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The Jane Austen costume romance "Sense and Sensibility" and "Babe," a fable about a pig who fancies itself a sheep dog, won best drama and best comedy honors Sunday night at the 53rd annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills.
Both films buck the trend in Hollywood toward big budget, star-driven movies, instead emphasizing the importance of storytelling over action in filmmaking.
In the major acting categories, Sharon Stone in "Casino" and Nicolas Cage in "Leaving Las Vegas" won for their work in dramatic films, while Nicole Kidman in "To Die For" and John Travolta in "Get Shorty" walked away with Golden Globes for their roles in the category for musicals or comedies.
Mel Gibson, long one of Hollywood's most bankable stars, captured the award for best director for his medieval battlefield epic "Braveheart."
The results portend a wide-open Oscar race, in contrast to the past two years, when "Schindler's List" and "Forrest Gump" swept major categories in both the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards. "Sense and Sensibility," "Babe" and "Braveheart" now probably will get a boost going into the Oscar season.
In recent years, the Golden Globes, given out by the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn., have served as a predictor of winners in the major Oscar categories. Promotion-minded stars and studios have put their clout behind the awards in order to court Oscar nominations, for which balloting closes Feb. 1.
"Sense and Sensibility," which had received six nominations, also won a Golden Globe for best screenplay. It was adapted from the 19th century Jane Austen novel by Emma Thompson, who starred in the film.
Lindsay Doran, a producer of "Sense and Sensibility," said, "If there is a resurgence of Jane Austen, it's because the public is tired of having bad taste."
In a clever acceptance speech, Thompson read her thank-yous as if they had been penned by Austen herself. When she got around to naming Columbia-TriStar studio chief Mark Canton, the Oscar-winning actress observed that the author felt she was owed money--a remark that drew laughs from the industry-heavy audience.
Stone, accepting her award, said, "No one is more surprised than me."
"OK," she added, placing her hand on her hip, "It's a miracle."
Backstage, Stone met reporters and quipped: "This...