‘Slumdog’ sweeps at Golden Globes

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – “Slumdog Millionaire” lived up to its underdog theme at Sunday’s Golden Globes, sweeping all four of its categories, including best drama and director for Danny Boyle.

Kate Winslet won two Globes all on her own, best dramatic actress for “Revolutionary Road” and supporting actress for “The Reader.” “The Wrestler” also had two, dramatic actor for Mickey Rourke and best song for Bruce Springsteen.

“Golden Globes, or the GGs as we very affectionately refer to them – your mad, pulsating affection for our film is much appreciated. Really, deeply appreciated,” Boyle said.

“Slumdog Millionaire” also won best screenplay and musical score, firming up its prospects for the Academy Awards. The film features a generally unknown cast in the story of an orphan boy in Mumbai who rises from terrible hardship to become a champ on India’s version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” all the while trying to reunite with a lost love from his childhood.

“We really weren’t expecting to be here in America at all at one time, so it’s just amazing to be here,” said Simon Beaufoy, whose winning script was adapted from Vikas Swarup’s novel “Q & A.”

Winslet, who has previously been nominated five times without winning at both the Globes and Oscars, won for her role as a woman in a crumbling marriage in “Revolutionary Road” and as a former Nazi concentration camp guard in “The Reader.”

“Revolutionary Road” was directed by Winslet’s husband, Sam Mendes, and reunited her with her “Titanic” co-star Leonardo DiCaprio.

To DiCaprio, Winslet gushed: “I’ve loved you for 13 years and your performance in this film is nothing short of spectacular.” To Mendes, she added: “Thank you for directing this film, babe, and thank you for killing us every single day and really enjoying us actually being in such horrific pain.”

Woody Allen’s Spanish romance “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” won for best musical or comedy film.

The three films that led the Globe field with five nominations each – “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “Doubt” and “Frost/Nixon” – all were shut out.

As expected, the late Heath Ledger earned the supporting-actor Globe for his diabolical turn as the Joker in the Batman blockbuster “The Dark Knight.”

Rourke won for a role as a former wrestling star who gets a last chance at glory in the ring, a theme that mirrors the actor’s life after he derailed his career with bad-boy behavior.

“It’s been a very long road back for me,” said Rourke, who poured out his thanks to “The Wrestler” director Darren Aronofsky.

Other acting winners were Sally Hawkins as musical or comedy actress for her role as an eternal optimist in “Happy-Go-Lucky”; and Colin Farrell for musical or comedy actor for “In Bruges,” in which he plays a hit man lying low in a Belgian tourist town.

Among TV categories, “30 Rock” won best comedy series, with stars Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin earning the acting Globes in a musical or comedy. “Mad Men” won best TV drama.