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28 March 2024

Golden Globes: '12 Years a Slave', Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchette big winners

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio arrives on the red carpet for the Golden Globe awards on January 12, 2014 in Beverly Hills, California. (AFP)

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By AFP

The film "12 Years a Slave" took the coveted Golden Globe for best drama and "American Hustle" won best musical or comedy in a kick-off to the Hollywood awards season that foreshadows a wide scattering of honors for a year crowded with high-quality movies.

Cast and producers of '12 Years a Slave,' winners of Best Motion Picture - Drama, pose in the press room during the 71st Annual Golden Globe Awards. (AFP)

"American Hustle," a romp through corruption in the 1970s directed by David O. Russell, was the top winner, taking home three of its seven nominations for the 71st Annual Golden Globe Awards, an important but not entirely accurate barometer for the film industry's highest honors, the Academy Awards to be held on March 2.

Amy Adams poses with her award for Best Actress In A Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy for her role in the film "American Hustle" at the 71st annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California January 12, 2014. (REUTERS)

Director Steve McQueen's brutal depiction of pre-Civil war slavery in "12 Years a Slave," based on a true story of a free black man sold into slavery, only won one award out of its seven nominations and was shut out from the acting honors.

The top drama acting awards went to Cate Blanchett for her turn as a riches-to-rags socialite in Woody Allen's tragicomedy "Blue Jasmine" and Matthew McConaughey for his unlikely AIDS activist in "Dallas Buyers Club," for which he lost 50 pounds (22.7 kg).

"Ron Woodroof's story was an underdog, for years it was an underdog, we couldn't get it made ... I'm so glad it got passed on so many times or it wouldn't have come to me," said McConaughey, widely lauded for a string of strong performances this year.

His co-star Jared Leto took the best supporting actor Globe for his role as Rayon, a transsexual with AIDS.

Amy Adams won best actress in a musical or comedy for her role as the conniving partner to a con-man played by Christian Bale in "American Hustle," while Jennifer Lawrence took best supporting actress for her turn as his loopy wife.

(L-R) Actors Bryan Cranston, Anna Gunn and Betsy Brandt, writer-producer Vince Gilligan, actors R.J. Mitte and Aaron Paul, winners of Best Series - Drama for 'Breaking Bad,' pose in the press room during the 71st Annual Golden Globe Awards held at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 12, 2014 in Beverly Hills, California. (AFP)

Leonardo DiCaprio won best actor in a musical or comedy for his role as a fast-living, drug-popping, swindling stockbroker in the "The Wolf of Wall Street," his fifth collaboration with director Martin Scorsese.

"As the history of cinema unfolds, you will be regarded as one of the great artists of all time," DiCaprio told Scorsese as he accepted the award.

Cast and producers of 'American Hustle,' winners of Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy for 'American Hustle,' pose in the press room during the 71st Annual Golden Globe Awards. (AFP)

CUARON WINS BEST DIRECTOR

Mexican filmmaker Alfonso Cuaron won best director for his existential space thriller, "Gravity," a film starring Sandra Bullock as an astronaut tumbling through space that has won praise for its groundbreaking technical advances.

Director Spike Jonze took home the Globe for best screenplay for his quirky computer-age comedy "Her," starring Joaquin Phoenix.

Actress Robin Wright, winner of Best Actress in a Television Series - Drama for 'House of Cards,' poses in the press room during the 71st Annual Golden Globe Awards. (AFP)

The Golden Globes, under the purview of some 90 journalists in the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), have outsized clout in the awards race as buzz around these first honors influences members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in their voting for the Oscars.

Oscar nominations will be announced on Thursday, but voting has already concluded. The Globes have a mixed record when it comes to predicting the Oscar best picture, though last year's best drama winner, "Argo," did go on to win the Academy Award for best movie.

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio celebrates winning Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy for "The Wolf of Wall Street". (AFP)

The show, telecast live on Comcast Corp's NBC, was hosted by comic actors Tina Fey and Amy Poehler and reunited Hollywood's A-listers and its powerbrokers, who all took playful pokes from the duo in their second straight gig at the Globes.

The HFPA honored Woody Allen with the Cecil B. DeMille award recognizing outstanding contribution to the entertainment field. Famously averse to awards shows, the 78-year-old Allen sent one of his favorite actresses, Diane Keaton, to stand in for him.