Winslet wins two awards, Ledger honoured as best supporting actor

Beverly Hills:

British movie Slumdog Millionaire emerged as the big winner at the 66th Golden Globes late on January 11, scooping four awards to underline its credentials ahead of next month’s Oscars.

Late Australian actor Heath Ledger earned a posthumous Golden Globe for his performance in Batman blockbuster The Dark Knight while British star Kate Winslet won two awards for best drama actress and supporting actress. But, ironically, on a star-studded night in Beverly Hills, it was Slumdog Millionaire, the rags-to-riches love story about an orphan who fights his way out of Mumbai slums on an Indian television game show.

The film — featuring a cast of virtual unknowns — won best drama and also picked up honours for British director Danny Boyle, as well as honours for best screenplay and best music.

The Globes are seen as an important staging post ahead of the Academy Awards, offering clues to which films will be successful at the Oscars, which take place at Hollywood’s Kodak Theater on February 22.

The acting awards on Sunday saw Australian heart-throb Ledger honoured as expected for his portrayal of arch-villain the Joker in The Dark Knight. Director Christopher Nolan accepted Ledger’s award, saying the actor’s death

at the age of 28 had “ripped a hole” in the future of

cinema.

“All of us who worked with Heath on The Dark Knight accept this with an awful mixture of sadness but incredible pride,” Nolan said. “For any of us lucky enough to work with him, I think for any of us lucky enough to enjoy his performances, he will be eternally missed, but he will never be forgotten,” he added.

The other big winner in the acting categories was Winslet, who scooped best actress in a drama for her performance in Revolutionary Road and best supporting actress for The Reader. Winslet, 33, who had been overlooked after five previous nominations, was overcome following her double win, apologising to her rival nominees and thanking Revolutionary Road co-star DiCaprio.

“I’m so sorry, Meryl (Streep), Anne (Hathaway), Kristin (Scott-Thomas), the other one... Angelina (Jolie)!,” Winslet gasped. “Thank you so much... thank you soooo much!,” before adding to longtime friend and fellow Titanic star DiCaprio: “I love you with all my heart, I really do!”

It was only the third time in Golden Globes history that an actor or actress had been honoured with two awards on the same night.

In the men’s acting categories there was an emotional victory for Mickey Rourke, who won best actor in a drama for his heart-wrenching portrayal of a washed-up prizefighter in The Wrestler. “This has been a very long road back for me,” said Rourke, whose career nose-dived through much of the 1990s after an ill-advised spell as a professional boxer.

But it was a disappointing evening though for Brad Pitt and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button which had started the night with five nods alongside Frost/Nixon and Do-ubt. All three films came away empty-handed.

Steven Spielberg was honoured with the Golden Globes Cecile B DeMille Award for his “outstanding contribution to the entertainment field.” The legendary director of classic films including Jaws, Schindlers List and Saving Private Ryan had already won six Golden Globes during his career with a further 12 nominations.

The last year’s winner of the DeMille award was Warren Beatty while previous recipients have included Al Pacino, Robert Redford, Clint Eastwood, Paul Newman and Alfred Hitchcock.