With the nominations for the 71st Golden Globes Awards, the Hollywood Foreign Press voters spread the wealth to a wide and varied field reflecting a great year for movies. The films recognized by this morning’s announcement run the gamut from gripping dramas to heartfelt comedies to intimate works of introspective storytelling whose common denominator is that they defy easy categorization. Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave led with seven nominations including nods for Best Drama, best directing and screenwriting, and acting nominations for Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender and Lupita Nyong’o. David O. Russell’s American Hustle matched that record in a very competitive comedy category with seven nominations including in four acting categories, directing and screenwriting. Nebraska, director Alexander Payne’s soulful and funny late-life road movie was rewarded with five nominations, including Payne and his lead actor, 77-year old Bruce Dern; the latter’s two previous Golden Globe nominations date back to the 70’s. Matching his achievement in the Best Dramatic Actor category this year is Robert Redford (also 77) with a deserved recognition of his standout solo performance in JC Chandor’s All Is Lost. Alfonso Cuaron’s dazzling science fiction tale of peril and rebirth in Earth orbit, Gravity, garnered four nominations, while three nods each were given to Paul Greengrass’ Captain Phillips, Stephen Frears’ Philomena, Inside Llewyn Davis by the Coen brothers, Justin Chadwick’s Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom and Spike Jonze’s utterly original science fiction romance Her. All in all, an eclectic field that also reflects the growing global nature of movies. The best directing category includes nominees from Mexico (Cuaron) and the UK (McQueen and Frears); other recognized films are from English (Captain Phillips by Paul Greengrass) and South African (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom by Justin Chadwick) directors. Other non-American nominees include Daniel Brühl, Lupita Nyong’o and a customarily strong British contingent that includes Idris Elba, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Dame Judi Dench. The nomination for her title role in Philomena marks the 11th time her work has been recognized by the HFPA; she has won twice before for Mrs. Brown (1997) and The Last of the Blonde Bombshells (2000).