A FEW WORDS FROM THE NOMINEES.

Byline: - Valerie Kuklenski

It was a sob fest for Ziyi Zhang and her crew when news broke that she was nominated as best actress for ``Memoirs of a Geisha.'' ``I was having my breakfast in my (New York hotel) room. I just finished. And then my manager called me and told me the news, and my agent called and my publicist called. They all cried,'' she said, admitting she shed a few tears of joy herself. It seems Zhang may have overactive ducts. ``I watched (`Geisha') four times, and every time at the end I cry.''

``It's wonderful that such unconventional and original material is being embraced,'' double nominee Felicity Huffman said, thrilled by her bids for her Emmy-winning role in ``Desperate Housewives'' and her gender-changed role in the feature film ``Transamerica.'' ``I should play Ritalin-addicted working mothers and transgendered fake missionaries more often! I'm just glad that I was nominated for best actress instead of best actor for `Transamerica.' ''

Shirley MacLaine was watching a heavy snow come down Tuesday outside her New Mexico home, but she is intent on digging her way out for the Jan. 16 Golden Globes ceremony in Beverly Hills. ``I have to wear a long dress sometime this year,'' said the ``In Her Shoes'' supporting actress nominee. ``I love the Golden Globe Awards. Ever since Jack Nicholson taught everybody it's OK to moon the audience, it's been so much fun. Everybody's drunk by the time the important stuff comes up.''

Dr. House might say, ``Oh yeah? Big deal!'' on hearing about a professional honor. But Hugh Laurie was humbly grateful that the gruff doctor he plays on the Fox series ``House'' earned him a Golden Globe nomination, and he gave credit to David Shore for creating a character who is ``an endless round of contradictions.'' ``A nomination like this is all the more meaningful to me because I have never been entirely sure that I am really an actor,'' Laurie said in an unusually candid statement. ``I have never really felt that I am in the right place at the right time doing the right job, and so an affirmation as big as this is terrifically important to me. It's like the decision I made 20 years go to do this for a living turned out to be not such a crazy one, and I feel very grateful for that.''

Kyra Sedgwick was juggling calls from reporters Tuesday while attending to personal matters, in this case grocery shopping in midtown Manhattan. She was tempted to watch the morning news to find out whether her TNT series, ``The Closer,'' was nominated, but she resisted. ``I got a call from a publicist ... and she said, 'Good morning, Golden Globe nominee,' '' Sedgwick recalled. ``It's been amazing - a really great morning. I just love doing (the series) so much. I'm really proud of it. (The nomination) is icing on the cake - but it's really nice icing.''

Naveen Andrews, nominated in the supporting actor category for ABC's hit series ``Lost,'' said he tries to get back to L.A. from the show's Hawaii location as often as possible to spend time with girlfriend Barbara Hershey. But come Jan. 16, there will be another compelling reason to fly back. ``I want to be sitting in the same room as Paul Newman and Donald Sutherland,'' Andrews said, referring to two of his esteemed rivals in the category.

Larry McMurtry and writing partner Diana Ossana said they were ``tired but good'' after a long morning fielding congratulatory phone calls about ``Brokeback Mountain.'' McMurtry said the awards recognition and the film's stupendous opening weekend were not something they foresaw when they optioned the rights to the story in 1997. ``We thought it was great material and felt privileged to do it, but I don't think we thought that far ahead,'' he said. Asked whether they are daring to dream now about an Oscar or two in March, Ossana said, ``It's always lovely to be recognized by your peers, (but) emotionally we care much more about folks seeing the movie.''

S. Epatha Merkerson, up for best actress in a miniseries or movie for ``Lackawanna Blues,'' made Emmy Awards memories by losing her acceptance speech notes in the bodice of her gown and winging it after explaining the problem. So where will she stash her notes on Golden Globes night, should she be so lucky again? ``Let me see what kind of dress I'm wearing and then I'll decide,'' she said, laughing. ``That's pretty much the place where I always put a twenty.''

Woody Allen shared his kudos for ``Match Point,'' which was nominated for best drama picture, best screenplay and best directing, as well as Scarlett Johannson's supporting role. ``I'm always very gratified when anyone likes a movie I've done, but I can't take the credit - it's a triumph for the cast.''

Norma Heyman, producer of best musical or comedy nominee ``Mrs. Henderson Presents,'' hopes moviegoers will flock to her film just to appreciate the normally staid Dame Judi Dench in a different role. ``In this film, you see another side of Judi that I know in life, which is naughty and mischievous and sexy,'' Heyman said by phone over a celebratory lunch in London. ``My colleague thinks she plays an absolute cow. That I wouldn't agree with about her.''

``This is thrilling for all of us who journeyed around the world to make `The Constant Gardener,'' director Fernando Meirelles said. ``I'm so thankful to the HFPA for recognizing the film and Rachel (Weisz) this morning. It's a great day.''

``I am absolutely thrilled and very honored to have been nominated today for 'Proof,'' Gwyneth Paltrow said in a statement. ``I feel tremendous gratitude toward the Hollywood Foreign Press for recognizing this film of which I an very proud. They have made my day, to say the least!''

Composer Gustavo Santaolalla received two Golden Globe nominations - score and original song for his work in ``Brokeback Mountain.'' ``I loved writing the song A Love That Will Never Grow Old' with Bernie Taupin for Emmylou Harris to sing. They are all masters, and I am proud to have collaborated with them on this beautiful and important movie,'' Santaolalla said in a statement.

Pierce Brosnan was celebrating life after Bond as he savored his nomination for actor in a musical or comedy. ``I am so proud and honored to be nominated by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for my role as Julian Noble in `The Matador,' and for all my friends and colleagues who helped make the movie. Bravo. Bravo.''

Grant Heslov, screenplay nominee as co-writer of ``Good Night, and Good Luck,'' said he was awakened Tuesday by a phone call ``from a guy named George.'' Four-time nominee George Clooney is back in Los Angeles, having wrapped filming on ``The Good German,'' and rang Heslov at home midway through the nominations announcement. ``He just said, `You gotta get your tux ready,' Heslov said. ``The phone just started ringing off the hook. I'm walking on air.''

Harry Gregson-Williams, who scored ``The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,'' found his first Golden Globe nomination a pleasant 44th birthday surprise. ``I had no idea the nominations were today,'' he said. He said he was very happy to be recognized for a film that his children, ages 5 and 7, can appreciate. ``I kind of lose them when I do `Kingdom (of Heaven)' or 'Domino' or one of those films, but when I do 'Shrek' or 'Chicken Run' or `Narnia,' they really enjoy it.''

CAPTION(S):

4 photos, box

Photo:

(1) ZIYI ZHANG

(2) WOODY ALLEN

(3) PIERCE BROSNAN

(4) HUGH LAURIE

Box:

GOLDEN GLOBE NOMINEES