The intricate international drama Babel was named the best dramatic movie of 2006 at the Golden Globe Awards while Dream Girls bagged the best musical prize.
Babel, a Mexican-made movie, was the hot favourite with seven nominations but lost in every race until California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced the biggest prize of Monday night.
"I swear I have my papers, governor, I swear," Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu joked in his acceptance speech. "The power of cinema is universal," he continued. "This is a very meaningful award, not only for us, but for the Mexican film industry."
The win catapults the Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett movie into a frontrunner for the Oscars. But
Babel
faces tough competition from
Dreamgirls
, which won three Globes, including best musical or comedy, and also from the thriller
The Departed
whose director Martin Scorsese was named best director.
Clint Eastwood's Letters from Iwo Jima is also in contention after it was named best foreign language movie on a night when Hollywood's royalty turned out in force for the industry's second most important award show.
Other winners at the glittering event included Helen Mirren, who was named best dramatic actress for her role in the British royalty drama The Queen, and Forest Whitaker, who was named best dramatic actor for playing former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland.
Meryl Steep was named best actress in a comedy or musical for her role in The Devil Wears Prada while Sacha Baron Cohen was named best actor in a musical or comedy for his appearance in the hit movie Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.
{{/usCountry}}Meryl Steep was named best actress in a comedy or musical for her role in The Devil Wears Prada while Sacha Baron Cohen was named best actor in a musical or comedy for his appearance in the hit movie Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.
{{/usCountry}}Dreamgirls co-stars Jennifer Hudson and Eddie Murphy won supporting actor prizes for their roles in the film.
"Oh, my God. Thank you so much," Hudson said on the verge of tears. "Wow. I have always dreamed but never, ever this big."
Cars was named the best animated movie while The Song of the Heart, from the animated Happy Feet, was named best original song in a motion picture. The award for best miniseries or TV movie went to HBO's Elizabeth I.
Warren Beatty was awarded the Cecil B DeMille Award for lifetime achievement.