The first big prize of this year’s Awards Season — Best Dramatic Film at the Golden Globes — as gone to Avatar.
James Cameron also picked up the best director award for his first film since Titanic, which earned him the same two prizes.
Whether this will be reflected at the Oscars in March is another question – only five times in the past ten years have the Academy picked the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s best drama as its best film — but in 2003, the top Oscar went to Chicago, which had won the Golden Globe for Best Comedy or Musical.
That award, this year, went to The Hangover – arguably less likely than Avatar to appeal to Academy voters, although with double the number of Best Film nominations, it could at least be in with a chance.
The British film stars in the running this weekend missed out in the acting categories. Dame Helen Mirren, Emily Blunt and Carey Mulligan were up against each other for Best Actress in a Drama, but the prize went to Sandra Bullock, for The Blind Side.
Colin Firth was nominated in the Best Dramatic Actor category for A Single Man, but the award went to Jeff Bridges, for his portrayal of an ageing country singer in Crazy Heart.
Bullock failed to pick up a second award for the night, despite her nomination for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical, for The Proposal. This didn’t go to Meryl Streep for It’s Complicated either – she was beaten to it by – herself – in Julie & Julia.
Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical was Robert Downey Jr, for Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes.
The supporting awards went to Christoph Waltz as the Jew Hunter in Inglourious Basterds and Mo’Nique for Precious – perhaps ironic, given how supporting her character was to her daughter.
The only award of the night for Up In The Air was for its screenplay.
The Best Animated Feature prize went to Up, while The White Ribbon was honoured as the best foreign language film.
In the television categories, Dexter’s Michael C Hall beat House’s Hugh Laurie to the best actor in a drama series prize, while Alec Baldwin was honoured as the best actor in a comedy series, for 30 Rock — for the third year out of four.
The Best Actress awards went to series that won’t be known by most British viewers — Julianna Margulies picked up the drama prize for The Good Wife, and Toni Collette was the best comedy actress in a series for United States of Tara.
The Best Drama series went to Mad Men and the Best Comedy Series was Glee.