Beverly Hills (US): The British historical romance Atonement led the competition for the Golden Globes with seven nominations today, including best drama and acting honours for Keira Knightley and James McAvoy.

Other best drama nominees for the 65th Golden Globes were the crime sagas American Gangster, Eastern Promises and No Country for Old Men, the inspirational college drama The Great Debaters, the legal drama Michael Clayton and the California oil-boom epic There Will Be Blood. Globe voters picked seven dramatic nominees, rather than the usual five.

Nominated for best comedy or musical were the Beatles musical Across the Universe, the foreign-policy romp Charlie Wilson's War, the Broadway adaptation Hairspray, the teen-pregnancy comedy Juno and the bloody musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

Adapted from the novel by Ian McEwan, Atonement earned dramatic actress and actor nominations for Knightley and McAvoy, who play lovers whose newfound romance is shattered after Knightley's jealous younger sister (Saoirse Ronan) falsely accuses McAvoy of a crime.

Atonement also had nominations for Ronan as supporting actress, director for Joe Wright, screenplay for Christopher Hampton and musical score for Dario Marianelli.

"We're all jumping around at the moment. It's just fantastic. I am working today, so I don't know whether I ll be able to celebrate, but we'll probably have a nice dinner when we get home from work," the 13-year-old Ronan said after learning she was a nominee.

"It s a brilliant way to start the holiday season," she said.

Source : PTI