Scorsese soars as Swank aims for awards one-two

THE Howard Hughes epic The Aviator was the big winner at the Golden Globes with three awards, including best dramatic picture, but Sunday night’s ceremony was a split decision for Martin Scorsese, who lost the directing prize to Clint Eastwood for his boxing saga Million Dollar Baby.

The Globes also set up an Academy Awards rematch between Hilary Swank and Annette Bening, while Jamie Foxx firmed up his Oscar front-runner status.

Scorsese’s win for The Aviator gave him the edge for finally coming away with a best-picture win at the Oscars.

The road-trip comedy Sideways was named best musical or comedy film, while lead-acting honours went to Swank for Million Dollar Baby, Bening for the theatre farce Being Julia, Foxx for the Ray Charles film biography Ray and Leonardo DiCaprio as Hughes in The Aviator.

Clive Owen and Natalie Portman won supporting-acting honours for the sex drama Closer. Their wins were a bit surprising given that Morgan Freeman for Million Dollar Baby and Cate Blanchett for The Aviator had been viewed as more likely favourites.

Foxx, considered the best-actor favourite for the Oscars on February 27, said backstage it was the best night of his life, winning the prize for his uncanny recreation of singer Charles, who died last year.

Bening won the musical or comedy actress prize for Being Julia, playing a conniving 1930s stage diva exacting vengeance on the duplicitous men in her life. It was the first awards-worthy role Bening has had since American Beauty five years ago, when she was the front-runner but lost the Golden Globe dramatic prize and the best-actress Oscar to underdog Swank for Boys Don’t Cry.

Swank downplayed the potential Oscar rematch with Bening.

“I don’t really see it as competition,” she said. “Annette’s amazing, and she was so gracious to me five years ago when we were both nominated. She gave me good advice and she was gracious, and she’s an inspiration.”

The Globes historically serve as a solid forecast that helps set the odds for subsequent film honours.

Million Dollar Baby filmmaker Eastwood already has delivered a best-picture Oscar winner and won the academy’s directing honour for Unforgiven. But Scorsese is arguably the most prominent contemporary director without a best-picture or directing Oscar to his credit.

In the TV categories, Desperate Housewives won for best musical or comedy series, and Nip/Tuck was honoured as dramatic series, beating The Sopranos, 24 and Lost.

Teri Hatcher beat her co-stars Marcia Cross and Felicity Huffman for best actress in a TV musical or comedy. Hatcher thanked ABC for giving “me a second chance at a career when I couldn’t have been a bigger has-been”.

Motion Pictures -

Picture, Drama: The Aviator

Director: Clint Eastwood, Million Dollar Baby

Actor, Drama: Leonardo DiCaprio, The Aviator

Actress, Drama: Hilary Swank, Million Dollar Baby

Picture, Musical or Comedy: Sideways

Actor, Musical or Comedy: Jamie Foxx, Ray

Actress, Musical or Comedy: Annette Bening, Being Julia.