CATE BLANCHETT was the first winner announced at Sunday night’s (13Jan08) Golden Globe Awards press conference.

The Aussie actress claimed the night’s first award - Best Supporting Actress - for her portrayal of Bob Dylan in critically acclaimed indie film I’m Not There.

Also among the early film and TV winners were last year’s (07) Emmy Awards winner Jeremy Piven, who was named the Best Supporting TV Actor for his role as tough-guy Hollywood agent Ari Gold in Entourage and Damages star Glenn Close (Best Actress in A TV Drama).

The actual Golden Globes ceremony was scrapped earlier this month (Jan07) after Writers Guild of America union bosses refused to grant organisers a waiver.

The threat of picket lines at the glitzy event prompted many TV and film stars nominated for awards to pull out of attending the Globes.

As a result, the three-hour-ceremony was reduced to an hour-long TV press conference, during which all the winners were announced.