The recession-era tale "Up in the Air" led Golden Globe film contenders Tuesday with six nominations, among them Best Drama and acting nom's for George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, and Anna Kendrick. The musical "Nine" ran second with five nominations, including Best Musical or Comedy and acting slots for Daniel Day-Lewis, Penelope Cruz, and Marion Cotillard.

"Up in the Air" generally has been considered a comedy, but its inclusion in the drama category could give it more weight as a potential favorite for the Academy Awards, where dramatic films tend to dominate.

Other drama picks were the space fantasy "Avatar," the Iraq War tale "The Hurt Locker," World War II saga "Inglourious Basterds" and the Harlem drama "Precious: Based on the Novel `Push' by Sapphire."

Playing a frequent-flyer junkie in "Up in the Air," Clooney had a nomination for best dramatic actor, along with Jeff Bridges in "Crazy Heart," Colin Firth in "A Single Man," Morgan Freeman in "Invictus" and Tobey Maguire in "Brothers."

Meryl Streep had two nominations for musical or comedy actress, as chef Julia Child in "Julie & Julia" and a woman in an affair with her ex-husband in "It's Complicated."

Sandra Bullock also had two nominations, one in the football story "The Blind Side" and the other in "The Proposal."

Other dramatic actress nominees were Emily Blunt, Helen Mirren, Carey Mulligan, and Gabourey Sidibe.

Hollywood's second biggest film honors after the Academy Awards, the Globes are a key ceremony that sort out the prospects leading up to the Oscar nominations on February 2nd.

The 67th annual Golden Globes will be handed out January 17th, six days before voting closes for nominating Oscars.

The Globes are presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a group of about 85 critics and reporters for overseas media outlets.