben Affleck, ARGO
Kathryn Bigelow, ZERO DARK THIRTY
Ang Lee, LIFE OF PI
Steven Spielberg, LINCOLN
Quentin Tarantino, DJANGO UNCHAINED

BEST SCREENPLAY
ARGO (Chris Terrio)
DJANGO UNCHAINED (Quentin Tarantino)
LINCOLN (Tony Kushner)
SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK (David O. Russell)
ZERO DARK THIRTY (Mark Boal)

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
ANNA KARENINA (Dario Marianelli)
ARGO (Alexandre Desplat)
CLOUD ATLAS (Tom Tykwer, Johnny Klimek & Reinhold Heil)
LIFE OF PI (Mychael Danna)
LINCOLN (John Williams)

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
ACT OF VALOR (“For You”)
THE HUNGER GAMES (“Safe and Sound”)
LES MISÉRABLES (“Suddenly”)
SKYFALL (“Skyfall”)
STAND UP GUYS (“Not Running Anymore”)

BEST ANIMATED FILM
BRAVE
FRANKENWEENIE
HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA
RISE OF THE GUARDIANS
WRECK-IT-RALPH

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
AMOUR (France)
A ROYAL AFFAIR (Denmark)
THE INTOUCHABLES (France)
KON-TIKI (Norway)
RUST AND BONE (France)