BEVERLY HILLS, California, Jan 18, (Agencies): The Golden Globes gave top honors to James Cameron’s “Avatar” and took its cue from the film’s celebration of humanity, with winners ranging from the gritty child-abuse drama “Precious” to freewheeling comedy “The Hangover.”
Sunday’s awards ceremony also opened wide to embrace the long-admired Jeff Bridges, who took best dramatic-acting honors for the country-music film “Crazy Heart,” and a sitcom actress, Mo’Nique, who emerged as a fierce screen presence in “Precious.”
Fox’s spunky new TV musical comedy series “Glee” was honored, while the best TV drama award went to AMC’s 1960s Madison Avenue saga “Mad Men” for the third year in a row.
Cameron was the big winner on the movie side, claiming best drama and best director for his science-fiction blockbuster and setting him for a possible awards sequel to 1997’s “Titanic.” Cameron’s epic about the doomed oceanliner won the same prizes and went on to dominate the Academy Awards.
This time, though, instead of being “king of the world,” as Cameron declared at the Oscar ceremony, he has become king of a computer-generated distant moon that made critics gush and sent box-office receipts soaring. The film has grossed $1.6 billion worldwide, second only to “Titanic” with $1.8 billion.
“‘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.

Other film acting prizes went to Sandra Bullock for the football tale “The Blind Side,” Meryl Streep for the Julia Child story “Julie & Julia,” Robert Downey Jr for the crime romp “Sherlock Holmes” and Austrian actor Christoph Waltz as a gleefully bloodthirsty Nazi in “Inglourious Basterds.”
Sunday’s winners could get a last-minute boost for the Oscars, whose nominations balloting closes Saturday. Last year’s big Globe winner, “Slumdog Millionaire,” went on to garner Oscar glory.
Michael C. Hall won for best actor in a TV drama for Showtime’s “Dexter,” in which he plays a serial killer with a code of ethics, targeting only other murderers. Hall said last week’s publicists said that Hall is being treated for Hodgkin’s lymphoma and that the cancer is in remission.
“Dexter” also won the supporting-actor TV honor for John Lithgow. Other TV winners included Juliana Margulies as best actress in a drama for CBS’ “The Good Wife” and Toni Collette as best comedy actress for Showtime’s “The United States of Tara.”

Bridges, a beloved veteran generally overlooked for key Hollywood honors, got a standing ovation at the ceremony hosted by Ricky Gervais.
“You’re really screwing up my underappreciated status here,” Bridges said.
The son of late actor Lloyd Bridges, Bridges thanked his father for encouraging him to go into show business.
“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 Memphis woman whose family took the teenage Oher and gave him shelter 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 Vegas bachelor bash “The Hangover” won for best musical or comedy, bringing uncharacteristic awards attention for broad comedy, a genre that often gets overlooked at Hollywood honors.
The Globes marked a dramatic turning point for Mo’Nique, who was mainly known for lowbrow comedy but startled audiences with her brutal performance in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ By Sapphire,” directed by Lee Daniels and starring newcomer Gabourey Sidibe, who was a Globe nominee.
Streep’s competition for best actress in a musical or comedy included herself. She also was nominated for the romance “It’s Complicated.”

“I just want to say that in my long career, I’ve played so many extraordinary woman that I’m getting mistaken for one,” Streep said. “I’m very clear that I’m the vessel for other people’s stories and other people’s lives.”
The blockbuster “Up” came away with the award for animated film. Pixar Animation, the Disney outfit that made “Up,” has won all four prizes for animated movies since the Globes introduced the category in 2006. Past Pixar winners are “WALL-E,” “Ratatouille” and “Cars.”
“Up” 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.
Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner won the screenplay honor for “Up in the Air,” which Reitman also directed. The foreign-language honor went to “The White Ribbon,” a stark drama of guilt and suspicion set in a German town on the eve of World War I.
The rain-drenched red carpet was a rare sight for an awards show in sunny southern California, stars in their finery getting damp under umbrellas as storms swept the region.
Although the Globes are one of Hollywood’s biggest parties, the ceremony included somber reminders of tragedy in the real world, many stars wearing ribbons in support of earthquake victims in Haiti.

Lifetime Awared
Meanwhile, in presenting Martin Scorsese with the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement at the Golden Globes, his longtime friend and collaborator Robert De Niro found a new way to describe the director’s famous, obsessive love of cinema.
“Marty sleeps, drinks and eats film,” De Niro said. “I hear there are videos on the Internet of Marty having sex with film.”
He continued the joke in a husky voice: “A hot reel of 35 mm stock ...”
Such honors have become somewhat old hat for Scorsese and De Niro. De Niro — who has apparently learned a thing or two from the plethora of comedies he’s made in recent years — joked that after 20 years making movies together, they’ve spent the last 10 “presenting each other with awards.”
“We’re like an old married couple,” said De Niro. “We built a life together, we have great memories — we just don’t sleep together anymore.”
But De Niro’s finest line might have been wondering if the award was perhaps lesser than the man: “I can’t help thinking if times were a bit different, how proud Cecil B. DeMille would have been to be honored with the Martin Scorsese Award.”
Taking the stage to a standing ovation at the International Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, the veteran director acknowledged that “Goodfellas” didn’t seemingly have much in common with DeMille’s “The Greatest Show on Earth.”

