Clint Eastwood and Gran Torino No. 1 Movie Going into Golden Globe Awards

Eastwood Up for Two Awards; Angelina Jolie Up for Role in Eastwood Directed "Changeling"

Besides John Travolta, there will be a noticeable absence at the 66^th Annual Golden Globe Awards - Clint Eastwood's name on a nomination for actor or director in a year where he starred in one and directed two acclaimed movies. His name is on nominations, though, but in two categories one is not accustomed to seeing the name of Clint Eastwood: Best Original Song ("Gran Torino," performed with Jamie Callum) and Best Originial Score ("Changeling," music written by Clint Eastwood).

Angelina Jolie is nominated for Best Actress in a Drama for "Changeling," a movie which Clint Eastwood directed.

But Eastwood, who has been receiving nominations for his directing and acting like clockwork for years, might just end up having the last laugh. For Clint Eastwood to be snubbed by the Golden Globe Awards for directing ("Changeling," "Gran Torino") and acting ("Gran Torino"), especially after the success of both films, will certainly prompt a make-up call or calls at the Academy Awards in February.

His critical acclaim for playing the part of troubled Korean War vet Walt Kowalski in "Gran Torino" (and no doubt the publicity garnered from not getting the aforesaid nominations) has generated a buzz in Hollywood and among moviegoers, prompting the movie to do extraordinarily well in limited release. While "Marley & Me" was cleaning up nationwide, Eastwood's "Gran Torino" was released in only a few major venues, but it was hauling in thousands more per screen than its nearest competitors, including "Marley & Me," "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," "Bedtime Stories," and "Valkyrie."

According to The Movie Times, "Gran Torino" last week averaged nearly $35,000 per screen on 84 screens while the No. 1 movie "Marley & Me" made nearly $7000 on 3,505 screens ($24.2 million overall). "Benjamin Button," which was shown on 500 screens less than "Marley & Me" finished third over all, averaging $700 less per screen ($18.6 million overall). "Bedtime Stories," which finished second overall, played on nearly 3700 screens and averaged almost $1500 less per screen than "Marley & Me" ($20.5 million overall).