It was the little independent film that could.  “Slumdog Millionaire” won big at the 66^th Annual Golden Globe Awards on Sunday, January 11, 2009 taking home four awards including Best Motion Picture-Drama and Best Director for Danny Boyle.  This is great news for the film, which has received tremendous praise from critics, giving it even more momentum as the Oscar nominations are slated to be announced on Thursday, January 22, 2009.  The film also picked up awards for Best Screenplay and Best Original Score.

Actress Kate Winslet was emotional as she accepted her award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in "The Reader." Photo courtesy of Paul Drinkwater/NBC.

In two unforgettable moments from the show, actress Kate Winslet was a double winner picking up the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for her role in “The Reader” and taking home the award for Best Actress in a Drama for her terrific turn in “Revolutionary Road.”  Winslet was extremely gracious and emotional during both acceptance speeches, noting that she had a “habit of not winning things.”  While winning for “Revolutionary Road,” Winslet thanked her co-star Leonardo DiCaprio, her husband, Sam Mendes who directed the film and her children.

As expected by many industry insiders, Heath Ledger won the award for Best Supporting Actor for his phenomenal turn as The Joker in “The Dark Knight.”  The actor who passed away last January received a standing ovation from the audience as the film’s director, Christopher Nolan accepted the award on his behalf. 

Mickey Rourke proved that everybody in Hollywood loves a comeback story as he walked away with the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Drama for his powerful performance in “The Wrestler.”  He dedicated his award to the film’s director Darren Aronofsky who fought for him to get the part.  “He hates it when I say he’s tough, but he’s one tough son of a bitch,” Rourke said during his speech.  Aronofsky responded with a finger to Rourke; classic, something you would only see at a Golden Globe show. 

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “Doubt” and “Frost/Nixon,” which each garnered five Golden Globe nods walked away empty-handed during Sunday night’s ceremony.  Other surprises included Sally Hawkins’ win for Best Actress in a Musical/Comedy for “Happy Go Lucky.”  The actress was stunned as she took the stage to accept her award.

On the television side, “30 Rock” won for Best Comedy Series and its stars Alec Baldwin and Tiny Fey walked away with the awards for Best Actor and Best Actress in a Comedy Series.  But it was co-star, Tracy Morgan who stole the show as he accepted the award on behalf of the cast.

“Tina Fey and I had an agreement if Barack Obama won, I would speak for the show from now on,” Morgan stated.  The audience responded with an uproar of laughter, an unforgettable moment of the night. 

Anna Paquin won the award for Best Actress in a Drama Series for her role in HBO’s “True Blood,” while Gabriel Byrne picked up the award for Best Actor in a Drama Series for HBO’s “In Treatment.” 

Now that the Golden Globe ceremony has come and gone, up next is the Screen Actors Guild Awards in two weeks and the Academy Awards in February.  Guess we’ll have to wait and see who comes out on top this awards season.           

-