Meryl Streep going toe-to-toe with Beyoncé Knowles? Borat sharing the red carpet with Peter O'Toole? The Golden Globe nominations must be in.

A motley assortment of film nominees was revealed by Rosario Dawson, Matthew Perry and Jessica Biel at the announcement ceremony for the 64th annual Globes. It was a big day for the intricate drama "Babel," which earned the most nominations with seven, including one for Brad Pitt in the supporting actor category. Pitt will face stiff competition in the form of two tough guys from Martin Scorsese's "The Departed": Jack Nicholson and Mark Wahlberg. Also earning a nod for the crime flick was Leonardo DiCaprio, who wowed early-morning watchers with two nominations in the prestigious best actor in a drama category -- the other nod coming for his work in "Blood Diamond."

Beyoncé had good reason to think she was living the dream when the announcements came down. Not only is she a best actress nominee, but she is also nominated -- and a presumed favorite -- in the best song category. Knowles is not the only Dreamgirl to wake up with a smile today. Co-star -- and former "American Idol" contestant -- Jennifer Hudson earned a nomination in the supporting actress category and Eddie Murphy took a spot in the best supporting actor race. There was no nod, however, honoring Jamie Foxx for his work in the film. Director Bill Condon was also shut out, likely edged out by Clint Eastwood's double nomination.

With five nominations in all, "Dreamgirls" looks poised to make some noise at the January 15 ceremony, but the film does face tough competition in the Best Picture - Musical/Comedy category, facing off with box-office winner "The Devil Wears Prada" as well as critical fave "Little Miss Sunshine" and one other dark-horse nominee that is sure to raise some conversation.

Through an obvious smile, Biel announced the full name of that unlikely awards contender -- surely the oddest title to appear in a Best Motion Picture category in some time -- "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan." Moments later, the gathered crowd of journalists smiled again when the title was repeated for Sacha Baron Cohen's acting nod. The British comedian may just find a clear path to a Globes win come January with none of his competitors -- including Will Ferrell and Johnny Depp -- earning much legitimate Oscar buzz just yet.

While the Globes are often considered to be a second-tier version of the Oscars, their importance as predictors of Oscar glory has only grown in recent years. Last year, all four major acting awards at the Oscars were preceded by wins at the Globes.

Meanwhile, the foreign language film category has a surprisingly Hollywood flavor to it this year with Mel Gibson's "Apocalypto" and Clint Eastwood's "Letters From Iwo Jima" rubbing shoulders with offerings from Germany, Spain and Mexico. And the Best Animated Film award is a three-way race, with "Cars," "Happy Feet" and "Monster House" vying for the prize.

Notably left out of sharing in the Golden Globe excitement today were two much-hyped 9/11-related films: "World Trade Center" and "United 93." In addition, no acting props were given to critical darling Ryan Gosling for his heart-wrenching portrayal of a drug-addicted school teacher in "Half Nelson." Adorable "Little Miss Sunshine" star Abigail Breslin was also shut out, but that film did earn a best picture nod. Emilio Estevez's "Bobby" also scored a best picture nomination, over in the drama category -- recognition that caught many prognosticators off-guard.

While the former Brat Packer must have been thrilled, the happiest person of the day may have been Helen Mirren. Living up to her title role in "The Queen," the revered actress is a three-time nominee for this year's Globes, earning one nod in the Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama category and two more for her television work.

Other big winners in the television categories included newcomers "Heroes" and "Ugly Betty" (each received best series nods) alongside award favorites "Lost" and "24."

Golden Globes prizes will be handed out January 15 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles. Warren Beatty will receive the Cecil B. DeMille lifetime achievement award at the ceremony.

