Irish Actors Scoop Two Golden Globe Awards
Bord Scannan na hEireann/the Irish Film Board congratulates Ireland's leading actors Colin Farrell and Gabriel Byrne on winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical and Best Actor in a TV series respectively.
Colin Farrell was nominated alongside Irish actor Brendan Gleeson in the Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical for his in In Bruges. Other nominees included Javier Bardem (Vicky Cristina Barcelona), James Franco (Pineapple Express) and Dustin Hoffman (Last Chance Harvey).
Irish actors Gabriel Byrne and Jonathan Rhys Meyers were both nominated in the Best Actor in a TV series. Gabriel Byrne was nominated for his role as a psychoanalyst in the critically acclaimed American medical drama In Treatment, while Jonathan Rhys Meyers was nominated for his role in the Canadian/ Irish co-production The Tudors. Other nominees included Jon Hamm and January Jones from Mad Men, Hugh Laurie for House and Michael C. Hall for Dexter.
In Bruges the low budget comedy directed by Irish playwright and filmmaker Martin McDonagh was also nominated for Best Feature Comedy with Burn After Reading, Happy-Go-Lucky, Mamma Mia!, and Vicky Cristina Barcelona.
"Two Golden Globe awards and four nominations for Irish actors is an indication of the huge wealth of talent the Irish film industry has to offer. We're delighted to see Colin Farrell and Gabriel Byrne receive this recognition at the highest level of their profession" said Simon Perry, Chief Executive, Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board.
Minister for Arts. Sport and Tourisn Martin Cullen commented: “Gabriel Byrne and Colin Farrell are both wonderfully charismatic actors and their success in winning Golden Globes, which are such significant international awards, are indicative of their immense talent and versatility as artists. I would like to congratulate both actors on their success and I am sure their personal achievements last night will be welcomed by all in the Irish film industry.”
Minister Cullen added: “I would also like to acknowledge Irish actors Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Brendan Gleeson who also received best actor nominations in addition to playwright Martin McDonagh, who wrote and directed ‘In Bruges’ - which was nominated for Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy. It was an auspicious night in America for innovative Irish talent and it demonstrates that we have some of the best international artists whose individual creative ability continues to occupy centre stage.”
Speaking about Irish film and television production, Minister Cullen said: “Of all the forms of culture, film and television reaches potentially one of the widest audiences and is a vitally important part of establishing and shaping our image and reputation abroad. Recent enhancements by Government to the Section 481 tax relief scheme - which includes an increase in the individual investor cap for those wishing to invest in film in Ireland to €50,000 per annum with a 100% relief on that investment - will allow the Irish film sector compete internationally to bring major inward investment productions to Ireland, while strengthening indigenous film and TV production.”
Presented annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association the 66th Golden Globes were held in Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel last night and are televised live to over 150 countries.
The full list of Golden Globe award winners are as follows:
BEST FEATURE - DRAMA
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" - Warner Bros. Pictures and Paramount Pictures; Warner Bros. Pictures and Paramount Pictures
"Frost/Nixon" - Imagine Entertainment, Working Title, Studio Canal; Universal Pictures
"The Reader" - Mirage Enterprises; The Weinstein Company
"Revolutionary Road" - An Evamere Entertainment BBC Films Neal Street Production; DreamWorks Pictures in Association with BBC Films and Paramount Vantage
WINNER: "Slumdog Millionaire" - Fox Searchlight Pictures and Warner Bros.; Fox Searchlight Pictures and Warner Bros.
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams - "Doubt"
Penelope Cruz - "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
Viola Davis - "Doubt"
Marisa Tomei - "The Wrestler"
WINNER: Kate Winslet - "The Reader"
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"Down To Earth" from "Wall-E" - Music By: Peter Gabriel, Thomas Newman; Lyrics By: Peter Gabriel
"Gran Torino" from "Gran Torino" - Music By: Clint Eastwood, Jamie Cullum, Kyle Eastwood, Michael Stevens; Lyrics By: Jamie Cullum
"I Thought I Lost You" from "Bolt" - Music & Lyrics By: Miley Cyrus, Jeffrey Steele
"Once In A Lifetime" from "Cadillac Records" - Music & Lyrics By: Beyoncé Knowles, Amanda Ghost, Scott Mcfarnon, Ian Dench, James Dring, Jody Street
WINNER: "The Wrestler" from "The Wrestler" - Music & Lyrics By: Bruce Springsteen
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Neil Patrick Harris - "How I Met Your Mother"
Denis Leary - "Recount"
Jeremy Piven - "Entourage"
Blair Underwood - "In Treatment"
WINNER: Tom Wilkinson - "John Adams"
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Eileen Atkins - "Cranford"
WINNER: Laura Dern - "Recount"
Melissa George - "In Treatment"
Rachel Griffiths - "Brothers And Sisters"
Dianne Wiest - "In Treatment"
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES - DRAMA
WINNER: Gabriel Byrne - "In Treatment"
Michael C. Hall - "Dexter
Jon Hamm - "Mad Men
Hugh Laurie - "House
Jonathan Rhys Meyers - "The Tudors
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES - DRAMA
Sally Field - "Brothers And Sisters"
Mariska Hargitay - "Law And Order: Special Victims Unit"
January Jones - "Mad Men"
WINNER: Anna Paquin - "True Blood"
Kyra Sedgwick - "The Closer"
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
"Bolt" - Walt Disney Pictures; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
"Kung Fu Panda" - DreamWorks Animation SKG; Paramount Pictures
WINNER: "Wall-E" - Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
ACTRESS - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Rebecca Hall - "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
WINNER: Sally Hawkins - "Happy-Go-Lucky"
Frances McDormand - "Burn After Reading"
Meryl Streep - "Mamma Mia!"
