Guillermo del Toro's Cold War-era, Canadian-shot fairy tale The Shape of Water swam away with a leading seven
nominations from the Golden Globes, while the Canadian-directed HBO drama Big Little Lies led the television nominees with six nods.

The Shape of Water was shot in Toronto and Hamilton. Big Little Lies was directed by Montreal's Jean-Marc Vallée.

The nominations were announced in Beverly Hills, Calif., by actors Alfre Woodard, Garrett Hedlund, Kristen Bell and Sharon Stone. 

The nominees include:

Best motion picture – drama

  • Call Me By Your Name
  • Dunkirk
  • The Post
  • The Shape of Water
  • 3 Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Best motion picture - musical or comedy

  • The Disaster Artist
  • Get Out
  • The Greatest Showman
  • I, Tonya
  • Lady Bird

Best motion picture – animated

  • The Boss Baby
  • The Breadwinner
  • Coco
  • Ferdinand
  • Loving Vincent

Best motion picture - foreign language

  • A Fantastic Woman
  • First They Killed My Father
  • In the Fade
  • Loveless
  • In the Square

In what is seen as a wide-open Oscar race so far, several films followed closely behind The Shape of Water, including Steven Spielberg's Pentagon Papers drama The Post,with six nominations, including best actress for Meryl Streep and best actor for Tom Hanks. Martin McDonagh's Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri also received a major boost with six nominations, including best actress for Frances McDormand.

But as the most prominent platform yet in Hollywood's awards season to confront  the post-Harvey Weinstein landscape, the Globes also enthusiastically supported Ridley Scott's J. Paul Getty drama All the Money in the World. Canadian veteran Christopher Plummer, who has replaced Kevin Spacey in the film, was nominated for best supporting actor. Scott was also nominated for best director and Michelle Williams for best supporting actress.

A rough cut of the film was screened for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which puts on the Globes. Scott is quickly re-editing the movie to eradicate Spacey, who has been accused of sexual misconduct by numerous men.
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The Hollywood Foreign Press Association will host the 75th annual Golden Globe Awards in January. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Best television series – drama

  • The Crown
  • Game of Thrones
  • The Handmaid's Tale
  • Stranger Things
  • This is Us

Best television series – musical or comedy

  • black-ish
  • The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
  • Master of None
  • SMILF
  • Will and Grace

Best television limited series or motion picture made for television

  • Big Little Lies
  • Fargo
  • Feud: Betty and Joan
  • The Sinner
  • Top of the Lake: China Girl

The awards were announced from Beverly Hills after a week of still-burning fires have ravaged Southern California. The so-called Thomas Fire has destroyed some 790 structures and forced thousands to evacuate their homes, with the blazes even entering the nearby neighbourhood of Bel-Air.

The Globes have long characterized themselves as one of the frothiest stops on the awards season circuit. The last Globes broadcast, hosted by Jimmy Fallon, averaged 20 million viewers, an upswing of eight per cent, according to Nielsen. In 2018, Fallon's NBC late-night partner, Seth Meyers, will host the Jan. 7 ceremony.

Seth Meyers

Late night's Seth Meyers will host the 75th annual Golden Globe Awards. (Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)

The awards haven't traditionally predicted the Oscars, but they did last January.

The Globes best-picture winners — Moonlight and La La Land — both ultimately ended up on the stage for the final award of the Oscars, with Moonlight emerging victorious only after the infamous envelope flub. The press association, which has worked in recent years to curtail its reputation for oddball choices, is composed of approximately 90 freelance international journalists.

No Cecil B. DeMille lifetime achievement recipient has yet been chosen. Last year's honoree, Streep, spoke forcefully against Donald Trump, shortly before his inauguration as U.S. president, leading him to criticize the actress as "overrated."

This year, she — along with Spielberg and Hanks — return with a pointed and timely drama, The Post, about the power of the press to counter lies emanating from the White House.

Nominees for the 75th Golden Globe Awards

Best motion picture – drama

  • Call Me By Your Name.
  • Dunkirk.
  • The Post.
  • The Shape of Water.
  • Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.

Best motion picture - musical or comedy

  • The Disaster Artist.
  • Get Out.
  • The Greatest Showman.
  • I, Tonya.
  • Lady Bird.

Best motion picture – animated

  • The Boss Baby.
  • The Breadwinner.
  • Coco.
  • Ferdinand.
  • Loving Vincent.

Best motion picture - foreign language

  • A Fantastic Woman.
  • First They Killed My Father.
  • In the Fade.
  • Loveless.
  • In the Square.

Best performance by an actress in a motion picture – drama

  • Jessica Chastain, Molly's Game.
  • Sally Hawkins, Shape of Water.
  • Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.
  • Meryl Streep, The Post.
  • Michelle Williams, All the Money in the World.

