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The Aviator has been named best film at the Golden Globe Awards, with its star Leonardo DiCaprio named best actor. Hollywood veteran Clint Eastwood took the best director prize for Million Dollar Baby while its star Hilary Swank was best actress. Quirky comedy Sideways was named best screenplay and best comedy. Ray star Jamie Foxx was best actor in a musical/comedy while Briton Clive Owen and Natalie Portman won prizes for best supporting roles in Closer. The Aviator, in which DiCaprio plays millionaire Howard Hughes, edged ahead of its rivals at the Beverly Hills ceremony by winning the best original score prize. This give it a total of three awards while Million Dollar Baby, Sideways and Closer took two Golden Globes each. Accepting his best dramatic actor prize, DiCaprio described director Martin Scorsese as “one of the greatest contributors to the world of cinema of all time”. Annette Bening won best actress in a musical/comedy for Being Julia while Spanish movie The Sea Inside was named best foreign language film. Swank, who previously won the Golden Globe and Oscar for Boys Don’t Cry, paid tribute to Million Dollar Baby director and co-star Clint Eastwood. “You guided us so brilliantly, while you also, in my humble opinion, gave the performance of your career,” she said. Foxx was nominated for three awards but was beaten to the best supporting actor title by Owen and the best actor in a TV movie prize by Geoffrey Rush in The Life and Death of Peter Sellers. A BBC co-production, The Life and Death of Peter Sellers was also named best TV movie. Mick Jagger and Dave Stewart won the best original song award for Old Habits Die Hard from movie re-make Alfie, while Ian McShane was named best actor in a TV drama for his lead role in Deadwood. Other UK hopes Kate Winslet and Imelda Staunton went home empty-handed despite lead actress nominations for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Vera Drake respectively. Winning a Golden Globe is said to improve a film or performer’s chance of subsequently winning an Academy Award. Unlike the Oscars, the Golden Globes split awards by genre – one prize for dramas and the other for musicals and comedies. The Globes also honour the best in television, with suburban series Desperate Housewives named best TV comedy show. Actress Teri Hatcher beat fellow Desperate Housewives stars Marcia Cross and Felicity Huffman to the best comedy actress prize. Hatcher thanked the show’s cast, crew and “a network who gave me a second chance at a career when I couldn’t have been a bigger ‘has been’”. Cosmetic surgery series Nip/Tuck beat The Sopranos and Deadwood to the best television drama title. Arrested Development star Jason Bateman was named best TV actor in a musical or comedy series. The Golden Globes are awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, comprising film reporters based in Los Angeles and working for overseas outlets. Robin Williams, a five-time Globe winner for such films as The Fisher King and Good Morning, Vietnam, received the Cecil B DeMille award for career achievement. He dedicated his prize to Superman actor Christopher Reeve, who died last year.

The director and screenwriter of the film adaptation of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials is to remove references to God and the church in the movie. Chris Weitz, director of About a Boy, said the changes were being made after film studio New Line expressed concern. The books tell of a battle against the church and a fight to overthrow God. “They have expressed worry about the possibility of perceived anti-religiosity,” Weitz told a His Dark Materials fans’ website. Pullman’s trilogy has been attacked by some Christian teachers and by the Catholic press as blasphemy. Weitz, who admitted he would not be many people’s first choice to direct the films, said he regarded the film adaptation as “the most important work of my life”. “In part because it is one of the few books to have changed my life,” he told bridgetothestars.net. The award-winning trilogy – Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass – tell the story of Oxford school child Lyra Belacqua. She is drawn into an epic struggle against the Church, which has been carrying out experiments on children in an attempt to remove original sin. As the books progress the struggle turns into a battle to overthrow the Authority, a figure who is God-like in the books. Weitz, who directed American Pie and About A Boy, said New Line feared that any anti-religiosity in the film would make the project “unviable financially”. He said: “All my best efforts will be directed towards keeping the film as liberating and iconoclastic an experience as I can. “But there may be some modification of terms.” Weitz said he had visited Pullman, who had told him that the Authority could “represent any arbitrary establishment that curtails the freedom of the individual, whether it be religious, political, totalitarian, fundamentalist, communist, what have you”. He added: “I have no desire to change the nature or intentions of the villains of the piece, but they may appear in more subtle guises.” There are a number of Christian websites which attack the trilogy for their depiction of the church and of God, but Pullman has denied his books are anti-religious. His agent told the Times newspaper that Pullman was happy with the adaptation so far. “Of course New Line want to make money, but Mr Weitz is a wonderful director and Philip is very supportive. “You have to recognise that it is a challenge in the climate of Bush’s America,”

