Golden Globes 2014

British director Steve McQueen is the big winner at this year's Golden Globes, held Sunday evening in Los Angeles. The prize for Best Drama went to McQueen's "Ten Years a Slave." The Golden Globe is the most important international film award after the Oscars and is awarded in 25 categories. Television series are also part of the prize, bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

"Ten Years a Slave" uses authentic language and intense details to portray the true story of a slave in 19th-century America. British director Steve McQueen has a background in visual arts and it's just been in the past few years that he's made a name for himself in film. The Golden Globe is the pinnacle of his relatively new career as a director.

Unlike the Oscars, the Golden Globe for Best Picture is split into two categories. While "Ten Years a Slave" won Best Drama, "American Hustle" scooped up the prize for Best Comedy or Musical. "American Hustle" is a fast-paced, yet serious portrait of a con artist, set in the late 1970s in the US.

Australian actress Cate Blanchett took home a Golden Globe for her fiery performance in Woody Allen's "Blue Jasmine." Blanchett is a well-known face on Hollywood's red carpets and is considered one of the scene's most versatile actors. She's also worked in Europe, starring in Tom Tykwer's 2002 film "Heaven."

Blanchett's prize for her role in "Blue Jasmine" can also be attributed to the film's star director, Woody Allen. The movie tells the story of a woman whose life is falling apart. Woody Allen was recognized this year with a Golden Globe for his life's work, but - as always - chose not to collect the prize in person.

Leonardo DiCaprio went home with a Golden Globe for his role in the drama, "The Wolf of Wall Street." Directed by Martin Scorsese, the film portrays a cut-throat manager who takes a merciless approach to his work on Wall Street. DiCaprio received the prize for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical, despite the film's dramatic tone. The division of the Best Actors awards is controversial.

Ahead of the Golden Globes, German actor Daniel Brühl said he was very honored just to be nominated for Best Supporting Actor. He'll have to keep smiling about the nomination, since he wasn't able to take home a trophy this year. Brühl was nominated for his role as Niki Lauda in the racecar drama "Rush."

The fact that the Golden Globes also include a category for Best Foreign Language Film is an indication that, like the Oscars, the prize focuses almost exclusively on the US film industry. The rest of the world is covered in a single award. This year, it went to the Italian picture "La Grande Bellezza," which also won the 2013 European Film Prize.

Television series are also included among the 25 Golden Globe categories, which differentiates the award from the Oscars. Unlike the films, most of the TV shows are less known in Europe. Actor Michael Douglas was among the Golden Globe TV winners for his role in the series "Behind the Candelabra."

Since 1944, the Golden Globes have been bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and have grown in popularity in recent years. They are viewed as a telling harbinger of the Oscars. Nevertheless, the Oscars - held this year on March 2 - usually provide a few surprises.