The Two Popes, about the transition from Pope Benedict XVI to the future Pope Francis, starred Jonathan Pryce and Anthony Hopkins and was up for four awards.
Written by Taranaki-raised McCarten, it missed out on best drama film to Sam Mendes' (almost) single-shot WWI masterpiece 1917, which opens here on Thursday. McCarten himself missed best screenplay, which went to Quentin Tarantino for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
Pryce was nominated for best actor in a drama film and Hopkins for best supporting actor.
Jojo Rabbit, about a young boy in Nazi Germany and his imaginary friend, Hitler, had two nominations. Child star Roman Griffin Davis, who plays Jojo, missed out on best performance by an actor in a musical or comedy, which went to Taron Egerton for his performance in Elton John biopic Rocketman. Waititi's film also missed best musical or comedy film, which also went to Tarantino's latest.
Best actor in a drama went to Joaquin Pheonix, for Joker, and actress in a drama to Renee Zellweger for Judy Garland biopic Judy. Mendes also won best director for 1917.
In TV, Succession, Fleabag and Chernobyl each won two awards. Martin Scorcese's much-fancied mob epic The Irishman didn't win any of the five awards it was nominated for. Noah Baumbach's Marriage Story won only one of six.
Like The Two Popes, The Irishman and Marriage Story were made by Netflix. So too Eddie Murphy-starring Dolemite Is My Name, which was up for two awards. That means the streaming giant bagged only one award from 17 nominations in the film categories.
Ellen Degeneres and Tom Hanks both received special achievement awards.
Crowe (and Aniston) weren't the only stars to refer to the Australian bushfires. Cate Blanchett and Pierce Brosnan were among the others. On a night noticeably short on commentary about the developing tension between the US and Iran, there were, nevertheless, other powerful speeches from award presenters and recipients.
Phoenix poked fun at awards season, suggesting to his fellow nominees "we all know there's no f****** competition betteen us and this thing is created to sell advertisements".
He went on to reference climate change, saying that while voting was important, those in the room could take some personal responsibility, including not taking private jets to Palm Springs (about 90 minutes' drive from Hollywood).
And Michelle Williams, who won best actress in a limited series or TV movie for her role as Gwenn Verdon in Fosse/Verdon, promoted abortion rights and exhorted women to make the most of their power at this year's looming US election.
"Women, please vote in your own self-interests. It's what men have been doing for years, which is why the world looks so much like them. Don't forget: we are the largest voting body in this country. Let's make it look more like us."
The awards were hosted by Ricky Gervais, whose opening routine took aim at stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Judi Dench, and director Martin Scorsese.
"It's been a big year for paedophile movies," he said, listing the documentaries Surviving R Kelly and Leaving Neverland, before a dig at the Catholic church with a mention of The Two Popes.
Gervais held back laughter as he talked about the easiest target of the night, the widely slated movie adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats.
He crudely joked Dench was "born to play" Old Deuteronomy because "she loves nothing more than raising her leg and licking [herself]".The comedian concluded his monologue by criticising corporate giants Amazon, Disney, and Apple, who all have streaming services.
He ended the show with a brief wrap-up, telling the audience to donate to Australia before adding, presumably to those in attendance: "Get drunk, take your drugs, f*** off."
