'Forrest Gump' Leads Pack in This Year's Golden Globe Awards

Hollywood kicked off its movie-award season Saturday with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's Golden Globe presentation, and the film ''Forrest Gump'' took the top three honors.

Tom Hanks, who won an Oscar last year for his role in the AIDS-discrimination drama, ''Philadelphia,'' was voted movie actor of the year for his starring role in ''Gump.''

Robert Zemeckis won best director for the film, and ''Gump,'' produced by Paramount Pictures, was also voted best film of the year. In doing so, Mr. Zemeckis beat out Quentin Tarantino, who directed ''Pulp Fiction,'' and had been widely touted as an Oscar shoo-in for his Miramax production about Los Angeles's crime underworld.

Mr. Tarantino took consolation in winning the best screenplay award.

But ''Gump'' was the clear winner of the evening. Mr. Hanks beat out John Travolta for the best actor award, despite the latter's powerful performance in ''Pulp Fiction.'' ''Gump'' was also voted best movie of the year.

''Pulp Fiction'' had been nominated for six Golden Globes and ''Forrest Gump'' for seven.

The other three-award winner was Disney's ''The Lion King,'' which took honors for best musical or comedy film, best original score, and best original song.

Jessica Lange won the Golden Globe for best actress for her role as the military wife in the movie ''Blue Sky,'' beating out such luminaries as Jodie Foster, nominated for ''Nell,'' and Meryl Streep, who got the nod for ''The River Wild.''

British actor Hugh Grant took the award for best actor in a musical or comedy picture for his madcap role in ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' and was joined on the honors list by fellow countrywoman Miranda Richardson. Ms. Richardson got a Golden Globe for best supporting actress in a TV series or made-for-TV movie for ''Fatherland,'' which aired on HBO.

Edward James Olmos took the Globe as best supporting actor in the same category for his role in ''The Burning Season,'' about the destruction of the South American rain forests.

Martin Landau, the suave hero of the TV series ''Mission Impossible,'' won for best supporting actor in a motion picture for his role as veteran horror-film star Bela Lugosi in ''Ed Wood.''

Mr. Landau said he had no butterflies in his stomach thinking that his Golden Globe might lead to an Oscar nomination, and ultimately an Academy Award. ''I just hope enough people saw and enjoyed the film. That's where the real satisfaction in acting comes from,'' he said.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association differs from the Academy Awards by honoring TV as well as movies, and nominating films in both drama and musical or comedy categories.

On the television side, Claire Danes won for best actress in a television drama series for her role in ''My So-Called Life,'' while Dennis Franz won for best actor in the same category for his portrayal of a cynical detective in ''NYPD Blue.''

The best television series drama award went to ''The X-Files,'' seen on the Fox network.