The nominations are out for the Golden Globes.  So I consulted our very own Wal-Mart Movie Team Hollywood Gossip Guru  to give us the scoop.   Here is what "J Mac" said...

As everyone knows, the GG are the bellweather indicator of Oscars , because they are held 9 days prior to Oscar nomination announcements (1/13).  In the past 44 years, 24 of the best drama GG movie winners also won the Oscar.
 
GG splits categories into music/comedy and drama.  GG also recognizes movies and TV.
 
One of the biggest controversies is the Writer's Strike.  The WGA could waive the strike for this event and allow a writer to do the show.  If they do not, they could picket the show.   A few major celebrities have already said that they will not cross the WGA picket lines to attend the awards ceremony, so many nominees may not be there.
Something different this year, 7 films (instead of 5) are nominated in the drama category.  Dark & violent movies are dominant.

BEST MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA
"American Gangster"
"Atonement"
"Eastern Promises"
"The Great Debaters"
"Michael Clayton"
"No Country for Old Men"
"There Will Be Blood"

Leading contenders:

Atonement (7 noms), Charlie Wilson's War with Tom Hanks & Julia Roberts (5 noms)

The Globe nominations are based on the Hollywood foreign press, so the nominations are always more global and obscure....not necessarily, this biggest box office or most publicized movies.  The Globes often bring awareness and propel movies or actors to the forefront. 

BEST MOTION PICTURE, MUSICAL OR COMEDY
"Across the Universe"
"Charlie Wilson's War"
"Hairspray"
"Juno"
"Sweeney Todd"

Legendary director Steven Spielberg will receive the Cecil B. DeMille Award for his "outstanding contribution to the entertainment field" from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the Globes organization.

Tidbits

George Clooney received his 6th GG nomination for Michael Clayton

Two actors were nominated with two nominations each (Cate Blanchett and Phillips Seymour Hoffman)

Each year, a celebrity's daughter is chosen as "Miss Golden Globe" to be onstage to distribute the awards.  Previous "Miss Golden Globes" are Melanie Griffin, Kate Hudson, and Jamie Lee Curtis.  This year, "Miss Golden Globe" will be Rumer Willis, daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore.