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BEVERLY HILLS - Film newcomer Jennifer Hudson won the award for best supporting actress in a movie musical or comedy at the Golden Globe Awards on Monday for her powerful performance as a singer scorned in Dreamgirls.
Hudson, fighting back tears, called it an honour.
"Oh, my God. Thank you so much," she said. "Wow. I have always dreamed but never, ever this big. This goes far beyond anything I could ever have imagined."
The awards, which are voted on by nearly 90 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, are a major stop on the road to the February 25 Academy Awards because winners here often go on to compete for Oscars -- the film industry's top awards.
In another early award, The Song of the Heart, from the animated Happy Feet, won for best original song in a motion picture.
Along with being a major stepping stone on the way to Oscars, which are given out by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Golden Globes are televised around the world, so the stars show up dripping in diamonds and wearing glamorous designer gowns and tuxedos.
It is a night in which Hollywood gets super-serious about partying, looking good and patting itself on the back.
Parading up the red carpet outside the awards gala were a who's who of superstardom: Jack Nicholson, Steven Spielberg, Brad Pitt alongside companion Angelina Jolie, Will Smith and wife Jada Pinkett Smith.
The Smiths noted the Golden Globes were a fun event to attend but making it even better is the fact that Will Smith is nominated for best actor in a drama for his role as a man who overcomes tremendous adversity to better himself in The Pursuit of Happyness.
"When you get nominated, you're a little more inspired to come out," he joked on the red carpet.
Fashions for the actresses ranged from full-length gowns like the glittering gold dress worn by pop singer Beyonce, who also stars in Dreamgirls, to knee-high dresses such as that adorning by Renee Zellweger, nominated for best acting in a comedy or musical, Miss Potter.
- REUTERS
