Globe Nominees Make Glorious Words

Ben Affleck got wistful. Meryl Streep got ready to party. Just everybody got humbled, honored or a variation of the two.

Borat, Sacha Baron Cohen's Kazakh alter ego, was about the only notable unavailable for comment in the wake of Thursday's Golden Globe nominations. (See the complete list of nominations and our photo gallery of contenders.)

Cohen said the globetrotting journalist was presently in Iran, "where he is guest of honor at the Holocaust Denial Conference."

In Washington, D.C., Kazakhstan's U.S. and Canadian Embassy took Borat's two big Globe nods in stride.

"It is up to the judges of the Golden Globes to decide on the artistic values of the movie," embassy spokesman Roman Vassilenko said. "We, however, hope that [these nominations] will draw additional attention to Kazakhstan...[the] real country."

The republic celebrates its 15th anniversary on Saturday. Cohen was not expected to attend any official festivities, although he has a standing invite to the country.

On Thursday, the comic was busy responding to his film's award-season splash: Cohen was, in two words, "extremely honored."

When it comes to expressing gratitude for a Globe nod, certain words just seem to say it best. Just as Cohen was "extremely honored," for instance, so was triple-nominee Helen Mirren "extremely honored."

Departed director Martin Scorsese was "extremely grateful" for his film's six nominations, while Notes on a Scandal's Judi Dench was "incredibly grateful" for her single Best Actress, Drama nomination, and Best Actor, Drama contender Forest Whitaker was "very grateful" for his nod.

Double Best Actor, Drama nominee Leonardo DiCaprio was "humbled and honored" by the recognition for both The Departed and Blood Diamond, just the same as Eddie Murphy was "humbled and honored" by his Best Supporting Actor nod for Dreamgirls.

Keeping things fresh, 74-year-old Peter O'Toole was "pleased and honored," but not expressly humbled, by his Best Actor, Drama nomination for Venus. Double Globe nominee Annette Bening, meanwhile, was "thrilled and honored."

Pursuit of Happyness' Will Smith "couldn't be more honored" with his Best Actor, Drama nomination, while Little Children's Kate Winslet "couldn't be more thrilled" with her Best Actress, Drama nomination.

Steve Carell, a TV acting nominee for NBC's The Office, and a player in the Globe-contending comedy Little Miss Sunshine, was "very proud" to twice-nominated director Clint Eastwood's "very grateful."

Brad Pitt, a Best Supporting Actor candidate for Babel, initially went his own way with "so pleased," but later succumbed to peer pressure, declaring himself "very proud" of the seven-time nominated film.

With nothing, including his no-profile stature to lose, British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor, nominated for the film Kinky Boots and the HBO miniseries Tsunami, the Aftermath, broke ranks with a heartfelt, "I am absolutely thrilled and stunned."

Often the best actor in any given year, Streep arguably was the best copy on Thursday, with an enthusiastic reaction to her Devil Wears Prada nomination: "Thank you thank you thank you!!! I am thrilled and happy and can't wait for THAT BIG FABULOUS PARTY!"

Hollywoodland's Affleck, earning his first-ever Globe nomination as an actor, also referenced the freewheeling bash that is the Globes.

"My enthusiasm for going this year is tempered only by the knowledge of how much George Reeves would have loved to be there," Affleck said of the Superman actor he portrayed. "I'm sorry he'll miss it."

Writer-director Emilio Estevez, meanwhile, offered some insight into Bobby's surprise nomination for Best Picture, Drama, noting that "the Hollywood Foreign Press has been a wonderful supporter of [the film] since our spectacular first screening in Venice, Italy."

Beyoncé Knowles, a double nominee for Dreamgirls, made a more personal statement, thanking the film and director Bill Condon for "an opportunity of a lifetime for me, enabling me to grow as an actress."

No nominee openly speculated on their odds to win. (Although Stranger Than Fiction's Will Ferrell did note he'll "be pissed if I don't win.") With actors wisely reserving comment on the subject, numbers-crunching bookies were only too happy to prognosticate.

The Departed and Dreamgirls were the early Best Picture favorites of at least two leading online sports books, with Whitaker, Mirren and Streep the consensus picks in their respective film-acting categories. Cohen is the lead comedy actor favorite of PinnacleSports.com, while Ferrell is Sportsbook.com's horse.

The Golden Globe statuette, meanwhile, was believed to be "thrilled and anxious" to have a Jan. 15 date with somebody famous.

Check out E! Online's ultimate 2007 Golden Globe coverage.