Los Angeles - The Hollywood awards season kicked into high gear early Thursday as the nominees for the Golden Globe Awards were announced.

Leading the pack are The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, about a man born old who grows young, and Frost/Nixon, about a series of revealing television interviews with the notorious US president. Both were nominated for best drama. Doubt, a searing tale about the sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic Church, also claimed five nods.

Other best drama nominees were: the Mumbai-based movie, Slumdog Millionaire, about a pauper who wins a TV game show; The Reader, a WWII-based drama; and Revolutionary Road, about the challenges facing 1950s suburbanites.

The nominees for best musical or comedy were the Abba-based musical Mamma Mia!, Burn After Reading, Happy-Go-Lucky, In Bruges and Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

Nominees for dramatic actor were: Leonardo DiCaprio for Revolutionary Road; Frank Langella in Frost/Nixon; Brad Pitt, in Benjamin Button; Sean Penn in Milk; and Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler.

Meryl Streep picked up two best actress nods: for dramatic work in Doubt and for work as a musical or comedy actress in Mamma Mia!. Kate Winslet also has two chances at Golden Globe success. She was nominated as best actress for Revolutionary Road and for supporting actress in The Reader.

Also chosen for dramatic actress were: Anne Hathaway for Rachel Getting Married; Angelina Jolie for Changeling; and Kristin Scott Thomas for I've Loved You So Long.

The comedy or music actress nominees also included: Rebecca Hall for Vicky Cristina Barcelona; Sally Hawkins for Happy-Go-Lucky; Frances McDormand for Burn After Reading; and Emma Thompson for Last Chance Harvey.

The nominees for comedy or musical actors were: Javier Bardem for Vicky Cristina Barcelona; Colin Farrell for In Bruges; James Franco for Pineapple Express; Brendan Gleeson for In Bruges; and Dustin Hoffman for Last Chance Harvey.

The best foreign language nominees were The Baader Meinhof Complex (Germany), Everlasting Moments (Sweden), Gomorrah (Italy), I've Loved You So Long (France), and Waltz With Bashir (Israel). The animated film prize will go to either Bolt, Kung Fu Panda or Wall-E.

Competing for the best director prize are: Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire; Stephen Daldry for The Reader; David Fincher for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; Ron Howard for Frost/Nixon; and Sam Mendes for Revolutionary Road.

The screenplay nominations went to: Simon Beaufoy, for Slumdog Millionaire; David Hare for The Reader; Peter Morgan for Frost/Nixon; Eric Roth for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; and John Patrick Shanley for Doubt.

Heath Ledger was nominated for best supporting actor for his role in The Dark Knight - the only nomination picked up by the Batman box-office hit. Also missing out was Clint Eastwood, who failed to pick up a directing nod for Changeling. He also missed out on an acting nomination for Gran Torino.

The nominees for best TV drama were Dexter, House, In Treatment, Mad Men and True Blood. The best TV comedy or musical nominees were 30 Rock, The Office, Weeds, Californication, and Entourage.

The Golden Globes are considered second only to the Oscars in Hollywood prestige. The awards are due to be presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association on January 11, during a traditionally lavish dinner and awards ceremony that will be televised live in the US and dozens of other countries.