Best performance by an actor in a motion picture – drama

  • Timothy Chalamet, Call Me By Your Name.
  • Daniel Day-Lewis, Phantom Thread.
  • Tom Hanks, The Post.
  • Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour.
  • Denzel Washington, Roman J. Israel, Esq.

Best performance by an actress in a motion picture - musical or comedy

  • Judi Dench, Victoria and Abdul.
  • Helen Mirren, The Leisure Seeker.
  • Margot Robbie,  I, Tonya.
  • Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird.
  • Emma Stone, Battle of the Sexes.

Best performance by an actor in a motion picture - musical or comedy

  • Steve Carrell, Battle of the Sexes.
  • Ansel Elgort, Baby Driver.
  • James Franco, The Disaster Artist.
  • Hugh Jackman, The Greatest Showman.
  • Daniel Kaluuya, Get Out.

Best performance by an actress in a supporting role in any motion picture

  • Mary J. Blige, Mudbound.
  • Hong Chau, Downsizing.
  • Allison Janney, I, Tonya.
  • Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird.
  • Octavia Spencer, The Shape of Water.

Best performance by an actor in a supporting role in any motion picture

  • Willem Dafoe, The Florida Project.
  • Armie Hammer, Call Me By My Name.
  • Richard Jenkins, The Shape of Water.
  • Christopher Plummer, All the Money in the World.
  • Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.

Best director - motion picture

  • Guillermo del Toro , The Shape of Water.
  • Martin McDonagh, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.
  • Christopher Nolan, Dunkirk.
  • Ridley Scott, All the Money in the World.
  • Steven Spielberg, The Post.

Best screenplay - motion picture

  • The Shape of Water.
  • Lady Bird.
  • The Post.
  • Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.
  • Molly's Game.

Best original score - motion picture

  • Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.
  • The Shape of Water.
  • Phantom Thread.
  • The Post.
  • Dunkirk.

Best original song - motion picture

  • Home from Ferdinand.
  • Mighty River from Mudbound.
  • Remember Me from Coco.
  • The Star from The Star.
  • This is Me from The Greatest Showman.

Best television series – drama

  • The Crown.
  • Game of Thrones.
  • The Handmaid's Tale.
  • Stranger Things.
  • This is Us.

Best television series – musical or comedy

  • black-ish.
  • The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
  • Master of None.
  • SMILF.
  • Will and Grace.

Best television limited series or motion picture made for television

  • Big Little Lies.
  • Fargo.
  • Feud: Betty and Joan.
  • The Sinner.
  • Top of the Lake: China Girl.

Best performance by an actress in a limited series or motion picture made for television

  • Jessica Biel, The Sinner.
  • Nicole Kidman, Big Little Lies.
  • Jessica Lange, Feud: Bette and Joan.
  • Susan Sarandon, Feud: Bette and Joan.
  • Reece Witherspoon, Big Little Lies.

Best performance by an actor, limited series or motion picture made for television

  • Robert De Niro, The Wizard of Lies.
  • Jude Law, The Young Pope.
  • Kyle McLachlan, Twin Peaks.
  • Ewan McGregor, Fargo.
  • Geoffrey Rush, Genius.

Best performance by an actress, television series – drama

  • Caitriona Balfe, Outlander.
  • Claire Foy, The Crown.
  • Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Deuce.
  • Katherine Langford, 13 Reasons Why.
  • Elisabeth Moss, The Handmaid's Tale.

Best performance by an actor in a television series – drama

  • Jason Bateman, Ozark.
  • Sterling K. Brown, This is Us.
  • Freddie Highmore, The Good Doctor.
  • Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul.
  • Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan.

Best performance by an actress in a television series - musical or comedy

  • Pamela Adelon, Better Things.
  • Alison Brie, Glow.
  • Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
  • Issa Rae, Insecure.
  • Frankie Shaw, SMILF.

Best performance by an actor in a television series - musical or comedy

  • Anthony Anderson, black-ish.
  • Aziz Ansari, Master of None.
  • Kevin Bacon, I Love Dick.
  • William H. Macy, Shameless.
  • Eric McCormack, Will and Grace.

Best performance by an actress in a supporting role in a series, limited series or motion picture made for television

  • Laura Dern, Big Little Lies.
  • Ann Dowd, The Handmaid's Tale.
  • Chrissy Metz, This is Us.
  • Michelle Pfeiffer, The Wizard of Lies.
  • Shailene Woodley, Big Little Lies.

Best performance by an actor in a supporting role in a series, limited series or motion picture made for television

  • David Harbour, Stranger Things.
  • Alfred Molina, Feud: Bette and Joan.
  • Christian Slater, Mr. Robot.
  • Alexander Skarsgard, Big Little Lies.
  • David Thewlis, Fargo.