Hollywood's 74th Golden Globes step into the spotlight Sunday in US cinema's first major awards event of the year, with coming-of-age drama "Moonlight" and musical romance "La La Land" among the top contenders. "La La Land," the Los Angeles love story of struggling actress Mia (Emma Stone) and jazz pianist Seb (Ryan Gosling), tops the nominations with seven nods, including best musical or comedy film, best director for Damian Chazelle and best lead actor and actress, and is expected to pick up an armful of trophies Sunday. Unlike their rivals the Oscars, the Golden Globes split their top awards into two categories, drama and musical or comedy, leading to two sets of best film and lead acting prizes. The competition may be stiffer in the drama category, in which director Barry Jenkins' indie hit "Moonlight," the story of an African-American boy growing up gay in Miami, will duel for the top prize with "Manchester by the Sea," which stars Casey Affleck as a Boston janitor overcoming inner demons. "Moonlight" is up for six total prizes, including best drama and best director for Barry Jenkins, while "Manchester" has five nominations. Other contenders for best drama include Mel Gibson's wartime pacifism drama "Hacksaw Ridge," Australian biopic "Lion," and modern-day Western "Hell or High Water." In the foreign film category, Germany's father-daughter comedy "Toni Erdmann" is a favourite, but faces competition from two French films - Paul Verhoeven's rape drama "Elle" and the girl-power gangster drama "Divines" - as well as the Iranian drama "The Salesman," directed by Asghar Farhadi, and Chile's offbeat biopic "Neruda." For television prizes, "Game of Thrones," "Transparent," "Mozart in the Jungle" and "Stranger Things" are among the series nominated. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association's famously champagne-soaked celebration of the best in film and television relies on the votes of fewer than 100, mostly unknown, foreign film critics. But in recent years, the Globes have often tipped Oscar nominees and winners and so have gained traction as a sneak peek at Hollywood's top prizes, which will be awarded seven weeks later on February 26. The Golden Globes will be awarded Sunday in Beverly Hills at a gala dinner notorious for its free-flowing drinks and good cheer that can lead to overlong acceptance speeches. US comic Jimmy Fallon will host the televised ceremony, with Matt Damon, Eddie Redmayne, Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon among the award presenters. Eight-time Globe winner Meryl Streep will be presented with the Cecil B De Mille Lifetime Achievement award. First awarded in 1944, the Golden Globes honour the best in television and film across more than 25 categories. Last year's winners included "The Revenant" for best drama and "The Martian" for best comedy or musical, and Leonardo di Caprio and Brie Larson as best lead actors in the drama category.
