Golden Globes 2012 recap: “The Artist” and “The Descendants” rule the night

Photo: The 2012 Golden Globes, courtesy HFPA

Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg also picked up statues.

“The Descendants” waited until the last two Golden Globes awards of the night to prove that it is still a major contender in the awards season race. The Alexander Payne flick walked away with two of the most prestigious honors of the night: Best Picture — Drama and Best Actor — Drama.

Producer Jim Taylor offered up the first acceptance speech for the Best Picture win and described star George Clooney as the “quarterback” of the production who “helped everyone do their very best.” He appropriately described the role as Clooney’s “career best performance,” as Clooney had won the Best Actor award earlier in the night.

But it really was “The Artist’”s to shine. The movie won three awards during the night, including Best Picture — Comedy or Musical, Best Actor — Comedy or Musical and Best Score. If that isn’t a sure sign that “The Artist” is a frontrunner in the Oscar race, we don’t know what is. Producer Thomas Langmann kept his Best Picture acceptance speech short and sweet, thanking those closest to the project as well as his late father.

“Thank you Harvey Weinstein, the punisher, the boss, and this incredible cast but most of all thank you to [director] Michel [Hazanavicius], not only for your unique film but for who you are,” Langmann said.

Interestingly enough, it was neither “The Descendants” director Alexander Payne or “The Artist’s” Hazanavicius who took home the Best Director prize. That honor went to Martin Scorsese for “Hugo.” He thanked his wife, who suggested to him that he “make a film that our daughter can see for once.” That award is the only award “Hugo” took home during the night.

The two leading ladies of the 2012 Golden Globes were Meryl Streep and Michelle Williams. Streep won Best Actress — Drama for her role as Margaret Thatcher in “The Iron Lady.” She started her acceptance speech with, “When [host] Ricky Gervais‘s deal fell through and came to me to play Margaret Thatcher” but then quickly trailed off and admitted, I can’t joke.” Williams won Best Actress — Comedy or Musical for “My Week With Marilyn.”

“Beginners” won the only award it was nominated for during the night — Best Supporting Actor for Christopher Plummer. He was up against some pretty hefty competition, including likely candidate Albert Brooks for his performance in “Drive,” Jonah Hill in “Moneyball,” Viggo Mortensen in “A Dangerous Method” and Kenneth Branagh in “My Week With Marilyn.”

Octavia Spencer won her first Globe for “The Help” tonight, earning the film its only win with her best supporting dramatic actress award. “A Separation” solidified itself as a likely contender to take home the Oscar for best foreign film as it won the Globe tonight. And absent nominee Woody Allen won the award for best screenplay for his latest film, “Midnight in Paris.”

It really was no contest for the best animated film Globe. Steven Spielberg took home the award for “The Adventures of Tintin,” his first animated film. Spielberg made sure to thank his partner Peter Jackson, the executives at Paramount and Sony for being conviced that “Peter and I could make the telephone book if we wanted to,” and lastly his star Andy Serkis, who Speilberg dubbed as “the man of many digital faces.”

Madonna won the Golden Globe for Best Song, “Masterpiece,” which was featured in the movie she both wrote and directed, “W.E.” It’s the first time the Super Bowl halftime show singer has won a Globe since she was named best actress in a comedy or musical doe “Evita” at the 1996 awards show.

For a list of all of the night’s winners, click here.

What did you think of tonight’s Golden Globes winners and loser? Who did you think was snubbed? Tell us in the comments section below or on Facebook and Twitter.