Success for Cameron and 'Avatar' at Golden Globes

The science-fiction blockbuster 'Avatar' won best drama at the Golden Globes and picked up the directing honour for James Cameron, raising the 'Titanic' filmmaker's prospects for another Academy Awards triumph.

It was a repeat of Cameron's Globes night 12 years ago, when 'Titanic' won best drama and the directing prize on its way to dominating the Oscars.

This time, though, instead of being "king of the world," as Cameron declared at the Oscars, he became king of an alien landscape, elevating space fantasy to enormous critical acclaim.

"'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.

Winning the dramatic-acting honours were Sandra Bullock for the American football tale 'The Blind Side' and Jeff Brides for the country-music story 'Crazy Heart'.

The crowd gave a standing ovation to Bridges, a beloved veteran generally overlooked for key Hollywood honours.

The acting prizes for musical and comedy went to Meryl Streep for the Julia Child story 'Julie & Julia' and Robert Downey Jr for the crime romp 'Sherlock Holmes'.

The supporting-performance Globes were won by Mo'Nique as an abusive welfare mother in 'Precious' and Christoph Waltz as a gleefully bloodthirsty Nazi in 'Inglourious Basterds'.

The Las 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 honours.

"I just want to thank my mom, who supported my decision to become a director when she realised I wasn't as smart as my two sisters," said 'Hangover' director Todd Phillips.

As he accepted the directing Globe, Cameron had kind words for ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow, nominated as best director for 'The Hurt Locker'.

"Frankly, I thought Kathryn was going to get this. She richly deserves it," said Cameron, whose 'Titanic' earned the directing and best-drama Globes 12 years ago on its way to Academy Awards triumph.

The blockbuster Up came away with the award for animated film.

While Streep is a perennial at awards shows, the prize marked a dramatic turning point for Mo'Nique, who was mainly known for lowbrow comedy but startled audiences with her ferocious performance in 'Precious'.

"First let me say, thank you, God, for this amazing ride that you're allowing me to go on," the tearful Mo'Nique told the crowd.

She went on with gushing praise for 'Precious' director Lee Daniels and newcomer Gabourey Sidibe, a best dramatic actress nominee at the Globes with her first film role, playing Mo'Nique's abused, illiterate daughter.

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."

Waltz, a veteran Austrian actor who is a relative newcomer in Hollywood, won the supporting-actor Globe as a gleefully bloodthirsty Nazi in Quentin Tarantino's 'Inglourious Basterds'.

"A year and a half ago I was exposed to the gravitational forces of Quentin Tarantino," Waltz said.

"He took my modest little world, my globe, and with the power of his talent and his words and his vision, he flung it into its orbit, a dizzying experience."

Though one of Hollywood's biggest parties, the Globes bore sombre reminders of tragedy in the real world, many stars wearing ribbons in support of earthquake victims in Haiti.

Films from Pixar Animation, the Disney outfit that made 'Up', 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 honour for 'Up in the Air', which Reitman also directed. The foreign-language honour went to 'The White Ribbon', a stark drama of guilt and suspicion set in a German town on the eve of the First World War.

'Mad Men' won for best TV drama, while Michael C. Hall won for best actor in a TV drama for 'Dexter', in which he plays a serial killer with a code of ethics, killing only other murderers.

'Dexter' also won the supporting-actor TV honour for John Lithgow. Other TV winners included Juliana Margulies as best actress in a drama for 'The Good Wife' and Toni Collette as best comedy actress for 'The United States of Tara'.

The winners could get a last-minute boost for the Oscars, whose nominations voting closes on Saturday. Last year's big Globe winner, 'Slumdog Millionaire', went on to dominate the Oscars.

The Globes are presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a group of about 90 reporters covering show business for overseas outlets.

Golden Globe Awards full list of winners:

Best Motion Picture - Drama: ‘Avatar’

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama: Sandra Bullock, ‘The Blind Side’

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama: Jeff Bridges, ‘Crazy Heart’

Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical: ‘The Hangover’

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical: Meryl Streep, ‘Julie and Julia’

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical: Robert Downey Jr., ‘Sherlock Holmes’

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture: Mo’Nique, ‘Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire’

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture: Christoph Waltz, ‘Inglourious Basterds’

Best Animated Feature Film: ‘Up’

Best Foreign Language Film: 'The White Ribbon’

Best Director - Motion Picture: James Cameron, ‘Avatar’

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture: Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner, ‘Up in the Air’

Best Original Score - Motion Picture: Michael Giacchino, ‘Up’

Best Original Song - Motion Picture: Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett, ‘The Weary Kind,’ ‘Crazy Heart’

Best Television Series - Drama: 'Mad Men'

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama: Julianna Margulies, ‘The Good Wife’

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama: Michael C. Hall, ‘Dexter’

Best Television Series - Comedy or Musical: ‘Glee’

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Comedy or Musical: Toni Collette, ‘United States of Tara’

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Comedy or Musical: Alec Baldwin, ‘30 Rock’

Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made For Television: 'Grey Gardens’

Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made For Television: Drew Barrymore, ‘Grey Gardens’

Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made For Television: Kevin Bacon, ‘Taking Chance’

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made For Television: Chloe Sevigny, ‘Big Love’

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made For Television: John Lithgow, ‘Dexter’