Top stars bag Golden Globes
2005-01-17 07:23
California - Jamie Foxx of Ray, Hilary Swank of Million Dollar Baby, Annette Bening of Being Julia and Leonardo DiCaprio of The Aviator won Golden Globes, boosting their Academy Awards prospects.
Sideways received the Globe on Sunday for best musical or comedy film, while The Aviator won for best dramatic film.
"Can I just tell you that I am having the ride of my life right now?" said Foxx, considered a front-runner to win the best-actor Oscar for his uncanny emulation of Ray Charles, who died last year.
"I wish I could take what I'm feeling right now and put it in the water system, and we would all love each other a whole lot more."
Earning a record three Globe nominations, Foxx lost in his other two categories, supporting movie actor for Collateral and actor in a TV movie or miniseries for Redemption.
Bening won for best actress in a movie musical or comedy, playing an ageing stage diva in 1930s London who plots gleeful revenge against the men in her life.
Oscar rematch
Backstage, Bening said that while Hollywood economics is geared toward roles for younger actresses, she said there are filmmakers eager to present tales of older women.
"I think there's no question that sexism exists, but I think that as long as people are willing to fight and create interesting stories that involve women of all different ages, then the movies will get made," Bening said.
Swank and Bening's Golden Globe wins set up an Oscar rematch between the actresses, who competed against each other five years ago for best actress. Underdog Swank won the Golden Globe and Oscar for Boys Don't Cry over Bening, who had been considered the favourite for American Beauty.
In Million Dollar Baby, Swank plays a determined boxer whose life takes a tragic turn. Swank paid tribute to director and co-star Clint Eastwood.
"I don't want to ruin your 'go ahead, make my day image', but you have such a huge heart and you envelop all the people around you. ... You guided us so brilliantly, while you also, in my humble opinion, gave the performance of your career," Swank said.
As Howard Hughes in The Aviator, DiCaprio reunited with his Gangs of New York director Martin Scorsese." DiCaprio said that for all his good fortune in Hollywood, the "pinnacle of all that is to work alongside one of the greatest contributors to the world of cinema of all time, and that is the great Martin Scorsese".
Surprise win
Eastwood won the directing honour for Million Dollar Baby, solidifying his chances to win the same honour at the Oscars. Eastwood, who previously won the directing Oscar for Unforgiven, thanked the "great Hilary Swank and the world's greatest actor, Morgan Freeman", who co-starred with him in Million Dollar Baby.
Natalie Portman and Clive Owen won supporting-actor honours for the sex drama Closer, their wins coming as something of a surprise.
Both offered profuse thanks to Closer director Mike Nichols.
The oddball romance Sideways won the screenplay honour for Jim Taylor and director Alexander Payne, who thanked the cast for "servicing our screenplay so beautifully".
The Aviator earned composer Howard Shore the Globe for film score, while Mick Jagger and Dave Edwards won the song honour for Old Habits Die Hard from Alfie.
Spain's The Sea Inside - starring Javier Bardem in the real-life story of Ramon Sampedro, a paralysed man who fought a decades-long battle for his right to die - was picked as best foreign-language film.
Television winners
The Globes serve as the most prominent ceremony in Hollywood's pre-game show leading up to the Academy Awards on February 27.
Golden Globe winners gain attention that can put them on the inside track for prizes from acting, directing and other filmmaking guilds - momentum often sticks with them right through Oscar night.
Teri Hatcher of Desperate Housewives beat her show's co-stars Marcia Cross and Felicity Huffman for best actress in a TV musical or comedy. Hatcher thanked ABC for giving "me a second chance at a career when I couldn't have been a bigger has-been."
Nip/Tuck won for best dramatic TV series, while The Life and Death of Peter Sellers took the Globe for best TV movie or miniseries and Jason Bateman of Arrested Development was honoured as best actor in a comedy series.
Other television winners included Mariska Hargitay of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as dramatic actress, Ian McShane as dramatic actor for Deadwood, Anjelica Huston as supporting actress for the suffrage film Iron Jawed Angels, and William Shatner as supporting actor for Boston Legal.
Robin Williams received the Cecil B DeMille award for career achievement. Williams dedicated his award to a friend, the late Christopher Reeve, who died last year.
On the net:
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- AP