The science-fiction blockbuster Avatar has won best drama at the Golden Globes and picked up the directing honour for James Cameron, raising the Titanic film-maker's prospects for another Academy Awards triumph.
It was a repeat of Cameron's Globes night 12 years ago, when Titanic won best drama and the directing prize on its way to dominating the Oscars.
This time, though, instead of being "king of the world", as Cameron declared at the Oscars, he has become king of an alien landscape, elevating space fantasy to enormous critical acclaim.
"Avatar asks us to see that everything is connected, all human beings to each other, and us to the Earth. And if you have to go four-and-a-half light years to another, made-up planet to appreciate this miracle of the world that we have right here, well, you know what, that's the wonder of cinema right there; that's the magic," Cameron said.
Winning the dramatic-acting honours were Sandra Bullock for the football tale The Blind Side and Jeff Bridges for the country music story Crazy Heart. The crowd gave a standing ovation to Bridges, a beloved veteran generally overlooked for key Hollywood honours.
"You're really screwing up my underappreciated status here," Bridges said.
The son of late actor Lloyd Bridges, the actor thanked his father for encouraging him to go into showbusiness. "So glad I listened to you, dad," he said.
Bullock cited Michael Oher, the Baltimore Ravens rookie lineman whose life is the subject of The Blind Side. She plays a wealthy woman whose family took in the teenage Oher after discovering he was homeless.
"If I may steal from Michael Oher, I may not be the most talented, but I've been given opportunity," Bullock said.
The acting prizes for musical and comedy went to Meryl Streep for the Julia Child story Julie & Julia and Robert Downey Jr. for the crime romp Sherlock Holmes. The best-supporting performances were won by Mo'Nique as an abusive welfare mother in Precious and Christoph Waltz as a gleefully bloodthirsty Nazi in Inglourious Basterds.
Downey thanked his frequent collaborator Joel Silver, the "guy that's only restarted my career 12 times since I began 25 years ago".
The Vegas bachelor bash The Hangover won best musical/comedy, bringing uncharacteristic attention for broad comedy, a genre often overlooked at Hollywood honours.
"I just want to thank my mom, who supported my decision to become a director when she realised I wasn't as smart as my two sisters," said Hangover director Todd Phillips.
The Globes marked a dramatic turning point for Mo'Nique, who was mainly known for lowbrow comedy but startled audiences with her ferocious performance in Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' By Sapphire.
Mo'Nique lavished praise for Precious director Lee Daniels and newcomer Gabourey Sidibe, a best dramatic actress nominee at the Globes with her first film role, playing Mo'Nique's abused, illiterate daughter.
"Lee Daniels, the world gets a chance to see how brilliant you are. You are a brilliant, fearless, amazing director who would not waver, and thank you for trusting me," Mo'Nique said. "To Gabby, sister, I am in awe of you. Thank you for letting me play with you."
Though one of Hollywood's biggest parties, the Globes bore sombre reminders of tragedy in the real world, many stars wearing ribbons in support of Haiti earthquake victims.
The blockbuster Up won best animated film. Pixar Animation, the Disney outfit that made Up has scooped all four prizes for animated movies since the Globes introduced the category in 2006. The film features the voice of Ed Asner in a tale of a lonely, bitter widower who renews his zest for adventure by flying his house off under helium balloons to south America, where he encounters his childhood hero and a hilarious gang of talking canines.
"When it came to finding the heart of the film, we didn't have to look very hard," said director Pete Docter, whose film also won for musical score. "Our inspiration was all around us. Our grandparents, our parents, our wives, our kids. Our talking dogs."
Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner won best screenplay honour for Up , which Reitman also directed. The foreign-language honour went to The White Ribbon, a stark drama of guilt and suspicion set in a German town on the eve of World War I.
Mad Men won for best TV drama, while Michael Hall won for best actor in a TV drama for Dexter in which he plays a serial killer with a code of ethics, killing only other murderers. Publicists revealed this week that Hall is being treated for Hodgkin's lymphoma and that the cancer is in remission.
"It's really a hell of a thing to go to work in a place where everybody gives a damn. That's really the case with Dexter," Hall said. "It's a dream job. I'm so grateful."
Other TV winners included Julianna Margulies as best actress in a drama for The Good Wife and Toni Collette as best comedy actress for The United States of Tara.
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