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ENTERTAINMENT & SHOWBIZ: THE GOLDEN GLOBES

Trophies for Jamie Foxx, Annette Bening who won acting awards

Photo: William Shatner won for best supporting actor in a series, mini-series or television movie for his work on "Boston Legal".

BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA- Jamie Foxx of Ray, Annette Bening of Being Julia and Clive Owen and Natalie Portman of the sex drama Closer won Golden Globes on Sunday, boosting their prospects for the upcoming Academy Awards. Jamie Foxx, considered a front-runner for the best-actor Academy Award for the title role in the Ray Charles film biography Ray, won for best actor in a movie musical or comedy. Bening won for best actress in a movie musical or comedy, playing a gleefully conniving stage diva in 1930s London. "We had a hell of a good time making this movie, and we love it," said Bening, who thanked husband Warren Beatty with the remark, "the lunch at the pizza joint was delicious." She also thanked Robert Lantos, the Toronto producer behind Being Julia, which was the opening gala at last fall's Toronto International Film Festival Portman's and Owen's wins as supporting players in a film were something of a surprise, with contenders such as Morgan Freeman for Million Dollar Baby and Cate Blanchett for The Aviator considered more likely favourites beforehand.

Owen and Portman offered profuse thanks to Closer director Mike Nichols. "Mike Nichols I love you, you're the nicest, smartest, wisest daddy - friend, rock star," Portman said. "Wow," Owen said. "Huge thanks to Mike Nichols, who gave me the opportunity and guided us through the film so brilliantly." The oddball romance Sideways, the Howard Hughes epic The Aviator and the boxing drama Million Dollar Baby were among key contenders at the Globes.Sideways had a leading seven nominations, including best musical or comedy film.

Lead actor Paul Giamatti and director Alexander Payne also had nominations. Among dramas, The Aviator led with six nominations, including best picture, director for Martin Scorsese and lead actor for Leonardo DiCaprio. A major celebrity party in their own right, the Globes serve as the most prominent ceremony in Hollywood's pre-game show leading up to the Academy Awards on Feb. 27. Unlike the more reserved Oscars, the Globes are done in less-formal banquet style, allowing celebrities to kick back and mingle. "It's very loose, the food is great, you get to hobnob with people on the film and TV side," said Tony Shalhoub, a nominee for best actor in a TV musical or comedy for Monk. Nip/Tuck won for best dramatic TV series, while The Life and Death of Peter Sellers took the Globe for best TV movie or miniseries and Jason Bateman of Arrested Development for actor in a comedy series. Other television winners included Mariska Hargitay of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as dramatic actress, Ian McShane as dramatic actor for Deadwood, Anjelica Huston as supporting actress for the suffrage film Iron Jawed Angels, and Montreal-born William Shatner as supporting actor for Boston Legal.

"I really wanted to win," Shatner said afterward backstage, where he fielded questions about playing sinister attorney Denny Crane after decades of being typecast as space hero Capt. Kirk in Star Trek. "It's all part of the fun of acting. Acting is like being in a sandbox and pretending, so this is part of the pretense." The Globes are awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, whose small membership of about 90 people pales compared to the nearly 6,000 film professionals eligible to vote for the Oscars. Yet the Globes historically serve as a solid forecast that helps set the odds for subsequent film honours. Golden Globe winners gain attention that can put them on the inside track for prizes from acting, directing and other filmmaking guilds, momentum that often sticks with them right through Oscar night. All four of last year's Oscar winners for acting -- Sean Penn, Charlize Theron, Tim Robbins and Renee Zellweger -- earned Golden Globes first. Best-picture champ The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and its director, Peter Jackson, also preceded their Oscar triumphs with Globe wins. Along with The Aviator, other dramatic best-picture nominees for the 62nd annual Golden Globes were Closer, Finding Neverland, Hotel Rwanda, Kinsey and Million Dollar Baby. Joining Sideways and Phantom of the Opera in the best musical or comedy race were Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Incredibles and Ray. Besides best actor in a musical or comedy for Ray, Foxx scored nominations for supporting actor in the thriller Collateral and actor in a TV movie or miniseries for the prison drama Redemption. Robin Williams, a five-time Globe winner for such films as The Fisher King and Good Morning, Vietnam, was to receive the Cecil B. DeMille award for career achievement. D-Germin.