Crouching Tiger the real winner at Globes

In a year when no one film has taken the lead in the race for the Academy Awards, the Golden Globe Awards on Sunday night offered no pointers. While Ridley Scott's Gladiator was named Best Picture (drama), its victory was overshadowed by the success of Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Crouching Tiger was only eligible, under the rules of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, to compete in the Best Foreign Film category which it won. But Lee himself beat both Scott and the favourite Steven Soderbergh, who was nominated twice for both Traffic and Erin Brockovich, as best director.

Crouching Tiger is now looking likely to snag both a Best Picture and Best Foreign Language Film nomination when the Oscar nominations are announced on Feb 14, and Ang Lee should easily win a Best Director nomination, a category for which he was overlooked for Sense And Sensibility and The Ice Storm.

Meanwhile Soderbergh could well prove his own worst enemy. The evening started well for him with wins for Traffic in the screenplay (Stephen Gaghan) and supporting actor (Benicio Del Toro) categories. And, as expected, Julia Roberts won the best actress (drama) prize for Erin Brockovich. But in the director and picture category, both films were overlooked. In the director category, Soderbergh no doubt split the vote, a situation which could be repeated at the Academy Awards.

Meanwhile DreamWorks/SPE co-production Almost Famous was winner of the Best Picture (Musical or comedy), beating a lacklustre field. Kate Hudson also won the supporting actress award, making Almost Famous one of three films to win two Globes. The others were Traffic and Gladiator.

Biggest studio winner of the evening was DreamWorks SKG with five awards for Gladiator, Almost Famous and Cast Away, films it co-produced with other studios. Universal took four for Gladiator, Erin Brockovich and O Brother Where Art Thou' - also all co-financed.

Meanwhile Sony Pictures Entertainment accounted for five trophies - two from Sony Pictures Classics for Crouching Tiger, and three for Columbia Pictures which co-financed Almost Famous and Erin Brockovich.

Top independent was USA Films with three Globes for Traffic and Nurse Betty.

BEST MOTION PICTURE - DRAMA
Gladiator

BEST MOTION PICTURE - MUCISAL OR COMEDY
Almost Famous

BEST DIRECTOR
Ang Lee, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

BEST ACTRESS - DRAMA
Julia Roberts, Erin Brockovich

BEST ACTOR - DRAMA
Tom Hanks, Cast Away

BEST ACTRESS - MUSICAL/COMEDY
Renee Zellwegger, Nurse Betty

BEST ACTOR - MUSICAL OR COMEDY
George Clooney, O Brother Where Art Thou'

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Kate Hudson, Almost Famous

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Benicio Del Toro, Traffic

BEST SCREENPLAY
Stephen Gaghan, Traffic

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Hans Zimmer, Gladiator

BEST SONG
Things Have Changed, Bob Dylan, Wonder Boys

BEST TELEVISION SERIES - DRAMA
The West Wing

BEST TELEVISION SERIES - MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Sex And The City

BEST ACTRESS - DRAMA
Sela Ward, Once And Again

BEST ACTOR - DRAMA
Martin Sheen, The West Wing

BEST ACTRESS - MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Sarah Jessica Parker, Sex And The City

BEST ACTOR - MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Kelsey Grammer, Frasier

BEST MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Dirty Pictures

BEST ACTRESS - MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Judi Dench, The Last Of The Blonde Bombshells

BEST ACTOR - MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Brian Dennehy, Arthur Miller's Death Of A Salesman

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Vanessa Redgrave, If These Walls Could Talk 2

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Robert Downey Jr, Ally McBeal