Emma Thompson - "Last Chance Harvey"
MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
"A Raisin in the Sun" - Sony Pictures Television, Storyline Entertainment and Bad Boy Worldwide Entertainment
"Bernard and Doris" - Trigger Street Independent Productions in association with Little Bird and Chicago Films and HBO Films
"Cranford" - A Co-Production of BBC and WGBH Boston.
WINNER: "John Adams" - Playtone in association with HBO Films
"Recount" - Spring Creek/Mirage Productions in association with Trigger Street Productions, Everyman Pictures and HBO Films
SUPPORTING ACTOR
Tom Cruise - "Tropic Thunder"
Robert Downey Jr. - "Tropic Thunder"
Ralph Fiennes - "The Duchess"
Philip Seymour Hoffman - "Doubt"
WINNER: Heath Ledger - "The Dark Knight"
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
"The Baader Meinhof Complex" ("Der Baader Meinhof Komplex")(Germany) - Constantin Film Produktion GmbH; Summit Entertainment, LLC
"Everlasting Moments" ("Maria larssons eviga ögonblick") (Sweden) - Final Cut Productions Aps; IFC Films
"Gomorrah" ("Gomorra") (Italy) - Fandango; IFC Films
"I've Loved You So Long" ("Il y a longtemps que je t’aime") (France) - UGC YM/UGC Images/France 3 Cinema/Integral Film; Sony Pictures Classics
WINNER: "Waltz with Bashir" (Israel) - Bridgit Folman Film Gang/Les Films D'Ici/Razor Films/Arte France/ITVS International; Sony Pictures
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Judi Dench - "Cranford"
Catherine Keener - "An American Crime"
WINNER: Laura Linney - "John Adams"
Shirley Maclaine - "Coco Chanel"
Susan Sarandon - "Bernard And Doris"
SCREENPLAY - MOTION PICTURE
WINNER: Simon Beaufoy - "Slumdog Millionaire"
David Hare - "The Reader"
Peter Morgan - "Frost/Nixon"
Eric Roth - "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
John Patrick Shanley - "Doubt"
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
WINNER: Alec Baldwin - "30 Rock"
Steve Carell - "The Office"
Kevin Connelly - "Entourage"
David Duchovny - "Californication"
Tony Shalhoub - "Monk"
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Ralph Fiennes - "Bernard and Doris"
WINNER: Paul Giamatti - "John Adams"
Kevin Spacey - " Recount"
Kiefer Sutherland - "24: Redemption"
Tom Wilkinson - "Recount"
TELEVISION SERIES - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
WINNER: "30 Rock" - Universal Media Studios in association with Broadway Video and Little
Stranger Inc.
"Californication" - Showtime Presents in association with Aggressive Mediocrity, And Then...
"Entourage" - Leverage and Closest to the Hole Productions in association with HBO Entertainment
"The Office" - Deedle Dee Productions, Reveille LLC, Universal Media Studios
"Weeds" - Lionsgate Television
BEST SCORE
Alexandre Desplat - "The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button"
Clint Eastwood - "Changeling"
James Newton Howard - "Defiance"
WINNER: A. R. Rahman - "Slumdog Millionaire"
Hans Zimmer - "Frost/Nixon"
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES -COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Christina Applegate - "Samantha Who?"
America Ferrera - "Ugly Betty"
WINNER: Tina Fey - "30 Rock"
Debra Messing - "The Starter Wife"
Mary-Louise Parker - "Weeds"
TELEVISION SERIES - DRAMA
"Dexter" (Showtime) - Showtime/John Goldwyn Productions/The Colleton Company/Clyde Phillips Productions
"House" (Fox) - Universal Media Studios In Association With Heel And Toe Films, Shore Z Productions And Bad Hat Harry Productions
"In Treatment" (HBO) - Sheleg, Closest To The Hole Productions In Association With HBO Entertainment
WINNER: "Mad Men" (AMC) - Lionsgate Television
"True Blood" (HBO) - Your Face Goes Here Productions In Association With HBO Entertainment
DIRECTOR - MOTION PICTURE
WINNER: Danny Boyle - "Slumdog Millionaire"
Stephen Daldry -"The Reader"
David Fincher -"The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button"
Ron Howard - "Frost/Nixon"
Sam Mendes -"Revolutionary Road"
ACTOR - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Javier Bardem - "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
WINNER: Colin Farrell - "In Bruges"
James Franco - "Pineapple Express"
Brendan Gleeson - "In Bruges"
Dustin Hoffman - "Last Chance Harvey"
BEST FEATURE - COMEDY
"Burn After Reading" - Working Title/Releasing Company; Focus Features in association with Studio Canal
"Happy-Go-Lucky" - Summit Entertainment, Film4, Ingenious Film Partners, Miramax Films; Miramax Films
"In Bruges" - Blueprint Pictures; Focus Features
"Mamma Mia!" - Relativity Media, Playtone, Littlestar; Universal Pictures
WINNER: "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" - Mediapro; The Weinstein Company
ACTRESS - DRAMA
Anne Hathaway - "Rachel Getting Married"
Angelina Jolie - "Changeling"
Meryl Streep - "Doubt"
Kristin Scott Thomas - "I've Loved You So Long"
WINNER: Kate Winslet - "Revolutionary Road"
ACTOR - DRAMA
Leonardo DiCaprio - "Revolutionary Road"
Frank Langella - "Frost/Nixon"
Sean Penn - "Milk"
Brad Pitt - "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
WINNER: Mickey Rouke - "The Wrestler"