It was a most unusual Golden Globes ceremony. The Hollywood Foreign Press is struggling to mature and be respected. Now at last thanks to Oprah Winfrey they achieved a modicum of respect. When Oprah spoke, the room fell silent. Michelle Williams’ guest for the evening, Tarana Burke, founder of the #MeToo movement, literally burst into sobs. Williams and actress America Ferrara comforted her while Oprah continued. Laura Dern rushed over to help.

What I thought made the Globes look even better was this: Best Foreign Film went not to Angelina Jolie for her very good “First They Killed My Father” but to the German film “In the Fade” starring Diane Kruger. In the old days the HFPA would made sure a celebrity of Jolie’s stature would go home with a statue. This was quite a turnabout. The HFPA still has some old kooky members hanging around (it’s like after a dictatorship has fallen– some members still think HFPA means KGB). But leaps were made Sunday night.

Meantime, people met each other for the first time. Old friends celebrated. At the “Will and Grace” table, the whole cast raised glasses and clinked each time the show lost. At the “Stranger Things” table, Millie Bobby Brown– who’s become a beautiful young teen– clowned around with cast mate David Harbour after she lost, getting him to take pictures of her with a short stemmed rose in her mouth, very “Carmen.”

Allison Janney, looking dazed, accepted kudos as she made her way to the ladies’ room. Janney beat Laurie Metcalf for Best Supporting Actress in a comedy. There’s an irony there– Janney was  denied a Tony nomination last spring for her Broadway debut in “Six Degrees of Separation.” The winner last spring was Laurie Metcalf, for “A Doll’s House Pt. 2.” Now they will go up against each other for the Oscar. Stay tuned…

Nick Jonas and brother Joe Jonas had a jolly time. Once he lost, “Get Out” star Daniel Kaluuya looked like a huge weight was off him. “Now I’m having fun!” he declared. Justin Timberlake  and Jessica Biel were having  a ball. I told Justin I’d taken his instructions seriously about playing his new singe “Filthy” loud. “Right?” he said. “It sounds great loud!”

Later the parties took off like crazy. HBO celebrated big wins for “Big Little Lies” with Nicole Kidman, Laura Dern and Reese Witherspoon. At the Fox party, Best Actress in a Drama winner Elisabeth Moss pulled her cast out onto a landing to grab a cigarette. It was a big win for Moss. “I never won for playing Peggy [on Mad Men].” She didn’t win an Emmy for Peggy, either. She deserves it (and really, this is one Scientologist who I don’t get into it with– she’s never proselytizing and we don’t discuss it). She introduced me to her posse of terrific ladies.  Then the one time Peggy Olson said, “Come on, let’s get in there dance!”

And dancing is exactly what was happening at the chic Netflix party at the fancy shmancy new Waldorf Astoria, just built next to the Beverly Hilton. Up on the top floor, none other than Drake decided to deejay for a couple of hours. The place went wild. The room we were in was all red. Live arms stuck out of a curtained wall offering Champagne flutes and desserts from white gloved hands. They  were still going strong at 2 am.

photo c2018 Showbiz411

Despite protestations, the Golden Globes threw off enough heat for dozens of parties Saturday night in Hollywood. Everyone’s wearing black — it’s like the Beatles song, “Baby’s in black, and I’m feeling blue” except not so much…

For example, tonight the big talent agency CAA is having its annual bash at the Sunset Tower Hotel after the show. Wait– didn’t they cancel that party? No. They canceled their pre-Globes party on Friday night, which was like an appetizer to the banquet. No, despite #MeToo and #TimesUp, CAA will rock on beginning at 8pm. I did ask someone there about this. “We made a big donation to TimesUp,” they said. So the actresses who were angry with CAA over reports that they aided and abetted some misconduct will likely show up at the Big Party tonight, with their political activist companions. Hollywood soldiers on.

Elsewhere: Showtime insisted to me that they were not having any kind of bash — they only have 5 GG noms, none for my beloved “Billions” — and only one for “Twin Peaks: The Return” — which cost $58 million and no one watched. But they partied on not so stealthily at Sunset Towers (yes, this is party central) in the big event space with some of their stars. Liev Schreiber, caught in the snow in NY and then rattled around by Delta Airlines all day (he Tweeted about it), didn’t show up til 10:30pm. The party was over. The party they weren’t having. One report said they were sweeping up when he arrived.

“Game of Thrones” star Kit Harrington showed — looking no worse the wear after his NY bar dust up– up among dozens of stars for Sean Penn‘s annual Haiti fundraiser at Milk Studios. James Taylor performed a few songs, Leonardo DiCaprio‘s mom came to see him get an honorific, Brad Pitt looked like a movie star and was very accessible. I asked him, “Are you going to be around tomorrow?” He replied: “Yes, I am.” I meant at the Globes. He seemed like I was asking if he wanted to hang out. But he is not going to the Globes since his two ex wives will be there– Angelina and Jennifer. Brad, I wish I could hang out with you, but I have to go to the Globes! (I’m sure he’ll find some pals to watch the show with!)

MOST FUN SATURDAY: The W magazine annual It Girl lunch hosted by Lynn Hischberg and Stefano Tonchi at AOC Restaurant. Among the guests were my old friends Tracee Ellis Ross (now of “Blackish” fame) and Abigail Spencer of “Timeless” (back on NBC). It was great to see them. Every year Lynn and her team find the best and brightest women in town — also most attractive. And every year they seat me with a hot group. This year three of the four ladies I was “assigned” to are connected to Marvel: Olivia Holt from “Cloak and Dagger,” Alexandra Shipp from “X Men” movies, and Chloe Bennett from “Agents of SHIELD.” (Our fourth was the delightful Maika Monroe.)

So I asked them all the same question: are you disappointed you can’t use your super powers in real life? The answer from all three was “Yes!” Chloe Bennett said she forget she wasn’t her character, Skye.  “I was mugged– or a guy tried to mug me last week in West Hollywood and take my phone. I just got real big, like a bear, and started screaming at him like I was an Agent of SHIELD. He actually got scared and jumped back in his van! It was crazy. I’ll never do that again!”

Exclusive.  Barbra Streisand is in the house. The great singer actress director will present a major award on the Golden Globes Sunday night — either Best Picture or the lifetime achievement award to Oprah Winfrey.

In a season where women have asserted their personal and professional rights, getting Streisand is a coup.  Plus she could be presenting to pld friend Steven Spielberg for The Post.

The Globes already have a star filled list of presenters. But Streisand is the top get.