Kudos go to Mexican filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu: his "Birdman, or (The Unexpected Virtue or Ignorance) took the lead in the Golden Globes nominations, with 7 of them, including Best Picture and Best Director. The nominations were announced Thursday morning.
The movie, in which Michael Keaton plays a Hollywood star trying to mount a serious drama on Broadway, earned a Best Picture nomination as well as ones for Best Actor In a Musical or Comedy for Michael Keaton, Best Supporting for Edward Norton, and Emma Stone, as well as for Best Direction, Best Screenplay and Score.
González Iñárritu is one of three Mexican film directors - the others are Alfonso Cuarón and Guillermo del Toro - making quite a mark in Hollywood and gaining international critical acclaim. González Iñárritu's previous films include "Amores Perros," "21 Grams" and "Biutiful;" the latter received 2 Academy Award nominations.
The Golden Globes, seen as a precursor to the Academy Awards, will be telecast live on Sunday, Jan. 11 and hosted by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. Last year, the Globes chose the eventual Academy Awards best-picture winner, "12 Years a Slave," as its best drama. Last year's awards drew 20.9 million viewers, marking it the most-watched Globes since 2004.
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--AP contributed to this report