Maverick filmmaker Quentin Tarantino was a surprise screenplay winner for “Django Unchained,” his controversial spaghetti Western set during the slavery era, beating out such favorites as the writers of “Zero Dark Thirty,” “Lincoln,” “Argo,” and “Silver Linings Playbook.”
“Wow, I wasn’t expecting this,” said an effusive Tarantino. “I'm happy to be surprised.”
Tarantino’s win meant one more loss for Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln,” which had gone into the ceremony leading with seven nominations. So far, the historical epic has been shut out.
PHOTOS: Nominees & winners | Red carpet
Meanwhile, Anne Hathaway sang her way to a Golden Globe for supporting actress in a movie as the tragic Fantine in the musical “Les Miserables.”
With her pixie haircut and tasteful white gown, Hathaway was reminiscent of a young Audrey Hepburn, charming viewers as she thanked her co-stars, family and friends — and had a special thanks for Sally Field, nominated in the same category for “Lincoln.” She noted that Field forged a career that resisted typecasting — something Hathaway has struggled with as well. Field had played the Flying Nun on TV but went on to play Norma Rae and, more recently, Mary Todd Lincoln
PHOTOS: Golden Globes 2013 red carpet
"Thank you for this lovely blunt object," Hathaway told the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. “I'll forever use it as a weapon against self-doubt.”
Earlier in the evening, the movers and shakers of Hollywood leaped to their feet Sunday night to welcome former U.S. President Bill Clinton on stage at the 70th annual Golden Globe Awards as he introduced the clip for the best dramatic picture nominee “Lincoln.”
Clinton, whose appearance was a well-kept secret, noted the challenges the 16th president faced as he toiled to end the Civil War and slavery. “We’re all here tonight because he did it,” Clinton said.
GLOBES 2013: Full coverage | Red Carpet | Ballot | Nominees | Snubs
“Wow,” exclaimed co-host Amy Poehler as Clinton left the stage. “That was Hillary Clinton’s husband! That was exciting!”
On the TV side, Showtime’s “Homeland” and HBO’s “Game Change” continued its winning ways.
“Homeland,” the political thriller that counts President Obama as one of its biggest fans, won its second consecutive award for drama series Sunday night at the 70th annual Golden Globe Awards. Claire Danes won her second consecutive Globe for the series, and co-star Damian Lewis also took home the lead-actor trophy. The series had dominated the Emmy Awards last September.
“Game Change,” the drama about Sarah Palin’s history-making run for the vice presidency of the United States in 2008, had also performed well at the Emmys. And it was more of the same Sunday. It snapped up three awards, including miniseries or TV movie, supporting actor for Ed Harris, and lead actress in a miniseries or TV movie for Julianne Moore for her uncanny channeling of Palin.
Lena Dunham won best actress in a comedy series for HBO's "Girls" while Don Cheadle won lead actor in a TV comedy series for Showtime’s “House of Lies.” Kevin Costner won lead actor in a miniseries or TV movie for “Hatfields & McCoys.” Maggie Smith, who was not present, also won for supporting actress in a TV series, miniseries or movie for playing the acerbic dowager in PBS' "Downton Abbey.”
In other film honors, Jennifer Lawrence won lead actress in a comedy or musical for “Silver Linings Playbook” for her performance as a widow in the quirky romantic comedy.
Golden Globes 2013: Live updates | List | Red Carpet | Winners | Ballot | Full coverage
“I beat Meryl!” Lawrence joked as she accepted the trophy. (Meryl Streep was nominated in the same category, for “Hope Springs.”) Among Lawrence’s thank-yous: “Thank you, Harvey Weinstein, for killing whoever you had to kill to get me up here.”
Austria’s “Amour” won foreign language film. "Brave" won for best animated film. Mychael Danna won for writing the score for Ang Lee’s “Life of Pi.” Original song went to pop singer Adele and Paul Epworth for “Skyfall,” the title tune for the latest James Bond installment.
Christoph Waltz also won for supporting actor in a film for playing a bounty hunter in Quentin Tarantino’s “Django Unchained.” Tarantino is the Austrian actor’s good-luck charm. Waltz won in the same category for Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds” three years ago. “My indebtedness to you and my gratitude knows no words,” he told the filmmaker as he accepted the award.
Hosts Poehler and Tina Fey were bringing the funny as the ceremony was being telecast live on NBC from the Beverly Hilton Hotel’s International Ballroom. The pair began by poking fun of pill-popping Hollywood and “rat-faced” TV types and joked about the controversy surrounding Kathryn Bigelow's “Zero Dark Thirty.”
Cracked Poehler: “When it comes to torture, I trust the woman who spent three years married to James Cameron.”
Perhaps the evening will help end the longstanding debate about whether women are funny -- an issue tackled by Fey on "30 Rock."
But a bigger question is looming: Will the Golden Globes bring clarity to this topsy-turvy awards season?
The awards season has been wildly unpredictable, with plenty of outstanding movies to choose from -- but few clear-cut front-runners.
The Directors Guild of America, for example, nominated Bigelow and Ben Affleck for “Argo” and the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards named “Argo” as best film and Affleck as best director. Yet neither Affleck nor Bigelow earned a directing nod from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences when the nominations were announced last week.
The historical epic “Lincoln” goes into the Globes with a record seven nominations, followed by the spaghetti Western “Django Unchained” and “Argo” with five. Affleck and Bigelow are also in contention for best director.
Other races to watch are the musical “Les Miserables” and romantic comedy “Silver Linings Playbook,” vying for best film in a comedy or musical.
Don’t look for “Beasts of the Southern Wild” Sunday night. The magical indie drama earned four Oscar nominations, including best film, director and actress, but was snubbed by the Globes.
The Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. also presents Golden Globes in several television categories with HBO’s political drama “Game Change” leading the pack of nominations with five, followed by PBS’ beloved British drama “Downton Abbey” with four.
After a controversial three-year stint as host, Ricky Gervais turned over the emcee duties to Globe nominees Poehler (“Parks & Recreation”) and Fey (“30 Rock”). And it seems like the Globe’s show party-like atmosphere will continue with these comic actresses.
During a recent interview, the “Saturday Night Live” alums outlined the rules for a Golden Globes drinking / meatball sub-eating game: Drink any time an actress cries during her speech, and eat a meatball sub any time someone thanks film mogul Harvey Weinstein.
ALSO:
VOTE: Play-at-home Globes ballot
PHOTOS: Red carpet fashion at the Golden Globes
susan.king@latimes.com and rene.lynch@latimes.com
