Winners of the 68th Annual Golden Globes

A scene from 'The Social Network'. Courtesy Sony Pictures.

The Social Network was the big winner at the 68th Annual Golden Globes on Sunday night, picking up prizes for Best Screenplay – Motion Picture (Aaron Sorkin), Best Director (David Fincher), Best Original Score (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross), and the top honour of Best Picture (Drama), beating out Black Swan, The Fighter, Inception, and The King’s Speech.

Selected by members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), and hosted by British comedian Ricky Gervais, the three-hour televised event also handed out awards to The Kids Are All Right for Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy), Susanne Bier’s In A Better World for Best Foreign Language Film, and Toy Story 3 for Best Animated Film.

The acting awards went to Colin Firth for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture (Drama) in The King’s Speech, Natalie Portman for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture (Drama) in The Black Swan, Paul Giamatti for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy) in Barney’s Version, and Annette Bening for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy) in The Kids Are All Right. Christian Bale and Melissa Leo won Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress for their roles in The Fighter.

Unlike the Academy Awards, the Golden Globes also honour work in television. HBO’s latest show, Boardwalk Empire, scooped Best Television Series (Drama), and Steve Buscemi picked up Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series (Drama) for his part in it. Katey Sagal walked away with Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series (Drama) for Sons of Anarchy, and Glee scored Best Television Series (Musical or Comedy) and also earned actors Jane Lynch and Chris Colfer awards for their supporting roles. The Big Bang Theory‘s Jim Parsons won Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series (Musical or Comedy), and Laura Linney, who was absent from the ceremony since her father passed away recently, took home Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series (Musical or Comedy) for The Big C.

Al Pacino and Claire Danes were also honoured for their mini-series work in You Don’t Know Jack and Temple Grandin, respectively, and Carlos, the story of Venezuelan revolutionary Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, won Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television (even though it opened at the TIFF Bell Lightbox last fall it was indeed a mini-series first).

Gervais must have hit a nerve early on with some of his cracks towards Hollywood, the HFPA, and members of the audience, as he disappeared for a good portion of the show only to return later in the broadcast looking a bit solemn. I personally thought he was doing a good job keeping the otherwise boring Globes exciting, but from the reaction on Twitter and Facebook I’m obviously in the minority.

Did you watch the broadcast? If so, do you think Gervais did a good job as host? Do you think The Social Network will continue its streak and win Best Picture at the Oscars? Chime in in the comments below and let us know.

For a full list of winners and nominees at the 68th Annual Golden Globes, visit goldenglobes.org.