BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - Blame the traffic. That's why Prince wasn't on hand to accept his Golden Globe for best original movie song, "The Song of the Heart" from "Happy Feet."
Presenter Justin Timberlake joked about the Purple One's absence, impersonating the diminutive singer by bending his knees and offering a silent mock thank you.
When Prince finally arrived, he offered his own silent gesture of gratitude when Hugh Grant, from the stage, called on him to take a bow. Wearing a gold suit and a sheepish grin, Prince stood up, put his hands together as if in prayer, and took his bow.
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With a new baby, a best-actress Golden Globe nomination for "Sherrybaby" and a slew of films coming out, Maggie Gyllenhaal was radiant on the red carpet with her fiance, Peter Sarsgaard.
"I've been at home with my daughter for three and a half months, so I'm kind of thrilled. I'm dressed up, we're out. Plus my movie was so tiny, we made it for nothing, so to get a nomination, I'm beyond thrilled."
Sarsgaard beamed.
"I'm always proud of her. I know she has all that in her so it's so nice that other people see it."
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"Grey's Anatomy" star Isaiah Washington, accompanied by his wife, shared a secret on the Golden Globes red carpet.
"I love gay. I wanted to be gay," he said. "Please let me be gay."
In October, Washington apologized for an on-set incident involving co-stars Patrick Dempsey and T.R. Knight during which Washington allegedly used a homophobic slur.
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The Golden Globes are often called Hollywood's biggest party, and stars will tell you why.
"`Cause you get to drink," said "The Closer" star Kyra Sedgwick.
"Everyone's drinking," said "Weeds" star and supporting-actor nominee Justin Kirk. "You sit at a table and they feed you and drink you."
Jeremy Irons, winner of best supporting actor for the TV miniseries "Elizabeth I," said the Golden Globes are more relaxed than other awards shows.
"It's a really good party. It's a bit looser than the Oscars and there's slightly less hype."
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Eddie Murphy won the Golden Globe for his turn as sought-after singer-dancer James "Thunder" Early in "Dreamgirls."
But Murphy said his recording career "is pretty much dead" and that dancing on film was "the scariest thing."
"I can jump around and dance if I'm trying to be funny," he said. "I'm not much of a mover, so jumping around and dancing was kind of scary."
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Meryl Streep, who won a Golden Globe for her role as chilly Miranda Priestly in "The Devil Wears Prada," said the fabulous fashions in the film were auctioned and proceeds donated to three charitable groups: breast-cancer research, Dress for Success (which helps prepare needy women for the professional world), and the women's-rights group Equality Now.
Streep's co-star, Emily Blunt, acknowledged that she wasn't entirely excited about the movie wardrobe's final destination.
"It was an inspired idea that we all kind of swallowed down," Blunt said. "I think I stole a belt. Sorry Fox."
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No matter how high her star rises in Hollywood, Penelope Cruz said she will never stop making films in her native Spain.
A Golden Globe nominee for best actress in a dramatic film for "Volver," Cruz said she likes "going back and forth" between English- and Spanish-language films.
"I feel very privileged that I'm able to work in all these different places and different languages," the 32-year-old actress said, speaking in English, as she arrived for the Golden Globes awards ceremony. "I feel that I don't have to choose one. I will never leave my country. I will never stop working there, but I feel very grateful for the opportunities here also."
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Singer Michael Buble, who walked the Golden Globes red carpet with his girlfriend, double nominee Emily Blunt, complained that he wasn't getting his fair share of attention.
"Everybody's congratulating her on her two nominations but nobody seems to realize that I was nominated as well: shiniest shoes," he said. "Clooney is always my biggest competition.
But Buble raved about his date's body-hugging Herve Leger gown, which Blunt said she chose for its "old Hollywood" style and fantastic fit.
Said Buble: "Whether she wins or not, I'm walking home with two Golden Globes baby."
