Last night saw the stars out in force on the L.A. red carpet for the 68th Golden Globe Awards, hugely popular in themselves and widely considered to be an important indicator of impending Oscar success. There was no shortage of strong material this year, with David Fincher's Facebook story The Social Network edging out stiff competition from The Fighter and Inception to take the coveted Best Film award. Fincher also won Best Director
This choice may have disappointed Brits rallying behind The King's Speech, but Colin Firth was thrilled to win Best Actor for his role as the monarch suffering from a stutter. "To get to this stage of your life with your dignity and judgment intact can be somewhat precarious. Sometimes all you need is a bit of gentle reassurance to keep you on track but right now this [award] is all that stands between me and a Harley Davidson," he told fans.
This year's Best Actress Award went to Natalie Portman for her riveting performance in Black Swan, another Best Film contender. Portman, whose beautiful Viktor and Rolf dress showed off her pregnancy bump, teased director Darren Aronofsky about the fact she met her choreographer boyfriend Ben Millipied on the set. "Darren, you made me very skinny and now you’re indirectly responsible for making me fat."
Both Best Supporting Actor awards went to stars of The Fighter, with Melissa Leo winning for the first time while Christian Bale will be thrilled to add another gong tothe growing collection on his mantelpiece. There were no surprises in the Best Animated Feature category, as Toy Story 3 proved a hit with studio heads and critics as well as fans, and this year's Cecil B De Mille Award for lifetime achievement went to Robert De Niro.
In the aftermath of the ceremony, rumours are circulating about Ricky Gervais, the host whose comedic jibes may have hit a little close to the mark this time. After referring to Bruce Willis as Ashton Kutcher's dad and suggesting that Johnny Depp must have bribed Globe organisers into getting The Tourist on the ballot, he was apparently approached backstage by persons unknown, resulting in a distinctly more subdued second half. Still, the stars continued to shine and this is being described as a good year in Golden Globes history.
Those film awards in full:-
Best Film - The Social Network
Best Director - David Fincher, The Social Network
Best Actor - Colin Firth, The King's Speech
Best Actress - Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Best Supporting Actress - Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Best Supporting Actor - Christian Bale, The Fighter
Best Animated Feature - Toy Story 3
Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical - The Kids Are All Right
Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical - Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical - Paul Giamatti, Barney's Version
Best Screenplay - Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network
Best Foreign Language Film - In A Better World (Denmark)
Best Score - Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, The Social Network
Best Song - You Haven't Seen The Last Of Me, by Diane Warren, Burlesque
Cecil B De Mille Award - Robert De Niro