“When I got to make my own films, no matter what they looked like, the overall intention was always to tap into the powerful cinematic experience that characterized a DeMille picture,” said Scorsese.
He applauded “the big show, the spectacular” of DeMille’s extravagant films, saying they were “the shared landscape of our childhood.”
Only Scorsese would turn such an award into a tribute to its namesake.
Scorsese is a well-known film preservationist and he helped release an acclaimed new copy of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s 1948 classic “The Red Shoes” this year. He founded the Film Foundation in 1990 as a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving films.
He thanked the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which puts on the Globes, for its continued support and contributions to film preservation.
“As William Faulkner said, `The past is never dead, it is not even past,”’ said Scorsese. “As far as I’m concerned, making films and preserving them are the same thing.”
Leonardo DiCaprio, who joined De Niro in the introduction, called Scorsese “a master filmmaker and a generous, patient teacher,” whose name defines cinema.
Though Scorsese’s 2007 Oscar win for directing “The Departed” was a long time coming, he has had better success at the Globes, previously winning two Globes for best director, for “The Departed” and 2001’s “Gangs of New York.” He was nominated six other times.
While the 67-year-old Scorsese was being honored for a lifetime of work in cinema, he’s as active as ever.

Backstage
Sci-fi is finally getting respect, Cameron said after “Avatar’’ won Golden Globes for best picture and director Sunday.
“You have a genre that is critically treated like a second-class citizen,’’ the filmmaker said, noting that the only other sci-fi film in the 59-year history of the Golden Globes to win the prize for best picture was 1982’s “E.T.’’
“Hopefully this will spark a trend’’ of sci-fi movies that are seen as legitimate dramas,’’ he said.
Cameron used the win to speak on various topics (‘’I have a bit of a pulpit,’’ he said at one point) and took on those critics who called his film “anti-military.’’ He said the film is about “the anti-inappropriate use of military force.’’
He also said critics should not look at the nemesis but the hero if they want to see the values of the filmmaker.
“Everything about (Jake) celebrates the American Marine Corps and its value system. He evinces the qualities the American Marine Corps teaches its men and women, to adapt to the local culture.’’
Continuing on the military theme, he said he believes in a strong military, “But we have to open our eyes. We have to look when political leaders put in these men and women on the ground for wrong reasons. And I’m not talking about recent history, I’m talking about human history.’’
Finally catching himself, he said, “This is a celebratory night and I probably shouldn’t go off on this.’’
Streep, honored for “Julie & Julia,’’ is arguably the biggest female star in America, and as someone who rose to stardom in an Internet-less age, she feels a bit of pity for today’s actresses.
“It was easier when I was coming up. There was no such thing as a 24-hour news cycle,’’ she said, with a blogosphere commenting on appearance and weight in mean-spirited fashion.
“It always happened, sure, but in parties, in restaurants. Now it’s a relentless drag.’’
That negative attention interferes with one’s ability to be a good actress, because preparing for a role requires shutting out the world, she said. One way not to get caught in that ‘’vortex’’ was not to Google yourself.
Bridges won his first Golden Globe after three previous nominations, for his portrayal of “Crazy Heart’s’’ Bad Blake, an alcoholic country music singer trying to make a comeback. He recently won People’s Choice and Critics’ Choice awards.

“It’s wonderful to bring attention to a small movie like this through awards shows and festivals,’’ he said. “A movie like this needs those things to happen to put people in the theater. But what I wasn’t expecting — it reminded me of seeing ‘Avatar’ — I was expecting to be surprised but I wasn’t expecting to be as moved by that as I was. As far as this goes, I was expecting to hang out with friends, but I didn’t expect the emotion as I got that reception, that love and appreciation really is a wonderful thing.’’
Bullock, a winner for “The Blind Side,’’ said the dearth of female roles in Hollywood, while still there, has ameliorated. “It’s gotten so much better. Two great successes for me were written by men. If you write it, they will come. Women do pull in some money and we do go to the theater.’’ She also added that with the rise of cable, the opportunities on TV ‘’are sometimes better than movies.’’
In his fourth attempt, Michael C. Hall took home the Globe for actor in a TV drama for Showtime’s “Dexter.’’ Hall, who recently revealed that he was receiving treatment for Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, which is now in remission, said he opted to make his health issues public because of awards season appearances. “It was nice to make a statement that I was on the road to recovery, but it’s nice to have a justifiable excuse to accessorizing.’’
As for the Season 4 cliffhanger that left Dexter’s wife, Rita, dead in a pool of blood, he’s just as clueless as everyone else as to what comes next. “The writers reconvene this Wednesday. We’re just going to start throwing stuff around the room and see what sticks. I think I am as excited as all of the viewers are to find out what’s in store. I don’t have any idea.’’
Michael Haneke was quick and to the point backstage about his foreign-language film win for Germany’s “The White Ribbon.’’ Asked, in German, if he thought the Globe win would impact his life, Haneke replied through a translator, “Yes, my desk will look a little bit different now.’’

