The Golden Globe nominations have been announced and this year, the year belongs to actor Jamie Foxx. He picked up three nominations -- the most ever for an actor in a single year.

Foxx is nominated for best actor in a musical or comedy for his work in the Ray Charles biopic Ray, and for best supporting actor for Collateral. He has also earned a nomination for best actor in a TV movie or miniseries for Redemption.

The nominations came on Foxx's 37th birthday.

"What a great way to start the day with three birthday gifts," Foxx said. "I am honoured to be mentioned in the same categories with such tremendously talented actors."

Among the nominees for best film comedy or musical are the road-trip flick Sideways, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, the musical Phantom of the Opera and the animated movie The Incredibles.

Among the films in the category for the best film drama are the Howard Hughes drama The Aviator, female boxing film Million Dollar Baby, Finding Neverland, a fictional film about Peter Pan author J.M. Barrie, relationship film Closer, genocide movie Hotel Rwanda and Kinsey, about the life of sex researcher Alfred Kinsey.

Sideways leads the movie contenders overall, with seven nominations, including best musical or comedy film, three acting nominations and best director. The quirky comedy about two friends on a road trip through California's wine country was also picked as 2004's best film by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.

The Aviator was second in the race for most nominations, with six to its credit, including best dramatic feature, two acting nominations and best director.

Notably absent in the movie category was this year's big money maker The Passion of the Christ.

"It's obviously the year of the biopic," etalk DAILY's Susie Wall told CTV's Canada AM from Vancouver.

The Aviator star Leonardo DiCaprio earned a nomination as best dramatic actor for his role as Hughes. Other nominees were Javier Bardem as a paralyzed man seeking the right to die in The Sea Inside; Don Cheadle in Hotel Rwanda; Johnny Depp in Finding Neverland and Liam Neeson in Kinsey.

Along with Foxx, Sideways star Paul Giamatti was nominated for best actor in a musical or comedy for his role as a loser in love on a road trip with a buddy. Other nominees: Jim Carrey for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind; Kevin Kline in De-Lovely and Kevin Spacey in Beyond the Sea.

Dramatic lead actress nominees were Scarlett Johansson in A Love Song for Bobby Long; Nicole Kidman as a woman visited by a boy claiming to be her dead husband in Birth; Imelda Staunton as the title character in the abortion drama Vera Drake; Hilary Swank as a boxer in Million Dollar Baby and Uma Thurman in Kill Bill: Vol. 2.

Musical or comedy actress nominees were Annette Bening as a London stage diva in Being Julia; Ashley Judd in De-Lovely; Emmy Rossum in The Phantom of the Opera; Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Renee Zellweger as the title character in the romantic sequel Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason.

Michael Rechtshaffen of the Hollywood Reporter in Los Angeles told Canada AM he thought the acting nominations brought a few surprises.

"I'd have to say that the Delovely nominations were a bit of a surprise. A lot of people felt Ashley Judd was actually miscast in the film, so it was interesting to see her in there," he said. 

TV Category

In the television field, "Desperate Housewives" was the big winner, with three of its stars nominated for acting awards (Marcia Cross, Teri Hatcher, and Felicity Huffman) as well as the show itself in the best comedy category.

Other best comedy series nominees were "Arrested Development," "Entourage," "Sex and the City" and "Will & Grace."

Best TV drama series picks were "24," "Deadwood," "Lost," "Nip/Tuck" and "The Sopranos."

The best TV miniseries or movie nominees: "American Family: Journey of Dreams," Iron Jawed Angels," "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers," "The Lion in Winter" and "Something the Lord Made."

The Golden Globes are handed out by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and have long been considered a bellwether for Oscar picks. Last year, the Globes correctly predicted eventual Oscar winners in all key categories.

The awards will be presented Jan. 16. That will be a few days before Oscar nomination ballots are due -- giving last-minute voters in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences a chance to make their choices based on the Globe outcomes.