Actress Jennifer Lawrence poses with her award for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture for her role in the film "American Hustle" backstage at the 71st annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California January 12, 2014. [Photo/Agencies]

 

Hollywood kicks off 2014 awards season with Golden Globes

71st Golden Globe Awards

Oscar-winner Jennifer Lawrence won the Golden Globe for best supporting actress on Sunday for her role as the loopy wife of a con man in "American Hustle," the first major honor of the inaugural ceremony in the 2014 Hollywood awards season.

"American Hustle," a romp through 1970s corruption in New York, is one of the frontrunners for the 71st Annual Golden Globe Awards, an important but not entirely accurate barometer for the film industry's highest honors, the Academy Awards to be held on March 2.

Lawrence gave a breathless acceptance speech, thanking the film's director, David O. Russell, for making her career what it is today after she won a best actress Oscar last year for his previous film, "Silver Linings Playbook."

"I don't know why I'm so scared ... I'm sorry I'm shaking so much. Don't ever do this again," Lawrence said, kicking off the show hosted by comic actors Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.

"American Hustle" leads nominees with seven nods along with "12 Years a Slave," the brutal depiction of pre-Civil War slavery. They are competing for best motion picture in different categories, comedy or musical and drama, respectively.

"Gravity," starring Sandra Bullock as an astronaut lost in space and life, also ranks high in experts' predictions and could give "12 Years a Slave" a challenge for the night's most coveted award, best drama.

The Golden Globes, under the purview of some 90 journalists in the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, have outsized clout in the awards race as buzz around these first honors influences members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in their voting for the Oscars.

Oscar nominations will be announced on Thursday, but voting has already concluded. The Globes have a mixed record when it comes to predicting the Oscar best picture, though last year's best drama winner, "Argo," did go on to win the Academy Award for best movie.