GLEE AND SOCIAL NETWORKING SHINE AT THE GLOBES.

There was plenty of Glee in Hollywood where the TV show about a song-filled high school walked away with all the TV comedy awards at the Golden Globes – the first major awards ceremony of the year.

The British comedian and creator of The Office, Ricky Gervais, hosted an evening of glitz and glamour for a second successive year, opening with a nod to the increasing number of 3D films, and suggesting that the only film of the past year without 3D characters was The Tourist. This raised the question of how the film got three nominations – was it because the members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association just wanted to spend the evening with Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp. It certainly couldn’t be the fabled bribes, he suggested, because who would see tickets to a Cher concert as a bribe. “It’s not 1975,” he quipped.

Accepting the Golden Globe for BEST TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL for “Glee” (FOX) is producer Ryan Murphy, at the 68th Annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, CA on Sunday, January 16, 2011.

After a digging his comedic claws into more of Hollywood’s favorites, the evening launched with Christian Bale taking the Best Supporting Actor trophy for playing the drug-addicted brother of boxing champion Micky Ward in The Fighter. The film also picked up the prize for best supporting actress: Melissa Leo played the mother of the pair.

The top acting prizes went to Colin Firth for playing King George VI in the drama, The King’s Speech, Natalie Portman for the ballet drama Black Swan, Paul Giamatti for the comedy Barney’s Version and Annette Bening for the lesbian comedy The Kids Are All Right, which also took the prize for best comedy. Best Drama went to The Social Network, which also took the prizes for best director, for David Fincher. Aaron Sorkin’s screenplay for the same film also won him a Golden Globe.

The HFPA’s annual awards ceremony also honors the best achievement in television, where, as in the film categories, the main prizes are handed separately to dramas and comedies. Katey Segal’s performance in Sons of Anarchy earned her the best actress award for drama. Steve Buscemi took the best acting award for Boardwalk Empire, which also won best TV drama. Glee took the prize for Best Comedy series, as well as best supporting actor in a comedy, for Chris Colfer, and Jane Lynch was the best supporting actress for the same show.

The best actress in a comedy series was Laura Linney, the star of The Big C. And Jim Parsons, from Big Bang Theory, was awarded the Golden Globe for best actor in a TV comedy.

Bridging the gap between television and films are categories for miniseries and TV movies. Olivier Assayas’ biopic of the terrorist Carlos the Jackal, Carlos, won the main prize in this category, with Al Pacino taking the Golden Globe for best actor in a miniseries or TV movie for playing another real-life character, the euthanasia doctor Jack Kevorkian, in the TV movie You Don’t Know Jack. The best actress in this category went to Claire Danes for her portrayal of another real person, the Autistic Author-scientist Temple Grandin.

Other awards included Toy Story 3 for Best Animated Feature, the Danish film In A Better World took the Best Foreign Language Film, Cher’s song You Haven’t Seen The Last of Me was the Best Song, for Burlesque, and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’s score for The Social Network also earned them a Golden Globe.

The Golden Globe Awards ceremony is the biggest and most glamorous event in Hollywood calendar. The awards are considered by the industry as the best indicators for next month’s Oscars.

In their speeches, tonight’s winners expressed their gratitude, to their collaborator, but mainly to Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) for recognizing their work and their talent.

The Golden Globe awards are voted for by the 83 HFPA members, who also organize the ceremony and co produce the show with The Dick Clark Productions. More than 19 million viewers tuned in to watch the show last year on NBC, and many expect this number to be even higher this year.

Earlier, more than 200 stars from Hollywood and beyond marched along the red carpet, dressed in their finest gowns and dripping with diamond and other jewelery, as they were showered by cameras flashes and their names were shouted by the screaming fans.

Surrounded by so many of their peers, the stars seemed to be at ease, loitering around the ballroom or sipping drinks in the outdoor bar and chatting with colleagues and friends. In fact, the Golden Globe ceremony is one of those rare events where one would bumps into stars more than into mortals. You become so used to it that I didn’t raise an eyebrow when Robert De Niro walked in the restroom with us.

Right after the ceremony, six parties, held by different studios, kick off in different venues inside the Beverly Hilton hotel, honoring their nominees and tonight’s winners.

The ceremony is over but the party has just started. The Golden Globe event is indeed the best party in town.

Just in case you missed it, here is the Golden Globes winner’s list (2011)

Best Motion Picture, Drama
The Social Network

Best Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical
The Kids Are All Right

Best Director – Motion Picture
David Fincher – The Social Network

Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama
Colin Firth – The King’s Speech

Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama
Natalie Portman – Black Swan

Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Comedy
Paul Giamatti – Barney’s Version

Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Comedy
Annette Bening – The Kids Are All Right

Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
Christian Bale – The Fighter

Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
Melissa Leo – The Fighter

Best Animated Feature Film
Toy Story 3

Best Foreign Language Film
In A Better World (Denmark)

Best Screenplay – Motion Picture
Aaron Sorkin – The Social Network

Best Original Score – Motion Picture
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross – The Social Network

Best Original Song – Motion Picture
“You Haven’t Seen The Last Of Me” – Burlesque

Best Television Series – Drama
Boardwalk Empire

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series – Drama
Katey Sagal – Sons Of Anarchy

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series – Drama
Steve Buscemi – Boardwalk Empire

Best Television Series – Comedy Or Musical
Glee

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series – Comedy Or Musical
Laura Linney – The Big C

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series – Comedy Or Musical
Jim Parsons – The Big Bang Theory

Best Performance by an Actress In A Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Claire Danes – Temple Grandin

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Chris Colfer – Glee

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Jane Lynch – Glee

Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Al Pacino – You Don’t Know Jack

What did you think of the Golden Globes winner’s list (2011)? Were you caught off guard by any of them?