THE Oscar winning actress Emma Thompson has been given another accolade, but this time for writing. She won the Golden Globe Award for best screenplay for Sense and Sensibility.
The English drama set in the 19th century, also won the Golden Globe for best dramatic picture for the producer Lindsay Doran in what is seen as the major indicator for the Academy Awards Hollywood's prime honours.
Sense and Sensibility, in which Ms Thompson also stars, had been nominated for six Golden Globe Awards, more than any other production.
Ms Thompson, estranged from her husband, actor and director Kenneth Branagh, said she never expected the film, which she adapted from the Jane Austen novel in the 1980s, to be made. "I thought it would just gather dust on a shelf somewhere," she said.
The Golden Globe Awards were presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association on Sunday night. Best director went to Mel Gibson for Braveheart much of which was filmed in Ireland, although he was not even nominated for his starring role in the film.
The best actor accolade went to Nicolas Cage for his part in the dark drama of alcoholism in Leaving Las Vegas a low budget film released in select art theatres and which generated a cult following.
His co star, Elizabeth Shue, while nominated, did not get the award for best dramatic actress. That went instead to Sharon Stone for her part in director Martin Scorceses Casino. "It's a miracle," she said of her win. She praised Scorcese and her co star Robert De Niro.
The award for best Foreign Language Film went to Les Miserables, which was produced in France.