Movie monster Godzilla has received a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame, honouring both his 50th birthday and the launch of his 28th film. An actor dressed as the giant creature breathed smoke over photographers on Monday as Godzilla received the 2,271st star on Hollywood Boulevard. “Godzilla should thank you for this historical and monumental star,” said Final Wars producer Shogo Tomiyama. “But unfortunately, he cannot speak English,” he added. Hollywood’s honorary mayor, Johnny Grant, said: “I do hereby proclaim this Godzilla Day in Hollywood. “He’s loose, he’s wild, and I’m getting the hell out of here,” he added. The premiere of Godzilla: Final Wars at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre followed the ceremony on Hollywood Boulevard. The monster was joined by co-stars including Japanese pop star and actor Masahiro Matsuoka. Director Ryuhei Kitamura said it may not be Godzilla’s final outing, as it has been billed. “That’s what the producers say. But the producer’s a liar,” he said. “[Godzilla’s] been working for the last 50 years. So, I think Godzilla just deserves a vacation.” And producer Shogo Tomiyama added: “So long as Godzilla can fascinate people, I believe he will be resurrected by new generations of filmmakers in the future.” Godzilla first appeared in 1954 as a prehistoric lizard woken by atomic bomb tests.

US actor Jamie Foxx has been given two nominations for Golden Globe awards, with Meryl Streep, Morgan Freeman and Cate Blanchett also up for prizes. The stars were shortlisted on Monday for supporting roles, with the main nominations still to come. Foxx has starred in Collateral and Ray. Clive Owen, David Carradine and Natalie Portman are also up for awards. The Golden Globes, Hollywood’s second most prominent awards, are the first major nominations to be announced. Last year, The Lord Of the Rings: The Return Of the King was named best drama movie while Lost In Translation won best musical or comedy. Sean Penn, Charlize Theron, Tim Robbins and Renee Zellweger all won acting awards – mirroring the eventual Oscars outcome. The Golden Globes ceremony will take place on 16 January, with the Oscars following on 27 February.

Quirky comedy Sideways was named the best film of the year by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. The US movie also picked up four other accolades including best director for Alexander Payne and supporting actor for Thomas Haden Church. British actress Imelda Staunton has again been recognised for her role in Vera Drake, winning best actress, while Liam Neeson won best actor for Kinsey. The awards will be handed out on 13 January at a ceremony in Las Vegas. Sideways tells the story of two men who take a road trip through California’s wine regions and also stars Paul Giamatti. Virginia Madsen was also named best supporting actress for her performance in the film. House of Flying Daggers, directed by Yimou Zhang, was named best foreign language film, while the animation award went to The Incredibles. Unusually, the runners-up in categories were also named with Clint Eastwood’s Million Dollar Baby just missing out on the best film award. The best director runner-up was Martin Scorsese for The Aviator. A career achievement award will be handed to veteran actor and comic Jerry Lewis at the ceremony next year.

A German movie about an anti-Nazi resistance heroine has drawn loud applause at Berlin Film Festival. Sophie Scholl – The Final Days portrays the final days of the member of the White Rose movement. Scholl, 21, was arrested and beheaded with her brother, Hans, in 1943 for distributing leaflets condemning the “abhorrent tyranny” of Adolf Hitler. Director Marc Rothemund said: “I have a feeling of responsibility to keep the legacy of the Scholls going.” “We must somehow keep their ideas alive,” he added. The film drew on transcripts of Gestapo interrogations and Scholl’s trial preserved in the archive of communist East Germany’s secret police. Their discovery was the inspiration behind the film for Rothemund, who worked closely with surviving relatives, including one of Scholl’s sisters, to ensure historical accuracy on the film. Scholl and other members of the White Rose resistance group first started distributing anti-Nazi leaflets in the summer of 1942. They were arrested as they dropped leaflets at Munich University calling for a “day of reckoning” with Adolf Hitler’s regime. The film focuses on the six days from Scholl’s arrest to the intense trial which saw Scholl initially deny the charges and ended with a defiant appearance. It is one of three German films vying for a top prize at the Festival. A South African film version of Bizet’s tragic opera Carmen shot in Cape Town in the Xhosa language has also premiered at the Berlin Festival. The film is entitled U-Carmen eKhayelitsha or Carmen in Khayelitsha after the township in which the story is set. It is performed by a 40-strong music and theatre troupe in their debut film performance. The film is the first South African feature in 25 years and only the second to be nominated for a Golden Bear Award.

Irish actor Dan O’Herlihy, who was nominated for best actor at the 1955 Oscars, has died at the age of 85. O’Herlihy, whose Oscar nomination was for Luis Bunuel’s The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, died at his home in Malibu, California, a spokesman said. The actor began his film career in the 1940s, playing Macduff to Orson Welles’ Macbeth in 1948, and was also a regular in on the Dublin stage. He later appeared in Robocop and its sequel and cult TV show Twin Peaks. He played the CEO of Omni Consumer Products in 1987’s Robocop and Robocop 2 three years later, and was saw mill owner Andrew Packard in Twin Peaks, also in 1990. Despite his Oscar nomination, he had few other lead roles and became a familiar supporting actor on TV and in film. The year he was nominated, the Academy Award was won by Marlon Brando for On the Waterfront.

