Hobbits ruled the Golden Globes as The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King won four trophies including best dramatic film.
Lost in Translation, a story of two lonely Americans who find friendship in a Tokyo hotel, collected three awards on Sunday, including best comedy film, best comedy actor for Bill Murray and best screenplay for Sofia Coppola, who wrote, produced and directed the film.
Rings master Peter Jackson was recognized as best director, and the film won two musical awards.
``I never realized that seven years on this movie would end up turning me into a Hobbit,'' Jackson said, referring to the shortish, big-footed magical characters in the J.R.R. Tolkien stories. ``To all of the actors, our magical cast, you just gave so much to the movies and equally importantly you made it so much fun to work on.''
Sean Penn collected best movie drama actor for playing an emotionally ravaged father seeking revenge for his daughter's murder in Mystic River, and Charlize Theron won the drama actress honor for Monster, the story of a prostitute serial killer.
Theron thanked writer-director Patty Jenkins for believing she could play the role. ``There's only so much you can do, but if somebody doesn't give you a chance there is nothing you can do.''
Murray thanked Coppola and went on to dryly mock Hollywood award speeches, declaring he had fired all his agents and representatives and had no one else to thank.
He also poked fun at the idea that comedy performers are overshadowed by dramatic stars. ``Too often we forget our brothers on the other side of the aisle -- the dramatic actors,'' he said. ``I'd just like to say: Where would our war, our miseries and our psychological traumas come from?''
Coppola, collecting the best screenplay trophy, thanked her father -- The Godfather director and co-writer Francis Ford Coppola, calling him ``a great screenwriting teacher.''
Diane Keaton as an older woman in love in Something's Gotta Give collected a Golden Globe for lead comedy performances. ``Getting to play a woman to love at 57 is like reaching for the stars with a step ladder. I know I got lucky,'' said Keaton.
The Afghan film Osama, about a 12-year-old girl's struggle to keep the Taliban from finding out her true identity, won the foreign language film award. Osama is the first entirely Afghan film shot since the rise and fall of the Taliban, and the actors were all amateurs.
``I would like to dedicate this prize to the people who lost their trust in too much promises, to the people who lost the meaning of luck, to the people who gave me a wonderful film, Osama,'' said writer and director Siddiq Barmak.
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association event is regarded by many in Hollywood as one of the year's biggest parties, but it's also a way to generate front-runner buzz for the Oscars. Oscar nominations will be announced Tuesday, and the Academy Awards ceremony is set for Thursday, about three weeks earlier than previous years.
The Globes are distributed by a relatively small group, about 90 journalists who cover entertainment for foreign-based media outlets.
Among TV nominees, HBO's six-hour adaptation of playwright Tony Kushner's Angels in America won five trophies, including best miniseries or TV movie.
BBC America's The Office, which stars co-creator Ricky Gervais as an annoying boss at a British paper merchant, defeated Arrested Development, Monk, Sex and the City and Will & Grace for best comedy show. The critically lauded The Office is being developed into an American version.
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