The awards are voted on by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
FULL LIST OF WINNERS AND NOMINEES
Best Television Series - Drama
Succession (WINNER)
Big Little Lies
The Crown
Killing Eve
The Morning Show
Best Television Series - Comedy or Musical
Fleabag (WINNER)
Barry
The Kominsky Method
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
The Politician
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Comedy or Musical
Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Fleabag (WINNER)
Christina Applegate, Dead to Me
Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Kirsten Dunst, On Becoming a God in Central Florida
Natasha Lyonne, Russian Doll
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Comedy or Musical
Ramy Youssef, Ramy (WINNER)
Michael Douglas, The Kominsky Method
Bill Hader, Barry
Ben Platt, The Politician
Paul Rudd, Living With Yourself
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama
Brian Cox, Succession (WINNER)
Kit Harington, Game of Thrones
Rami Malek, Mr. Robot
Tobias Menzies, The Crown
Billy Porter, Pose
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama
Olivia Colman, The Crown (WINNER)
Jennifer Aniston, The Morning Show
Jodie Comer, Killing Eve
Nicole Kidman, Big Little Lies
Reese Witherspoon, The Morning Show
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Stellan Skarsgård, Chernobyl (WINNER)
Alan Arkin, The Kominsky Method
Kieran Culkin, Succession
Andrew Scott, Fleabag
Henry Winkler, Barry
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Patricia Arquette, The Act (WINNER)
Toni Collette, Unbelievable
Meryl Streep, Big Little Lies
Emily Watson, Chernobyl
Helena Bonham Carter, The Crown
Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Russell Crowe, The Loudest Voice (WINNER)
Jared Harris, Chernobyl
Sam Rockwell, Fosse/Verdon
Sacha Baron Cohen, The Spy
Christopher Abbott, Catch-22
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture
Laura Dern, Marriage Story (WINNER)
Kathy Bates, Richard Jewell
Annette Bening, The Report
Jennifer Lopez, Hustlers
Margot Robbie, Bombshell
Best Screenplay - Motion Picture
Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (WINNER)
Noah Baumbach, Marriage Story
Bong Joon Ho and Jin Won Han, Parasite
Anthony McCarten, The Two Popes
Steven Zaillian, The Irishman
Best Foreign Language Film
Parasite (WINNER)
The Farewell
Les Misérables
Pain and Glory
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Best Animated Feature Film
Missing Link (WINNER)
Frozen 2
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
The Lion King
Toy Story 4
Best Original Song - Motion Picture
I'm Gonna Love Me Again (Rocketman) — Elton John & Bernie Taupin (WINNER)
Beautiful Ghosts (Cats) — Taylor Swift & Andrew Lloyd Webber
Into the Unknown (Frozen 2) — Robert Lopez & Kristen Anderson-Lopez
Spirit (The Lion King) — Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Timothy McKenzie & Ilya Salmanzadeh
Stand Up (Harriet) — Joshuah Brian Campbell & Cynthia Erivo
Best Director - Motion Picture
Sam Mendes, 1917 (WINNER)
Todd Phillips, Joker
Martin Scorsese, The Irishman
Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Bong Joon Ho, Parasite
Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Michelle Williams, Fosse/Verdon (WINNER)
Kaitlyn Dever, Unbelievable
Joey King, The Act
Helen Mirren, Catherine the Great
Merritt Wever, Unbelievable
Best Television Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Chernobyl (WINNER)
Catch-22
Fosse/Verdon
The Loudest Voice
Unbelievable
Best Original Score - Motion Picture
Hildur Gudnadóttir, Joker (WINNER)
Alexandre Desplat, Little Women
Randy Newman, Marriage Story
Thomas Newman, 1917
Daniel Pemberton, Motherless Brooklyn
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture
Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (WINNER)
Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Anthony Hopkins, The Two Popes
Al Pacino, The Irishman
Joe Pesci, The Irishman
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Taron Egerton, Rocketman (WINNER)
Daniel Craig, Knives Out
Roman Griffin Davis, Jojo Rabbit
Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Eddie Murphy, Dolemite Is My Name
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Awkwafina, The Farewell (WINNER)
Cate Blanchett, Where'd You Go Bernadette?
Ana de Armas, Knives Out
Beanie Feldstein, Booksmart
Emma Thompson, Late Night
Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (WINNER)
Dolemite Is My Name
Jojo Rabbit
Knives Out
Rocketman
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama
Joaquin Phoenix, Joker (WINNER)
Christian Bale, Ford v Ferrari
Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory
Adam Driver, Marriage Story
Jonathan Pryce, The Two Popes
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama
Renée Zellweger, Judy (WINNER)
Cynthia Erivo, Harriet
Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story
Saoirse Ronan, Little Women
Charlize Theron, Bombshell
Best Motion Picture - Drama
1917 (WINNER)
The Irishman
Joker
Marriage Story
The Two Popes
