Stars arrive for Hollywood's Golden Globes show

EARLY OSCAR NOMINATIONS STEAL GLOBE'S THUNDER?

The Golden Globes, broadcast live on NBC television, is Hollywood's second-biggest awards show after February's Oscars, or Academy Awards. But its influence on that race has been sapped this year because Oscar nominations were announced three days ago, instead of a week after the Globes awards show.

Related: 'Homeland', 'Girls' win DGA TV nominations

Unlike the Academy Awards, the Golden Globes have a separate category for film comedies or musicals, and they honor television dramas and comedies.

This year the lavish screen version of hit stage musical "Les Miserables" is meeting strong competition from comedy "Silver Linings Playbook" about a man with bipolar disorder (Cooper) and a young widow (Jennifer Lawrence).

Both actors are also in the running for a Golden Globe trophy for their performances, along with "Les Miserables" stars Jackman and Hathaway.

In the television categories, Fey and Poehler are likely to have some fun at their own expense.

The former "Saturday Night Live" comedy show colleagues will compete against each other for the best comedy actress trophy

thanks to their starring roles in TV shows "30 Rock" (Fey) and "Parks and Recreation" (Poehler).

The women will bring a fresh vibe to the festivities after three years in which acidic Briton Ricky Gervais has cracked the jokes.

"I think Tina and Amy may reserve their sharpest jabs for each other, and overall keep a little bit of a friendlier tone. I don't think they will go into the night wanting to skewer anyone, except maybe each other," said Dave Karger, chief correspondent at Fandango.com.

Television shows competing for best drama on Sunday include Emmy-winning terrorism thriller "Homeland," along with cooks and countesses drama "Downton Abbey," "Boardwalk Empire," "Breaking Bad," and newcomer "The Newsroom".

The best comedy/musical series race features "Modern Family," "Girls," "Episodes," "The Big Bang Theory," and "Smash".

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The 70th annual Golden Globe Awards