Los Angeles - George Clooney, Michelle Williams and Meryl Streep are the early winners at the 69th Golden Globe Awards held Sunday evening at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, Los Angeles.
Clooney won the major acting prize, the Best Actor in a Drama, for his role in Alexander Payne's tragic-comic film "The Descendants". The movie is about a land baron who tries to reconnect with his two daughters after his wife suffers a boating accident.
The nine-time Golden Globe-nominee for both his television work on "ER" and such films as "Michael Clayton" thanked fellow nominee Brad Pitt for his good work and Michael Fassbender for taking over the "frontal nudity responsibilities".
Clooney was also nominated this year for Best Director and Best Screenplay for "The Ides of March", a political thriller.
The Golden Globe for Best Actor in a motion picture comedy or musical went to Jean Dujardin for "The Artist".
Williams won the Best Actress award in a motion picture (musical or comedy) category for her portrayal of Marilyn Monroe in "My Week with Marilyn". She dedicated her award to Matilda Ledger, her 6-year-old daughter.
"I consider myself a mother first and an actress second. The person I most want to thank is my daughter, my little girl, whose bravery and exuberance is the example that I take with me in my work and in my life," Williams said during her acceptance speech.
Meryl Streep won the Best Actress award in a drama for "The Iron Lady", beating out strong contenders including Rooney Mara in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", Viola Davis in "The Help", Glenn Close in "Albert Nobbs" and Tilda Swinton in "We Need to Talk about Kevin".
Martin Scorsese upset the annual awards presentation by beating other contenders Michel Hazanavicius ("The Artist"), George Clooney ("Ides of March"), Alexander Payne ("The Descendants") and Woody Allen ("Midnight in Paris"), to garner the Best Director award for his film "Hugo".
"Thank you so much," the 69-year-old director said. "Sit down, everybody. Thank you, Hollywood Foreign Press."
Kate Winslet won Best Performance by an Actress in a TV miniseries/movie for her role in HBO's "Mildred Pierce". The actress, who is also an Emmy Award winner, also got a Golden Globe nod for "Carnage", Roman Polanski's latest production.
Madonna won the Golden Globe award for Best Original Song in a motion picture for W.E.'s "Masterpiece".
"This is a surprise," she said during her acceptance speech.
The evening's first award, the Best Supporting Actor in a feature film, went to Christopher Plummer for "Beginners". He played an elderly widower who comes out as gay.
