Awards season has officially begun, and today the HFP has announced the nominations for the 2010 Golden Globe Awards. While these things are usually pretty easy to predict by the buzz, release dates, and the various critic association awards, there's always a few surprises to keep things interesting. While 2010 would seem to be full of predictability (Precious! Jason Reitman! Coen Bros! Clint Eastwood! Nine!), the Hollywood Foreign Press has thrown us for a few loops this year. Let's jump right in:
  • Avatar beats Invictus, A Single Man, District 9, and A Serious Man for a Best Drama nominations. Who knew that game changer label extended to unseating the Coen Bros, Tom Ford, and Clint Eastwood?
  • Meryl Streep has to compete against herself. She was nominated for Best Actress in a Musical and Comedy twice: It's Complicated and Julie & Julia. Does that increase her chances of a statue? Sandra Bullock was also nominated twice for Best Actress Drama (The Blind Side) and Best Actress Musical or Comedy (The Proposal)
  • The Hangover nominated for Best Comedy. Hey, I think it's surprising.
  • No one remembered poor Viggo Mortensen. Again. Well, no one did see The Road, did they? And do they ever remember Mortensen for anything? Other folks who were snubbed include Lee Daniels (Precious), Alfred Molina (An Education), Peter Sarsgaard (An Education), Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker) and Penelope Cruz (Broken Embraces).
More after the jump

  • Robert Downey Jr. nominated for Sherlock Holmes. We love Downey so that's cool, but Sherlock Holmes must be pretty amazing.
  • The HFP went dark, and nominated Stanley Tucci for The Lovely Bones over Julie and Julia. I think this is as it should be, but I'm surprised they did favor the dark and creepy role.
  • Apparently, A Serious Man was a comedy as Michael Stuhlbarg was nominated for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical. I think they saw a different Coen Bros film than I did.
  • District 9 scored a Best Screenplay nod. Yes, sci-fi was big this year. Thanks for noticing, HFP!
  • Leona Lewis scored a nomination for "I See You" From Avatar. Of course. Maybe this isn't a shocker after all.
What do you think are the big shockers? The snubs? Or do you think the Hollywood Foreign Press played it pretty safe and traditional with their 2010 nominations?

For more on the Golden Globes, head over to Moviefone.