Selected List of Golden Globes Nominations

Best Motion Picture - Drama

· "Babel"

· "Bobby"

· "The Departed"

· "Little Children"

· "The Queen"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama

· Leonardo DiCaprio, "Blood Diamond"

· Leonardo DiCaprio, "The Departed"

· Forest Whitaker, "The Last King of Scotland"

· Peter O'Toole, "Venus"

· Will Smith, "The Pursuit of Happyness"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama

· Penélope Cruz, "Volver"

· Judi Dench, "Notes on a Scandal"

· Maggie Gyllenhaal, "Sherrybaby"

· Helen Mirren, "The Queen"

· Kate Winslet, "Little Children"

Best Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical

· "Borat"

· "The Devil Wears Prada"

· "Dreamgirls"

· "Little Miss Sunshine"

· "Thank You for Smoking"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical

· Sacha Baron Cohen, "Borat"

· Johnny Depp, "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest"

· Aaron Eckhart, "Thank You for Smoking"

· Chiwetel Ejiofor, "Kinky Boots"

· Will Ferrell, "Stranger Than Fiction"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical

· Annette Bening, "Running With Scissors"

· Beyoncé Knowles, "Dreamgirls"

· Meryl Streep, "The Devil Wears Prada"

· Renée Zellweger, "Miss Potter"

· Toni Collette, "Little Miss Sunshine"

Best Director

· Clint Eastwood, "Flags of Our Fathers"

· Clint Eastwood, "Letters From Iwo Jima"

· Stephen Frears, "The Queen"

· Alejandro González Iñárritu, "Babel"

· Martin Scorsese, "The Departed"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

· Ben Affleck, "Hollywoodland"

· Eddie Murphy, "Dreamgirls"

· Jack Nicholson, "The Departed"

· Brad Pitt, "Babel"

· Mark Wahlberg, "The Departed"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

· Adriana Barraza, "Babel"

· Cate Blanchett, "Notes on a Scandal"

· Emily Blunt, The Devil Wears Prada"

· Jennifer Hudson, "Dreamgirls"

· Rinko Kikuchi, "Babel"

Best Foreign Language Film

· "Apocalypto" (USA)

· "Letters From Iwo Jima" (USA/Japan)

· "The Lives of Others" (Germany)

· "Pan's Labyrinth" (Mexico)

· "Volver" (Spain)

Best Animated Film

· "Cars"

· "Happy Feet"

· "Monster House"

Best Original Song - Motion Picture

· "A Father's Way" from "The Pursuit of Happyness" (Music by Seal and Christopher Bruce; lyrics by Seal)

· "Listen" from "Dreamgirls" (Music and lyrics by Henry Krieger, Anne Prven, Scott Cutler and Beyoncé Knowles)

· "Never Gonna Break My Faith" from "Bobby" (Music and lyrics by Bryan Adams, Eliot Kennedy and Andrea Remanda)

· "The Song of the Heart" from "Happy Feet" (Music and lyrics by Prince Roger Nelson)

· "Try Not to Remember" from "Home of the Brave" (Music and lyrics by Sheryl Crow)

Best Television Series - Drama

· "24" (Fox)

· "Big Love" (HBO)

· "Grey's Anatomy" (ABC)

· "Heroes" (NBC)

· "Lost" (ABC)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama

· Patricia Arquette, "Medium"

· Edie Falco, "The Sopranos"

· Evangeline Lilly, "Lost"

· Ellen Pompeo, "Grey's Anatomy"

· Kyra Sedgwick, "The Closer"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama

· Patrick Dempsey, "Grey's Anatomy"

· Michael C. Hall, "Dexter"

· Hugh Laurie, "House"

· Bill Paxton, "Big Love"

· Kiefer Sutherland, "24"

Best Television Series - Comedy or Musical

· "Desperate Housewives" (ABC)

· "Entourage" (HBO)

· "The Office" (NBC)

· "Ugly Betty" (ABC)

· "Weeds" (Showtime)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Comedy or Musical

· Marcia Cross, "Desperate Housewives"

· America Ferrera, "Ugly Betty"

· Felicity Huffman, "Desperate Housewives"

· Julia Louis-Dreyfus, "The New Adventures of Old Christine"

· Mary-Louise Parker, "Weeds"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Comedy or Musical

· Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock"

· Zach Braff, "Scrubs"

· Steve Carrell, "The Office"

· Jason Lee, "My Name Is Earl"

· Tony Shalhoub, "Monk"

[This story was originally published at 8:52 a.m. ET on 12.14.2006]