LUCKY 7 FOR 'BROKEBACK' GAY COWBOY DRAMA LEADS RACE FOR GOLDEN GLOBES.

Byline: Evan Henerson Staff Writer

They may be desperately lonely up there on Brokeback Mountain, but the ranch hands of Ang Lee's gay cowboy drama are anything but ignored.

``Brokeback Mountain,'' the story of two men sharing a forbidden love in rural Wyoming, earned seven nominations for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's 63rd annual Golden Globe Awards. The nominations included best picture, best actor (for Heath Ledger), best director (Ang Lee) and best screenplay (Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana).

The film, based on a story by Annie Proulx and playing in limited release, has already taken best picture honors from the Los Angeles and New York film critics associations. NYFCA also named Ledger its best actor.

Lee told the Daily News earlier that he didn't call the film ``a gay Western ... marketing-wise, that's like poison,'' adding, ``Also, by theatrical convention, people might think it's a comedy like 'Blazing Saddles' or something. That's the part I don't like. But you have to be very cowboy and very gay, and then you transcend that to something more about relationships and family.''

``This is not a gay film. It's a romance,'' said Damon Romine, entertainment media director for the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. ``As the film begins to play in additional markets, I think you'll find its impact is just beginning.''

The HFPA, whose Globes kick off the awards season and are frequently an early bellwether for Oscar nods, gave four nominations each to ``Good Night, and Good Luck,'' George Clooney's account of TV newsman Edward R. Murrow's opposition to Sen. Joseph McCarthy; the film version of Mel Brooks' musical ``The Producers''; and Woody Allen's infidelity drama ``Match Point.'' The awards will be handed out in a nationally televised ceremony on Jan. 16 at the Beverly Hilton.

The Globes divide their films and TV programs into two categories: drama and musicals/comedies. In the drama category, ``Brokeback Mountain'' will go up against ``Good Night, and Good Luck,'' David Cronenberg's ``A History of Violence,'' ``Match Point'' and ``The Constant Gardener.''

In the musicals/comedy category, ``The Producers'' battles ``Mrs. Henderson Presents,'' which has Judi Dench playing the operator of a nude revue in World War II England; Noah Baumbach's family divorce tale ``The Squid and the Whale''; ``Pride & Prejudice,'' the latest film remake of the Jane Austen classic; and ``Walk the Line,'' the biopic of singer Johnny Cash.

``Mrs. Henderson Presents'' producer Norma Heyman, whose film picked up three nominations, thanked the HFPA ``for recognizing that screen chemistry does not diminish with advancing years.'' Dench and Bob Hoskins - who plays the Windmill Theatre's manager, Vivian Van Damm - were both nominated for Globes on Tuesday.

And Dench, who waxed eloquent about the dangers of speculation during ``Mrs Henderson's'' press duties last week, declared herself ``absolutely thrilled, delighted and terribly honored'' Tuesday at this, her sixth nomination.

Fellow septuagenarian Shirley MacLaine, nominated for a supporting actress award for ``In Her Shoes,'' predicted a lively awards show. ``People have been so politically correct (at awards shows),'' she said. ``Maybe now that there are some old folks in there who will get up and say which way the wind is blowing, it will be more interesting.''

The nominations signaled a red-letter day for smaller independent films. All five best drama nominees were indies, with each carrying a budget of less than $30 million. ``Match Point'' is writer/director Allen's first Golden Globe nomination since 1987.

Two years ago, the HFPA correctly forecasted eventual Oscar best picture winner ``The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'' and all four acting performances. Last year, however, the Globes honored ``The Aviator'' for best picture (drama), while the Oscar went to ``Million Dollar Baby.''

Actors playing characters based on real-life figures scored big with the HFPA. In addition to David Strathairn's Murrow, nominations went to actors portraying boxer Jim Braddock (Russell Crowe in ``Cinderella Man''), country singers Johnny and June Carter Cash (Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon, ``Walk the Line''), author Truman Capote (Philip Seymour Hoffman, ``Capote''), eccentric theater patroness Laura Henderson (Dench, ``Mrs. Henderson Presents'') and Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt (Kenneth Branagh and Cynthia Nixon, TV's ``Warm Springs'').

Other acting nominees include Gwyneth Paltrow, Charlize Theron, Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley, Michelle Williams, Pierce Brosnan, Jeff Daniels and Nathan Lane.

Clooney earned a total of four nominations, as best supporting actor in ``Syriana,'' along with nods for co-writing, producing and directing the small-budgeted, black-and-white ``Good Night, and Good Luck.''

``It's not 'King Kong,' said Clooney's ``Good Night, and Good Luck'' co-writer Grant Heslov, ``and that's not a bad thing.''

Foreign films up for Globes include the martial arts comedy ``Kung Fu Hustle,'' the French film ``Joyeux Noel (Merry Christmas),'' the South African drama ``Tsotsi,'' China's ``Mo Gik (Master of the Crimson Armor)'' and the Palestinian drama ``Paradise Now.''

Double acting nominees include Donald Sutherland (best actor in the TV miniseries ``Human Trafficking'' and best supporting actor in the TV drama ``Commander in Chief'') and Felicity Huffman (best actress for TV's ``Desperate Housewives'' and best actress in a drama for the film ``Transamerica'').

In the TV categories, ``Desperate Housewives'' scored nominations for best comedy series, as well as for its quartet of suburban basket cases - Huffman, Marcia Cross, Teri Hatcher and Eva Longoria. Mary-Louise Parker, the pot-dealing soccer mom of Showtime's ``Weeds'' is the only nonresident of Wisteria Lane in the best actress (TV musical or comedy) race.

``Desperate Housewives'' led the TV field with five nominations, followed by the HBO miniseries ``Empire Falls'' (four). ``Lost,'' ``Weeds,'' ``Grey's Anatomy,'' ``Elvis'' and ``Warm Springs'' all received three nominations each.

For best TV comedy, ``Desperate Housewives'' faces off against ``Curb Your Enthusiasm,'' ``Entourage,'' ``Everybody Hates Chris,'' ``My Name Is Earl'' and ``Weeds.'' The drama race includes ``Commander in Chief,'' ``Grey's Anatomy,'' ``Lost,'' ``Prison Break'' and ``Rome.''

With nominations also come notable omissions. William Hurt, winner of best supporting actor from both the New York and L.A. film critics for his role in ``A History of Violence,'' was passed over by the HFPA, as was LAFCA best actress winner Vera Farmiga (``Down to the Bone'') and LAFCA best supporting actress choice Catherine Keener (``Capote''). Andy Serkis, playing the giant ape in ``King Kong'' via motion capture technology, did not snare an acting nomination. ``Boston Legal's'' past Emmy winners James Spader and William Shatner were similarly shut out.

And although he'll take the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement on Globe night, Anthony Hopkins can watch the competitive categories without breaking a sweat. His performances in both ``The World's Fastest Indian'' and ``Proof'' failed to earn nominations.

Evan Henerson, [phone]

evan.henerson(at)dailynews.com

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7 photos

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) ``Walk the Line''

(2 -- cover -- color) ``Brokeback Mountain''

(3 -- cover -- color) ``Desperate Housewives''

(4 -- cover -- color) ``Lost''

(5) ``Brokeback Mountain'' garnered seven Golden Globe nominations, among them best picture and best actor, for Heath Ledger, right. The film also stars Jake Gyllenhaal, left.

(6) ``The Producers'' got four nods, including best picture and Nathan Lane as actor. Matthew Broderick, right, co-stars.

(7) ``Desperate Housewives'' led the TV field with five nominations - best comedy series and acting nods for its four stars.