Yesterday, Matthew Perry, Jessica Biel and Rosario Dawson got all pretty and smiley to announce the Golden Globe nominations. If you're still in the dark as to what's the big deal with this award (and especially with the candidates for all the major categories), just know that it's the clearest indication of the Oscar favorites.

The ceremony will take place on January 15, a week before the Oscar nominations are made public and it's a known fact that who wins a Golden Globe has 99 percent chances to leave home with an Oscar, too. So, you see, it is a big deal after all!

The list of candidates was certainly full of surprises this year too. Some actors (like Maggie Gyllenhaal) were nominated despite their movies being not that familiar to the public due to their limited release (though still very good), while others (like Matt Damon, who could have entered the race with two excellent films, 'The Good Shepherd' and 'The Departed') were completely overlooked.

Anyway, the favorite by far is 'Babel', with seven nominations (including one for best dramatic picture), a drama about love and war, set in four different countries, starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchet. 'The Departed', Martin Scorsese's new chef d'oeuvre, followed up close in the competition, scoring six nods per total.

Among the favorite actors, Leonardo DiCaprio and Helen Mirren are in the lead. DiCaprio will have the chance to race against himself in the best actor category, having been named twice, once for 'Blood Diamond' and 'The Departed'. The same happened to director Clint Eastwood, who will also have to face himself in the best director category, where he's listed for both 'Flags of Our Fathers' and 'Letters from Iwo Jima'.

Below is a complete list of nominations for all the major categories.

1. BEST MOTION PICTURE - DRAMA
'Babel', 'Bobby' 'The Departed', 'Little Children', 'The Queen'

2. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE - DRAMA

Penelope Cruz - 'Volver'
Judi Dench - 'Notes on a Scandal'
Maggie Gyllenhaal - 'Sherrybaby'
Helen Mirren - 'The Queen'
Kate Winslet - 'Little Children'

3. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE - DRAMA

Leonardo DiCaprio - 'Blood Diamond'
Leonardo DiCaprio - 'The Departed'
Peter O'Toole - 'Venus'
Will Smith - 'The Pursuit of Happiness'
Forest Whitaker - 'The Last King of Scotland'

4. BEST MOTION PICTURE - COMEDY OR MUSICAL

'Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan', 'The Devil Wears Prada', 'Dreamgirls', 'Little Miss Sunshine', 'Thank You for Smoking'

5. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE - COMEDY OR MUSICAL

Annette Bening - 'Running with Scissors'
Toni Collette - 'Little Miss Sunshine'
Beyonce Knowles - 'Dreamgirls'
Meryl Streep - 'The Devil Wears Prada'
Renee Zellweger - 'Miss Potter'

6. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE - COMEDY OR MUSICAL

Sascha Baron Cohen - 'Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan'
Johnny Depp - 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest'
Aaron Eckhart - 'Thank You for Smoking'
Chiwetel Ejiofor - 'Kinky Boots'
Willl Ferrell - 'Stranger than Fiction'

7. BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

'Cars', 'Happy Feet', 'Monster House'

8. BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

'Apocalypto', 'Letters from Iwo Jima', 'The Lives of Others', 'Pan's Labyrinth', 'Volver'

9. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE

Adriana Barraza - 'Babel'
Cate Blanchet - 'Notes on a Scandal'
Emily Blunt - 'The Devil Wears Prada'
Jennifer Hudson - 'Dreamgirls'
Rinko Kikuchi - 'Babel'

10. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE

Ben Affleck - 'Hollywoodland'
Eddie Murphy - 'Dreamgirls'
Jack Nicholson - 'The Departed'
Brad Pitt - 'Babel'
Mark Wahlberg - 'The Departed'

11. BEST DIRECTOR - MOTION PICTURE
Clint Eastwood - 'Flags of Our Fathers'
Clint Eastwood - 'Letters from Iwo Jima'
Stephen Frears - 'The Queen'
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu - 'Babel'
Martin Scorsese - 'The Departed'