Top lines
The stars offered up a surprising number of one-liners during the Golden Globes on Sunday night. Here are the top 20.
Ricky Gervais, from the monologue: “Let’s get on with it before NBC replaces me with Jay Leno.’’
Sir Paul McCartney, presenting best animated feature: ‘’Animation is not just for children, it is also for adults who take drugs.’’
Jane Krakowski, presenting with Neil Patrick Harris and referencing her large forehead: “That’s why when I do scenes with Alec Baldwin, he just stares at my boobs. That’s how good an actor he is. He finds a way.’’
Tom Hanks, presenting “Julie & Julia’’: “This is not the movie in which Meryl Streep ends up in bed with Alec Baldwin, but the one where she ends up in bed with Stanley Tucci ... by any measure, a substantial move up.’’
Ricky Gervais: “One stereotype I hate is that all Irishmen are drunk, sweaty hell-raisers. Ladies and gentlemen: Colin Farrell.’’
Colin Farrell, presenting: “Oh, I once was a cliche ...’’
Meryl Streep, accepting for “Julie & Julia’’: “I want to change my name to T Bone.’’
Drew Barrymore, accepting for “Grey Gardens’’: “Michael, thanks for taking a chance on me. I know I could be Jeff Spicoli’s girlfriend. With the lisp and the paralysis.’’
Zachary Levi, presenting with Amy Poehler: “Truth be told, you’re not the only woman who’s had to fake it with me.’’
Matthew Weiner, referencing a comment from previous winner Drew Barrymore: “I, too, was in this ballroom when I was 7 years old. It was for a bar mitzvah. But it rained, and everybody’s hair was just as curly as tonight.’’
Robert De Niro, presenting Martin Scorsese with the Cecil B. DeMille award: “We’re like an old married couple. We built a life together, we have great memories. We just don’t sleep together anymore.’’
Martin Scorsese: “Making films and preserving them are the same thing.’’
Ricky Gervais, holding a draft beer: “Cheers. I’ve had a couple, I’m not gonna lie to you. I like a drink as much as the next man. Unless the next man is Mel Gibson.’’
Ryan Murphy, accepting for “Glee’’: “This is for anybody and everybody who got a wedgie in high school.’’
Todd Phillips, accepting for “The Hangover’’: “Now I’m going to get in a fistfight with Harvey Weinstein. But I have Mike Tyson here so I’m good.’’ Second quote: “I want to thank my mom for supporting my decision to become a director when she realized I wasn’t as smart as my two sisters.’’
Arnold Schwarzenegger, introducing “Avatar’’: “I made a deal with Fox that half the proceeds from the movie will go straight to California’s budget.’’
Robert Downey Jr., accepting for “Sherlock Holmes’’: “If you start playing violins, I will tear this joint apart. I first want to thank (wife) Susan Downey, who told me Matt Damon was going to win and there was no need to prepare a speech.’’
Jeff Bridges, accepting for “Crazy Heart’’: “You’re really screwing up my under-appreciated status here.’’
Julia Roberts, presenting best picture, drama: “If you want attention, sit next to Paul McCartney. I’ve never gotten so many texts in my life.’’
James Cameron, accepting for best picture, drama: “This is the best job in the world. I just want you to give it up for yourselves.’’

Film winners
Best film drama: “Avatar’’
Actor in a drama: Jeff Bridges, “Crazy Heart’’
Actress in a drama: Sandra Bullock, “The Blind Side’’
Best comedy or musical: “The Hangover’’
Actor in a comedy or musical: Robert Downey, Jr. “Sherlock Holmes’’
Actress in a comedy or musical: Meryl Streep, “Julie & Julia’’
Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz, “Inglourious Basterds’’
Supporting Actress: Mo’Nique, “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire’’
Animated film: “Up’’
Foreign Language film: “The White Ribbon,’’ Germany
Director: James Cameron, “Avatar’’
Screenwriter: Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner, “Up In the Air’’
Original Score: Michael Giacchino, “Up’’
Original Song: T Bone Burnett and Ryan Bingham, “The Weary Kind,’’ from “Crazy Heart’’