Golden Globes film awards: Brits triumph at glitz-free event

No applause greeted this year's Golden Globes winners who included Johnny Depp, Cate Blanchett and David Duchovny, and no movie stars were in attendance at last night's news conference which replaced the ceremony cancelled by the writer's strike. It was a far cry from years past, when Jack Nicholson sat at the front table and luminaries such as Leonardo Di Caprio and Denzel Washington opened envelopes to reveal the winners determined by the 82-member Hollywood Foreign Press Association. This year, TV entertainment journalists announced who’d won in a show that lasted just about 30 minutes.

Which was bad luck for the Brits who took the two big film acting awards - Julie Christie for Away from Her and Daniel Day Lewis for There Will Be Blood (above) - while Atonement won best drama.

Cate Blanchett was the first award recipient, winning for her portrayal of Bob Dylan in I'm Not There, which was a surprise in the supporting actress category as Amy Ryan from Gone Baby Gone had been considered the favourite. (Continued below)

Atonement, starring Keira Knightley and James McAvoy, won for Best Drama, beating out stalwart contenders There Will Be Blood and Michael Clayton, while Tim Burton's grisly adaptation of Sweeney Todd: the Demon Barber of Fleet Street was chosen as best musical or comedy, with its star Johnny Depp winning his first-ever Globe - for best comedy or musical actor.

Julie Christie was named best dramatic actress for Away From Her, starring as a woman succumbing to Alzheimer's who forms a new attachment to a fellow patient that causes heartache for her steadfast husband. Meanwhile Day Lewis seems headed for a best acting Oscar, after taking the best dramatic actor award for his performance in There Will Be Blood.

Marion Cotillard beat Helena Bonham Carter for best actress in a musical or comedy for her personification of singer Edith Piaf in La Vie En Rose, playing the French icon from youth through middle age and into her ailing final years.

Julian Schnabel, the New York artist turned film-maker, had a good night: he won best director and best foreign language for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. The best animation award went to Ratatouille.

Javier Bardem won best supporting actor for No Country for Old Men, playing a merciless killer tracking a fortune in crime cash. There were, of course, no speeches, but Bardem, refusing to be outdone, issued a statement: "It is a great honour to have been recognised with this award in a time when there are so many outstanding performances in this category." No Country for Old Men also won the screenplay prize for writer-directors Ethan and Joel Coen.