“Lincoln“,“Big Bang Theory“ top contenders for 70th Golden Globes

Steven Spielberg's bio-pic " Lincoln" and the CBS sitcom "The Big Bang Theory" finished among the top contenders for the 70th Golden Globe Awards, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) announced in Los Angeles Thursday morning.

"Lincoln", a Spielberg's directorial project which follows the later part of the life of the 16th U.S. president Abraham Lincoln, led the nominees on the film front with seven nominations including best dramatic film, best actor for Daniel Day-Lewis and supporting mentions for Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones.

On Wednesday, the well-received and reviewed film also finished among top contenders for the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards, taking home four nods including best actor, best supporting actor and actress, and best ensemble cast.

With a big haul of multiple nominations at the Golden Globes and SAG scene, "Lincoln" is well positioned among top contenders for best picture and other top awards at the Academy Awards to be presented in late February, 2013.

Joining Spielberg's film to vie in the best motion picture drama category is director-actor Ben Affleck's political thriller "Argo", along with Quentin Tarantino's western "Django Unchained", Ang Lee's fantasy "Life of Pi" and Kathryn Bigelow's "Zero Dark Thirty".

Poster of the Oscar-winning director Ang Lee's new film "Life of Pi". File Photo.

In the best motion picture comedy or musical category, romantic comedy "Silver Linings Playbook", musical "Les Miserables", Wes Anderson's latest indie movie "Moonrise Kingdom", the British comedy-drama film "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" and another UK romantic drama "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen" all made their way into the pack.

"Argo" and "Django Unchained" followed "Lincoln" with five nominations apiece. "Les Miserables", "Silver Linings Playbook" and "Zero Dark Thirty" each garnered four nods.

Ben Affleck in "Argo". FIle Photo.

Among the distributors which were featured on the list, the Weinstein Company was the biggest winner with a haul of 14 nominations, followed by Sony Pictures Releasing with 12 and Touchstone Pictures with seven. Warner Bros. and Fox Searchlight also made their way into the front-runners with six and five nods, respectively.

On top of the list for best actor in a drama film is Daniel Day- Lewis, a two-time Academy Award best actor who won a nod for his portrayal of the 16th U.S. president in Steven Spielberg's bio-pic "Lincoln".He will vie for the award against John Hawkes ("The Sessions"), Joaquin Phoenix ("The Master"), Denzel Washington (" Flight") and Richard Gere ("Arbitrage"), whose nomination turned out to be a bit of surprise.

Jessica Chastain, who played a young CIA agent who is bent to find Osama bin Laden in the political thriller "Zero Dark Thirty", was joined by Marion Cotillard ("Rust and Bone"), Helen Mirren (" Hitchcock"), Naomi Watts ("The Impossible") and Rachel Weisz ("The Deep Blue Sea") in contention for best actress in a drama film accolade.

The contenders for best actor in motion picture comedy/musicals consists of critics' darlings Bradley Cooper ("Silver Linings Playbook") and Hugh Jackman ("Les Miserables"). The pack also featured Jack Black ("Bernie"), Ewan McGregor ("Salmon Fishing in the Yemen") and Bill Murray ("Hyde Park on Hudson").

Jennifer Lawrence ("Silver Linings Playbook") was nominated for best actress in film comedy/musicals, along with Emily Blunt (" Salmon Fishing in the Yemen"), Judi Dench ("The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel"), Maggie Smith ("Quartet") and Meryl Streep ("Hope Springs").

On television side, aside from "The Big Bang Theory", other series such as "Episodes", "Girls", "Modern Family" and "Smash" also were mentioned as contenders for best comedy series. " Breaking Bad", "Boardwalk Empire","Downton Abbey","Homeland" and " The Newsroom" all scored in the nominations for best drama.

Receiving a nod for best actor in a television drama, Steve Buscemi("Boardwalk Empire") will vie for the honor against Bryan Cranston ("Breaking Bad"), Jeff Daniels ("The Newsroom"), Jon Hamm ("Mad Men") and Damian Lewis ("Homeland").

Claire Danes from "Homeland" was mentioned for the honor of a possible best actress in a drama, while other actresses including Connie Britton ("Nashville"), Glenn Close ("Damages"), Michelle Dockery ("Downton Abbey") and Julianna Margulies ("The Good Wife") also finished among the nominees.

In best actor in a comedy category, Alec Baldwin ("30 Rock") will compete against a pack which also included Jim Parsons ("The Big Bang Theory"), Matt LeBlanc ("Episodes"), Don Cheadle ("House of Lies") and Louis C.K. ("Louie").Comediennes Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, who were slated to host the awards ceremony, won a nod each for best comedy actress for their roles in "30 Rock " and "Parks and Recreation" respectively. The nominees in the category also featured Zoe Deschanel ("New Girl"), Julia Louis- Dreyfus ("Veep") and Lena Dunham ("Girls").

The 70th Golden Globe Awards will be handed out on Jan. 13 at the Beverly Hilton in Hollywood, California.