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Steve Carell enjoys his Golden moment

Terrence Howard encounters a legend; Ludicris basks in the glow
/ Source: msnbc.com news services

With his dark suit and regular-Joe looks, Steve Carell was feeling a bit out of place at Sunday’s Golden Globes.

Sure, he was nominated for musical or comedy actor in TV’s “The Office,” and yeah, he gained greater fame for having his chest waxed in last summer’s hit movie “The 40-Year-Old Virgin.”

But Carell, who wound up winning the Golden Globe for “The Office,” still had his doubts when he arrived on the red carpet.

“Looking around at all these very important people, you think, ‘Why are we here? What is this about?’” Carell said as he arrived on the red carpet. “I’m just a guy who got a part in a show.”

Later, when he collected his award, he said he hadn’t bothered to write an acceptance speech. Instead, he read one he claimed was written by his wife, Nancy. It ignored his career and instead praised his wife, noting that she had put aside her career for his.

Controversial thanks
“Paradise Now,” which tackles the issue of Israeli-Palestinian violence in a story about two West Bank friends dispatched on a suicide mission, won the foreign language film Golden Globe on Monday.

Director Hany Abu-Assad told the Beverly Hilton audience that he saw the award not only as recognition of the film, its cast and crew, “but also as a recognition that the Palestinians deserve their liberty and equality unconditionally.”

The 90-minute film, which the Hollywood Foreign Press Association designated as coming from Palestine, was released by Warner Independent Pictures.

“Paradise Now” was selected over two films from China, “Kung Fu Hustle” and “Master of the Crimson Armor,” aka “The Promise,” as well as France’s “Merry Christmas (Joyeux Noel),” and South Africa’s “Tsotsi.”

In Capote's shadowPhilip Seymour Hoffman, winner for best actor in a drama film for “Capote,” cited the difficulties in portraying a real-life character onscreen.

“Roles are difficult to play ... because of what stories (the characters) are living in, the obstacles they are dealing with and the relationships they are screwing up. ... (Truman Capote) was incredibly outgoing and savvy and sharp, and that intimidated me. I had to deal with that in order to successfully play him.”

Hoffman said that he prepped for the role for six months. “A lot of people already knew who the character was. Part of my job was to somehow give the essence of who this man was. If I didn’t behave like he behaved, it would be a falsehood.”

And what would the real-life Capote think of Hoffman’s Golden Globe win? “He’d probably be up here next to me. He’d probably be very critical and point out all the things that went wrong, but he’d also be very happy about the attention being showered on him again.”

Trusty typewriterLarry McMurtry, co-winner of the screenplay Golden Globe for “Brokeback Mountain,” saved his most heartfelt thanks for his French-made typewriter.

“My typewriter is a Hermes 3000, surely one of the noblest instruments of European genius. And, ladies and gentlemen, can you believe it? It’s kept me for 30 years out of the dry embrace of the computer,” he said.

McMurtry and Diana Ossana received Monday night’s screenplay honor for the story of a homosexual romance between two cowboys.

Surviving the Globes on ginger aleThe Golden Globes’ raucous reputation for flowing liquor on every table was lost on “Everybody Hates Chris” star Tyler James Williams.

“I can’t drink,” said the 13-year-old whose UPN hit was nominated for musical or comedy series. “The closest I’m going to get to liquor is ginger ale.”

Just in case, mom Angela Williams was Tyler’s date Monday, although she said she wasn’t worried.

“He’s really grounded,” she said. “He’ll go home and put the dishes in the dishwasher and make up his bed. He’s pretty cool.”

Basking in the glow

Actor and hip-hop star Ludicris was trippin’ on the red carpet, feeling right at home as the black velvet-clad embodiment of the show’s mix of music and movies.

“I’m soaking up the energy. There’s a lot of power on the carpet and a lot of money,” he said. “That’s a great thing, to be around so much money.”

In-between putting out his best-selling recordings, Ludicris acted in two of last year’s most talked-about movies: “Crash” and “Hustle & Flow.”

“People are definitely respecting on what I’ve done on the Hollywood side of things,” he said “It’s extremely hard to make that transition, so now that I’m here, I’m loving it.”

Howard meets a legendTerrence Howard was blown away when Anthony Hopkins grabbed his hand on the Golden Globes’ red carpet and asked to speak with him later.

“Man, that was better than my first kiss,” he said. “Just may be a potential opportunity to learn, to sit down and dialogue with him.”

Moments earlier, Howard grabbed tiny Eva Longoria, a nominee for “Desperate Housewives,” and picked her up in a huge hug and kiss.

No, he wasn’t trying to send Longoria’s boyfriend, San Antonio Spurs’ star Tony Parker, into a jealous rage. Turns out they stayed on the same floor of a hotel in Toronto while shooting separate movies.

“Eva is my baby,” said Howard, a dramatic actor nominee for “Hustle & Flow.”

“I love that girl, that’s my buddy. She called me today and we made a pact: tonight, that’s my hanging buddy.”

Defining your termsBest director winner Ang Lee was barraged by questions regarding his gay love story ... or his universal love story ... or his Western. In fact, what to call “Brokeback Mountain” was a point of contention backstage as reporters tried to get Lee to call it something other than “universal love story.”

But he wouldn’t waver. He also tried to play down the movie’s cultural significance or how the movie is provoking debate in the country.

“We’ll see how it plays out, but it’s not why I made the movie. Whether it’s a cultural milestone, it’s not for me to say,” he said.

The movie biggest impact could be on Lee himself. “This is a salvation to me,” he said, explaining that his last movie, “The Hulk,” left him depressed and shaken, and he did “Brokeback” to get him “to come to life.”

He added, however: “Even if ’The Hulk’ had been like ’Titanic,’ I still would have made this movie. If I didn’t do it, somebody else would have, and I’d be jealous.”

Somehow we pass the timeWitherspoon’s co-star, Joaquin Phoenix, who won the corresponding Globe for best actor, toyed with the assembled press. “What’s it like back here for you guys? Is it boring back here?” he said, answering most reporters’ questions with a question of his own.

But the “Walk the Line” star admitted that he was reeling over a lost bet with Witherspoon’s husband, Ryan Phillippe. “I lost a $220 bet to Ryan,” said Phoenix, who was surprised at the win because his body of work isn’t usually associated with comedies or musicals.

“I bet him whatever I had in my pocket. He didn’t even wait until I was off the stage. He came right after me.”

'Best job in the world'Although Golden Globes double threat Felicity Huffman lost to Mary-Louise Parker in the lead actress in a comedy series category, she did pull off a big single by winning best actress in a motion picture drama for her role as a preoperative transsexual in “Transamerica.”

“I tried to learn femininity as a foreign language,” she said of her ability to channel her transgendered character.

The actress said she was able to leave her dramatic transformation on set. “I did it on location as an indie, and we worked a gazillion hours with like two hours off, so I didn’t have a chance to figure out if I took it home with me or not,” she said.

In addition to her individual win, Huffman had another reason to celebrate. Her TV show, “Desperate Housewives,” won best TV comedy honors. “I love that the show won,” she said. “I have the best job in the world. And the fact the that ‘Transamerica’ is liked is fantastic.”