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'12 Years a Slave', 'American Hustle' Win Top Golden Globes


From left, Lupita Nyong'o, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Steve McQueen, Sarah Paulson, and Michael Fassbender pose in the press room with the award for best motion picture - drama for '12 Years a Slave' at the 71st annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hot
From left, Lupita Nyong'o, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Steve McQueen, Sarah Paulson, and Michael Fassbender pose in the press room with the award for best motion picture - drama for '12 Years a Slave' at the 71st annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hot
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.

The best drama win for director Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave was considered a stunning upset by observers. The win was unexpected as the film did not win in any other nominated categories, including best director, best actor, best screenplay, best supporting actress and best supporting actor.

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

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.

“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.

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.

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.

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.

The Globes offered a fond farewell to the television show Breaking Bad, the tale of meth kingpin Walter White, by awarding it the best TV drama prize and giving Bryan Cranston the top television acting prize.

"This is such a lovely way to say goodbye to the show that has meant so much to me," said Cranston while accepting the award.

Robin Wright hit a milestone for the industry by winning the best actress award in a TV drama for her work in House of Cards. The series is distributed by Netflix and it marks the first time a major television award went to a service other than a broadcast or cable network.

Veteran actors Michael Douglas and Jon Voight took acting awards for their work in television mini-series, The best acting prize went to Douglas for his portrayal of Liberace in HBO's Behind The Candelabra and the best supporting actor honor to Voight for his work in Showtime's Ray Donovan.

The show, telecast live on 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.

Some information in this report was provided by Reuters.
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