Sci-fi epic - and box office smash - Avatar has been named best drama film at the Golden Globes, with its creator, James Cameron, named best director.
The box office smash - it has taken more than $1.6 billion worldwide since its release last month - is widely tipped for Oscar honours.
Legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese was awarded the Cecil B DeMille award for his outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment.
Best actor honours went to Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side)and Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart) in the drama category, and to Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia) and Robert Downey Jr (Sherlock Holmes) in the comedy category.
TV and film fans and Hollywood's biggest stars braved the rain on the red carpet to reach the ceremony at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
Widely seen as a predictor of upcoming Oscars success, the Golden Globes are presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
Collette only Aussie winner
Toni Collette was the only Aussie honoured at the ceremony, taking out the best actress in a comedy award for The United States of Tara.
Fellow Australian nominees Simon Baker (The Mentalist) and Rose Byrne (Damages) both missed out.
The first winner of the night was comedian Mo'Nique, who took the best supporting actress prize for her performance as an abusive parent in the gritty drama Precious.
The 42-year-old beat competition from Penelope Cruz for Nine, Julianne Moore for A Single Man and Up In the Air duo Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendric.
She accepted the award from Nicole Kidman, who began the star-studded show with an appeal for donations to the Haiti earthquake relief effort.
Up named best animation
Pixar hit Up was named best animation, following a speech from presenter Sir Paul McCartney, who joked that cartoons were "not just for children, but also for adults who've taken a lot of drugs".
Michael C Hall's best TV actor trophy for Dexter was the second of the night for the series about a serial killer, after John Lithgow won the best supporting actor award.
Multi-Oscar winner Meryl Streep won the best actress in a comedy or musical for her critically-acclaimed portrayal of TV chef Julia Child in Julie & Julia.
Streep's competition for her category included herself, after she was also nominated for the romance It's Complicated.
"In my long career, I've played so many extraordinary woman that I'm getting mistaken for one," she insisted. "I'm very clear that I'm the vessel for other people's stories and other people's lives."
Glee, Mad Men TV winners
Child star-turned-leading lady Drew Barrymore won the best actress in a miniseries trophy for her role in Grey Gardens.
Germany's The White Ribbon took best foreign language film, while Austrian actor Christoph Waltz was named best supporting actor for his role in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds.
Waltz thanked the director for chosing him to play sadistic Nazi army officer Hans Landa.
"He took my modest little world and with the power of his talent and his words, he flung it into his orbit. A dizzying experience."
Las Vegas-set buck's night movie The Hangover won best comedy, while best TV comedy went to Glee, and Mad Men was named best TV drama.
