'Hustle' muscle at Golden Globe Awards; '12 Years a Slave' best drama

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. ­— Jennifer Lawrence picked up at the Golden Globes Sunday night where she left off at last year's Oscars — with an award in her hands, minus the pratfall.

Lawrence, who notably stumbled on her way to receive her best-actress Academy Award last February, was an unexpected supporting actress winner for David O. Russell's comic drama "American Hustle."

"Don't ever do this again, it's so scary," said a shaking Lawrence, who won over "Twelve Years a Slave" newcomer Lupita Nyong'o, whom many awards analysts had expected to win. Lawrence took the same stage a year ago, when her best-actress victory for "Silver Linings Playbook" presaged her Oscar triumph six weeks later.

"American Hustle" ended the night with the Globe for best comedy and another for lead actress Amy Adams. In her acceptance speech, Adams noted it was the 15th anniversary of her move to Los Angeles to launch her acting career — one that began in the Twin Cities on the stage of Chanhassen Dinner Theaters and in the Minnesota-shot indie film "Drop Dead Gorgeous."

"Twelve Years a Slave" took the prize for best drama after failing to win in any of the other seven categories in which it was a nominee. That included best director, which Alfonso Cuaron won for "Gravity." Matthew McConaughey ("Dallas Buyers Club") and Cate Blanchett ("Blue Jasmine") were named best actor and actress in a drama. Jared Leto was a supporting-actor winner for "Dallas Buyers Club," edging out a field that included Barkhad Abdi, the first-time Minneapolis actor who electrified audiences as a Somali pirate in the Tom Hanks film "Captain Phillips."

Leonardo DiCaprio took the prize for best actor in a comedy for "The Wolf of Wall Street."

In television, AMC's "Breaking Bad" and its star, Bryan Cranston, won in the drama category. HBO's "Behind the Candelabra" won best TV movie or miniseries, while Michael Douglas won best actor for his performance as the not-so-closeted gay piano star Liberace. And Andy Samberg's rookie comedy "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" won awards for best comedy and for its star.

But the trophies were almost a secondary draw Sunday night. A big portion of the TV audience and many of the honorees, as least judging from their red-carpet comments, were here to see hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler (who won a Globe herself for "Parks & Recreation.") Fortunately for them, a season that has found Sandra Bullock and George Clooney lost in space, Robert Redford lost at sea, and Meryl Streep lost in a pill-popping haze provided ample material.

"It's the story of how George Clooney would rather float away into space and die rather than spend one more minute with a woman his own age," Fey joked of "Gravity."

By and large, the entertainment industry has stopped laughing at the Globes and their idiosyncratic organizer, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Made up of about 85 mostly freelance journalists, the writers' group now only occasionally strays into puzzlements that used to be commonplace (Pia Zadora, New Star of the Year, 1981). Heading into this year's ceremony, some awards analysts marveled that voters actually seemed to nominate the year's most worthy films and performances.

The Globes are scrutinized each year for clues about which people and films will win at the Academy Awards. In truth, they do not predict much. This year, Oscar nomination voting ended Wednesday. The results will be unveiled Thursday morning, leaving the Golden Globes in an Oscar safe zone, limiting the effect of minor victories or major gaffes.

Still, even the perception of momentum will be seized upon by prognosticators, who could point to the Globes' best-drama victory for "Argo" last year as a prelude to its Oscar for best picture.

There was one notable absence Sunday: "Blue Jasmine" director Woody Allen, who made clear in advance that he would not personally accept his lifetime achievement award. Allen, who famously loathes Los Angeles, has nonetheless told associates that he holds a soft spot for the quirky Globe voters, who remind him of characters in his own "Stardust Memories."