BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - After Hollywood labour strife shut down last year's Golden Globes, organizers promised their show would be back, bigger and better than ever.
Fans will find out Sunday as the 66th annual Globes, the town's second-biggest movie celebration after the Academy Awards, return in their somewhat boozy glory.
A looser, more relaxed affair than the Oscars, the Globes are a televized dinner party where Hollywood's elite share a meal and drinks, sometimes cutting loose with unexpected antics (this is the place Jack Nicholson once mooned the crowd for a laugh).
The show could be punctuated with a solemn moment, though. Nearly a year after his death, Heath Ledger might be honoured as best supporting actor for his frenzied performance as the Joker in the Batman blockbuster "The Dark Knight."
Other acting nominees include Angelina Jolie for "Changeling" and romantic partner Brad Pitt for "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"; "Titanic" co-stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet for their reunion film, "Revolutionary Road"; Tom Cruise and Robert Downey Jr. for "Tropic Thunder"; and Anne Hathaway for "Rachel Getting Married."
Winslet also has a nomination for "The Reader," while Meryl Streep is competing for two awards, dramatic actress with "Doubt" and musical or comedy actress with "Mamma Mia!"
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," "Doubt" and "Frost/Nixon" lead the field with five nominations each.
Last year's Globe show was scrapped after stars said they would stay away in honour of picket lines by the Writers Guild of America, which was engaged in a bitter strike against producers. In its place was a briskly paced news conference where winners were announced from a podium.
One of 2008's scheduled honourees finally will get his prize. Globe organizers had intended to present Steven Spielberg with the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement, but the strike delayed it a year.
The Globes serve as a barometer for potential Oscar contenders, often singling out deserving newcomers who might have been overlooked among bigger-name stars. Relative unknown Hilary Swank won for dramatic actress at the Globes for 1999's "Boys Don't Cry," then went on to an upset win at the Oscars over Annette Bening, who had been considered the front-runner for "American Beauty."
Sunday's winners could get a last-minute boost for the Oscars, whose balloting closes the following day. Oscar nominations come out Jan. 22, with the awards following on Feb. 22.
The Globes are presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a group of about 90 reporters covering show business for overseas outlets. The show airs live on NBC.
