From The Press Association:

British movie Atonement was named best film at a toned-down Golden Globes ceremony in Los Angeles.

But Atonement’s star Keira Knightley lost in the best actress category to veteran Julie Christie for her role in Away From Her. Knightley’s co-star James McAvoy lost in the best actor category to Daniel Day-Lewis, for There Will Be Blood.

Atonement, the adaptation of Ian McEwan’s best-selling novel set around the Second World War, fought off strong competition from violent thrillers American Gangster, Eastern Promises and No Country for Old Men, legal drama Michael Clayton, historical saga There Will Be Blood and Oprah Winfrey-produced feelgood film The Great Debaters.

But the Hollywood glitz was missing as the usually-lavish awards ceremony was replaced with a news conference without any celebrities in attendance because of the continuing writers’ strike. The strike over payment to writers from shows offered on the internet started in November and has led to the Writers Guild of America refusing to let union members work on the star-studded show. Actors said they would boycott the ceremony rather than cross picket lines. To date, the walkout is thought to have cost the Los Angeles area around £700 million and the fate of Hollywood’s biggest night, the Oscars, next month, remains uncertain.

More here.