"Brokeback Mountain," directed by Ang Lee, led with seven nominations for the 2005 Golden Globe Awards, which were announced Tuesday here by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

The film about two Wyoming cowboys in love with each other, based on a short story by Pulitzer winner Annie Proulx, also earned acting nominations for Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams.

"Good Night, and Good Luck, "Match Point and "The Producers" each earned four nominations, while "Walk The Line," "The Squid and The Whale," "The Constant Gardener" and "Mrs. Henderson Presents" each got three.

The nominations were announced in a brief pre-dawn ceremony at the Beverly Hilton hotel.

"Brokeback Mountain" will be competing in the best dramatic film category against other titles including thriller "The Constant Gardener," political drama "Good Night, And Good Luck," the mafia-inspired "A History of Violence" and the Woody Allen film "Match Point."

The Ang Lee film has been considered a hot Oscar contender after the relatively low budget production made for about 13 million dollars won the top award at the Venice Film Festival in September.

Among the contenders for best director are Lee, Peter Jackson for "King Kong," George Clooney for "Good Night, and Good Luck," Fernando Meirelles for "The Constant Gardener," Steven Spielberg for "Munich" and Woody Allen for "Match Point."

The nominees for best actor in a dramatic film are Ledger for " Brokeback Mountain," Philip Seymour Hoffman for "Capote," David Strathairn for "Good Night, and Good Luck," Terrence Howard for " Hustle & Flow," and Russell Crowe for "Cinderella Man."

Nominated in the category of best actress in a dramatic film were Maria Bello for "A History Of Violence," Gwyneth Paltrow for "Proof," Charlize Theron for "North Country," Ziyi Zhang for " Memoirs Of A Geisha," and Felicity Huffman for "Transamerica."

The Golden Globe winners will be announced on January 16 in an awards ceremony in Hollywood, where actor Anthony Hopkins is expected to receive the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement.

The Golden Globe awards, announced five days before Academy Award voting closes, often provide clues on where the Oscars will go. Oscar nominations will be announced on January 31.

Source: Xinhua