Joseph Cedar's half larky, half dead heavy Israeli intellectual comedy looks like a good punt for the screenplay prize.

- Joseph Cedar's excellent Israeli movie Footnote - about the war between a father and son, both Talmudic scholars - won him the screenplay prize.

In what was a golden night for the veterans, Martin Scorsese won best director for his 3D fantasy Hugo and Woody Allen took the screenplay prize for Midnight in Paris.

"The Artist," which led the Globes with six nominations, won the musical-score prize for composer Ludovic Bource but lost out on three other awards, including the screenplay prize for Michel Hazanavicius.

Gabriel A. Tolliver and Jake Ann Jones were awarded the screenplay prize, sponsored by HBO, for "Spook City."

Simon Beaufoy said it all when he stepped up to address the world's press backstage at the Oscars on Sunday night, moments after winning the adapted screenplay prize for Slumdog Millionaire.

Woody Allen's Midnight In Paris also took a sentimental journey to the French capital; Allen's best film in some years gave him the best screenplay prize: I wouldn't be at all surprised to see this duplicated at the Oscars.

Mr. Payne, who also helped write the film, which earned a best adapted screenplay prize from the National Board of Review, was not protesting too much, he explained on the Board of Review red carpet.

IT Crowd star Richard Ayoade won the best screenplay prize for Submarine.

Bernardo Bertolucci, the first Italian to win the Oscar as best director, shared the screenplay prize with Mark Peploe.