"Golden Globes Honor 'Social Network,' De Niro"

RENEE MONTAGNE, Host:

Another Brit hosted the Golden Globes last night. Ricky Gervais kicked off the evening with biting humor directed at his fellow actors.

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MONTAGNE: Welcome to the 68th Annual Golden Globe Awards, live from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles. It's going to be a night of partying and heavy drinking - or as Charlie Sheen calls it, breakfast.

MONTAGNE: When Robert Downey, Jr. stepped on stage, he showed he was not amused.

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MONTAGNE: Aside from the fact that it's been hugely mean-spirited with mildly sinister undertones, I'd say the vibe of the show is pretty good so far, wouldn't you?

MONTAGNE: That criticism didn't stop Gervais. Other victims of his snarky witticisms included Cher, Hugh Hefner, the cast of "Sex and the City," and one of Demi Moore's two husbands.

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MONTAGNE: Please welcome Ashton Kutcher's dad, Bruce Willis.

MONTAGNE: Veteran actor Robert De Niro accepted a Cecil B. DeMille lifetime achievement award with some self-deprecating humor.

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MONTAGNE: Thank you for this extraordinary honor. I was very, very moved and gratified when you made the announcement two months ago, well before you had a chance to review "Little Fockers."

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MONTAGNE: And the night's big winner was "The Social Network," the movie that looks at the birth of Facebook. It picked up four awards, including Best Dramatic Picture and Best Director for David Fincher. The TV show "Glee" won three awards, one of which went to Chris Colfer for best supporting actor. Colfer plays an openly gay character on the TV show and had this message for young people:

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MONTAGNE: Most importantly, to all the amazing kids that watch our show and the kids that our show celebrates, who are constantly told no by people in their environments, by bullies at school, that they can't be who they are or have what they want because of who they are, well, screw that, kids. Thank you.

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MONTAGNE: Other winners included a movie about a lesbian couple, "The Kids Are All Right," for best comedy movie. Natalie Portman won best actress in a drama - the ballet thriller "Black Swan." And Colin Firth captured the best actor award in a drama for his portrayal of a king who struggles to overcome the stutter that keeps him from speaking to his people in the movie "The King's Speech."

MONTAGNE: This is NPR News.