And the Golden Globe goes to…

The lowdown on one of the biggest awards shows in Hollywood.

BEVERLY HILLS: With awards season in full swing, stars are out in full force, dressed to the nines and eyeing those coveted statuettes. The Golden Globes were no different, and here’s who won, who lost, and most importantly, who looked the best (which we’ve covered in our red carpet roundup).

While hosts Tina Fey and Any Poehler’s opening monologue was arguably the best ten minutes of the night, there were quite a few memorable moments overall, as Jaqueline Bisset unofficially won the award for Worst Golden Globes Acceptance Speech Ever, and Presenter Emma Thompson flung her heels across the stage before announcing the winner.

12 Years a Slave took the coveted Golden Globe for Best Drama and American Hustle won Best Musical or Comedy film, in a kick-off to a Hollywood awards season that attests to a difficult selection for the jury, given a year crowded with high-quality movies.

American Hustle, a romp through corruption in the 1970s directed by David O Russell, was the top winner of the night, taking home three of its seven nominations for the 71st Annual Golden Globe Awards.

Director Steve McQueen's brutal depiction of pre-Civil war slavery in 12 Years a Slave only won one award out of its seven nominations, and was shut out from the acting honours.

The top drama acting awards went to Oscar frontrunner Cate Blanchett for her turn as a riches-to-rags socialite in Woody Allen's tragic-comedy Blue Jasmine, and Matthew McConaughey for his unlikely AIDS activist in Dallas Buyers Club, a role for which he lost 50 pounds.

His co-star Jared Leto took the best supporting actor Globe for his role as Rayon, a transsexual with AIDS. We predict that Leto will soon be adding ‘Oscar Winner’ to his resume for the same role.

Amy Adams won Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy for her role as the conniving partner to a con-man played by Christian Bale in American Hustle, while Jennifer Lawrence took Best Supporting Actor for her turn as his loopy wife.

Leonardo DiCaprio won Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy for his role as a fast-living, drug-popping, swindling stockbroker in the The Wolf of Wall Street, his fifth collaboration with director Martin Scorsese.

"As the history of cinema unfolds, you will be regarded as one of the great artists of all time," DiCaprio told Scorsese as he accepted his Golden Globe. Many are hopeful that this will be the year that the Academy will finally recognize DiCaprio’s acting prowess and present him with a long overdue Oscar Statuette for Best Actor.

Mexican filmmaker Alfonso Cuaron won Best Director for his existential space thriller Gravity, and director Spike Jonze took home the Globe for Best Screenplay for his quirky computer-age comedy Her, starring Joaquin Phoenix.

Woody Allen was honoured with the Cecil B DeMille award, recognizing outstanding contribution to the entertainment field. Famously averse to awards shows, the 78-year-old Allen sent one of his favourite actresses, Diane Keaton, to stand in for him. Allen’s ex-wife, Mia Farrow, went the joking route about the tribute.

Time to grab some icecream & switch over to #GIRLS

— Mia Farrow 🏳️‍🌈 🌻🇺🇸💙 (@MiaFarrow) January 13, 2014

The battle for Awards glory has just begun.

Here’s the full list of Golden Globe winners

Best motion picture, drama: 12 Years a Slave

Best actress in a motion picture, drama: Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine

Best actor in a motion picture, drama: Matthew McConaughey - Dallas Buyers Club

Best motion picture, comedy or musical: American Hustle

Best actress in a motion picture, musical or comedy: Amy Adams - American Hustle

Best actor in a motion picture, musical or comedy: Leonardo DiCaprio - The Wolf of Wall Street

Best animated feature film: Frozen

Best supporting actress in a motion picture: Jennifer Lawrence - American Hustle

Best supporting actor in a motion picture: Jared Leto - Dallas Buyers Club

Best director, motion picture: Alfonso Cuaron - Gravity

Best TV series, drama: “Breaking Bad”

Best actress in a TV series, drama: Robin Wright – “House of Cards”

Best actor in a TV series, drama: Bryan Cranston- “Breaking Bad”

Best TV series, musical or comedy: “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”

Best actress in a TV series, musical or comedy: Amy Poehler – “Parks and Recreation”

Best actor in a TV series, musical or comedy: Andy Samberg – “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”

Watch a slideshow of pictures from the red carpet here.