Oscar-winning animator Hayao Miyazaki’s latest film, Howl’s Moving Castle, is to be released in 50 countries around the world, its distributor has said. Howl’s Moving Castle set a Japanese box office record last week, taking 1.5bn yen (£7.7m) in its first two days. Miyazaki won an Oscar earlier this year for Spirited Away, Japan’s first Academy Award for nearly 50 years. Howl’s Moving Castle is based on a children’s fantasy novel by UK author Diana Wynne Jones. It tells the story of an 18-year-old woman who ages dramatically after falling under a witch’s spell. She heads to a moving castle kept by Howl, a wizard, and searches for a way to become normal again. A spokesman for distributor Toho said the film “has received strong interest from domestic audiences and foreign media and viewers alike”. “We have a good feeling about this film. We saw very good viewer response,” he added. The film’s worldwide release will start in South Korea on 24 December, and France on 12 January.

The Aviator has been tipped by UK bookmakers as the favourite to win the best film award at this year’s Oscars. Ray star Jamie Foxx is clear favourite in the best actor category while Million Dollar Baby’s Hilary Swank is tipped to win the best actress prize. Bookmakers predict Cate Blanchett will be named best supporting actress. William Hill and Ladbrokes have given The Aviator 4/9 and 8/13 odds of winning best film, with Million Dollar Baby in second place at 9/4. Bet Direct and Bet 365 also tip The Aviator, with the majority of bookmakers regarding Finding Neverland as the outsider. The Aviator is also widely tipped to win the best director prize for Martin Scorsese. British star Clive Owen is second favourite at William Hill to take the best supporting actor award, for his performance in Closer. The favourite in that category is Sideways star Thomas Hayden Church. Vera Drake star Imelda Staunton has 5/1 odds of winning the best actress Oscar at Bet 365 and William Hill, ahead of fellow UK star Kate Winslet who has odds of 25/1 at William Hill. Mike Leigh is the outsider in the best director category for Vera Drake, a position he holds jointly with Ray’s Taylor Hackford at bookmakers VC Bet. This year’s Academy Awards will be handed out in Hollywood on 27 February. X Factor judge Sharon Osbourne will present Sky television’s live coverage of the event. Meanwhile, Clive Owen’s best supporting actor nomination has led a bookmaker to shorten his odds of becoming the next James Bond. He has moved from 4/1 to 5/2 favourite to play 007, with Hugh Jackman and Ewan McGregor joint second favourite. “Clive Owen’s nomination has sparked a betting frenzy from James Bond fans, who feel that his heightened global recognition will have done his chances of becoming the next Bond a world of good,” said William Hill spokesman Rupert Adams.

Roman Catholic organisations in India have demanded the withdrawal of a film that depicts a priest having an affair with a girl half his age. Indian television channels are now refusing to run the promotional material for the film, Sins, ahead of its release on Friday. The director of the film, Vinod Pande, says the movie is not offensive and has refused to withdraw it. Catholics are planning a protest in Mumbai (Bombay) on Wednesday. The president of one of Mumbai’s main Catholic organisations, Dolphy D’Souza, says the portrayal of an ordained priest as a man of loose moral character has hurt the religious sentiments of India’s Catholic community. He called the film “pornographic and sensational”. Mr D’Souza, who is also the vice-president of the Catholics’ national body, has accused the director of the film of portraying a priest in bad light for commercial gains. Catholics have urged Mr Pande to withdraw the film to show respect to the Christian community’s hurt sentiments. “Religion needs to be a personal affair and should not be a subject for entertainment or for commercial use,” Joseph Dias, general secretary of the Catholic Secular Forum, said in a statement. But Mr Pande said that if the critics were to see the film they would not protest against it and would not insist on its withdrawal. He says he has no plans to cancel the film ahead of its scheduled screening on Friday. “It’s about forbidden love. There was no agenda whatsoever to hurt anyone,” he said. The BBC’s Zubair Ahmed in Mumbai says that the controversial film shows a priest in steamy scenes with a girl half his age. She apparently goes to him for help but he falls in love with her. It takes place in the picturesque southern Indian state of Kerala. The film has already been cleared by the Censor Board with an ‘A’ (adults only) certificate. Mr D’Souza says he is shocked at the Censor Board’s decision to clear the film. Our correspondent says that India’s TV channels have so far refused to be dragged into the controversy and have not screened the film’s promotional material. Most of the Catholic community’s anger has come after watching newspaper advertisements and hoardings of the film. Christians make up about two per cent of India’s population of more than a billion people.