Hollywood on Sunday awaited the strike-plagued Golden Globe Awards at a drab news conference to announce winners, rather than the usual star-filled gala.

The film and television awards, given out by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, are a key stop on the road to Oscars, the world’s top film honors, and as a result are widely watched in the industry and by millions of television viewers.

But the screenwriters strike derailed this year’s event when the Writers Guild of America, which is embroiled in a labor dispute with major film and TV studios, threatened to picket the ceremony. As a result, A-list stars to refuse to attend.

Lacking star power, television network NBC and the HFPA scrapped the gala shown on TV in a roughly three-hour telecast, and in its place decided to air a one-hour news conference.

Typically on Golden Globe Sunday, stars such as Keira Knightley, nominated for best actress in a drama for her role in romance “Atonement,” would have picked designer gowns and glittering jewelry to parade up the red carpet.

Nominated actors such as George Clooney for legal thriller “Michael Clayton” and Daniel Day-Lewis in dark human drama “There Will Be Blood” might be practicing Golden Globe acceptance speeches that could kick off an Oscar campaign.

But this year, none of that is happening.

“The Globes are often an Oscar audition,” said Tom O’Neil of awards Web site TheEnvelope.com. “But their impact will be reduced this year because we won’t see stars giving speeches.

“The Bucket List,” the buddy comedy starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman from Time Warner Inc.’s Warner Bros., was the top film at U.S. and Canadian theaters with $19.5 million in ticket sales.

The movie topped Sony Corp.’s “First Sunday,” which opened in second place with $19 million, and “Juno” from News Corp.’s Fox Searchlight, in third place with $14 million, according to box-office tracker Media By Numbers LLC.

“The Bucket List,” which went into wide release this weekend, is the story of two dying older men who set out to accomplish their last wishes. It overcame poor reviews, with only 43 positive write-ups of the 107 tracked on RottenTomatoes.com.

“`Bucket List’ opened better than I expected,” said Gitesh Pandya, chief executive officer of New York-based Box Office Guru LLC, in an interview. “It’s one of the few times a movie anchored by senior citizens could rule the box office at No. 1.”

Second-place “First Sunday,” starring Ice Cube and Tracy Morgan, tells the story of two petty criminals who rob their neighborhood church to pay a $17,000 debt.

“Juno,” starring Ellen Page and “Superbad” actor Michael Cerra, is a comedy about a pregnant teen. With $71.2 million in six weeks of release, it has evolved into a hit reminiscent of other independent films such as 2006’s “Little Miss Sunshine” and 2004’s “Sideways.”

`Juno’

“`Juno’ should eventually gross more than $100 million in North America, which is really good considering it cost less than $10 million to make,” Pandya said.

The action-adventure sequel “National Treasure: Book of Secrets” from Walt Disney Co. finished in fourth place with $11.5 million. Nicolas Cage reprises his role as history buff and treasure hunter Benjamin Franklin Gates.

The film had taken in $187.3 million at U.S. theaters since its Dec. 21 debut, building on the success of the original. “National Treasure,” released in 2004, had worldwide sales of $347.5 million, according to Box Office Mojo LLC.

There are a couple of new Bond girls in town.

British actress Gemma Arterton and Ukranian model-thesp Olga Kurylenko have been cast opposite Daniel Craig in the forthcoming installment of the 007 franchise, which is currently shooting in London, the film’s producer confirmed.

Rumors that Arterton would be suiting up for the role have been circulating in the British tabloids and on Bond fan sites for several weeks.

Arterton and Kurylenko join the ranks of notable Bond girls of films past, including Halle Berry, Carey Lowell, Famke Janssen and Diana Rigg.

A virtual unknown, Arterton’s pre-Bond credits include the British comedy St. Trinian’s, in which she plays a naughty schoolgirl.

Few details about her character, known as M16 Agent Fields, have emerged; however, a representative for the film’s Los Angeles-based producer told the Hollywood Reporter, “it’s a nice-sized role.”

Kurylenko, whose role is described as Bond’s “leading lady,” recently starred opposite Timothy Olyphant in Hitman and opposite Elijah Wood inParis, je t’aime.  

The film, which currently goes by the working titleBond 22, marks Craig’s second go-round as the superspy, following his turn in 2006’s Casino Royale. Marc Forster is directing.

Craig is the sixth actor to portray Bond, following in the martini-swilling footsteps of Sean Connery,George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan. 

Britney Spears’ career may be getting some boost in the acting arena. The pop star is in talks to return to acting in a new drama film.

Director Tommy Parker says that film ‘Memoirs Of A Medicated Child’ might feature the acting prowess of the 26-year-old Spears.

She is currently in negotiations to play the role of the mentally ill patient’s girlfriend. “As far as Britney’s concerned, we’re talking.”

They originally had their sights on Lindsay Lohan for the role.

This is not Spears’ first time in acting in a film. She had starred in 2002’s ‘Crossroads’ where she played a straight-A student in search for her mother.

Meanwhile, Spears is in a bitter custody battle with ex husband Kevin Federline for their two sons, Jayden James and Sean Preston.

People often don’t talk about it, but they think about it.

If you only had months to live, what would be on your wish list — or “bucket list” — to do before you died?
That’s the premise of the movie “The Bucket List,” starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, which opens Jan. 11 at theaters nationwide.

In the movie, corporate billionaire Edward Cole and working-class mechanic Carter Chambers have terminal illnesses and end up sharing a hospital room together. They decide to leave the hospital and do all the things they always wanted to do before they “kick the bucket.”

Travel, risk-taking activities and doing special things for friends and loved ones would make many bucket lists.

Here are some wishes that made Coulee Region residents’ bucket lists:

“Two things — No. 1, I would make sure my two kids have every opportunity I never had, and No. 2, I would go to space.” — Chris Buchanan, La Crosse