Mexican writer/director Alfonso Cuarón will fondly remember the 71st Annual Golden Globe Awards because it marks his first Golden Globe award for Best Director --Motion Picture. He beat out contenders Paul Greengrass (Captain Phillips), Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave), Alexander Payne (Nebraska) and David O. Russell (American Hustle).

Cuarón's innovative 3-D spectacle Gravity, for which star Sandra Bullock received a nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama, but lost out to Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine), "should be a bigger Oscar heavyweight at the Academy Awards, which honor technical categories that the Globes don't," according to an earlier report by The Associated Press. "With more than $630 million in worldwide box office, Gravity stars Bullock and George Clooney who play astronauts whose shuttle explodes, leaving them tethered only to each other.

Gravity was the brainchild of writer-director Cuarón, who directed Children of Men, Y Tu Mamá Tambièn and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. His son, Jonès, who is Cuarón's biggest advocate, co-wrote the film, which was a challenging four-and-a-half-year journey.

"We shot space scenes in a sort of virtual-reality box that had the characters' environments projected on the walls. The actors had very little room to change their timing or their positions. But we adapted," Cuarón told Wired. "Sandra Bullock trained like crazy to be able to be a part of all these technological challenges. It was choreography for her. I think her background as a dancer helped a lot. It was so much by numbers. After all the training and all the rehearsals, she was able to just focus on the emotional aspect of her performance."

Besides the impressive yet grueling animation process and CG mastering, Cuarón told Wired how he approached the character development and brought its meaning and symbolism to life.

"In 'Gravity' nearly everything is a metaphor for the main character. The way I tend to approach a film is that character and background are equally important; one informs the other. Here, Sandra Bullock is caught between Earth and the void of the universe, just floating there in between. We use the debris as a metaphor for adversity," he explained.

"She's a character who lives in her own bubble, and in the film she's trapped in her space suit. She's a character who has trouble communicating, and here she literally starts having communication problems. She's a character who needs to shed her skin to move on, and in the film she needs to get out of her astronaut suit because it's suffocating her," he added. "In the end, the story is about rebirth as a possible outcome of adversity."

Who were other big winners Sunday night?

"Hailed by critics as the movies' most unblinking portrait of slavery," 12 Years a Slave, American Hustle, Breaking Bad, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Behind the Candelabra were among the big winners.

12 Years a Slave took home the win for best motion picture, drama, while American Hustle won as best musical/comedy. Breaking Bad was named best TV drama, while Brooklyn Nine-Nine surprised with a win for best TV comedy. Behind the Candelabra won in the miniseries/TV movie category.

The ceremony was broadcast live from the Beverly Hilton on NBC and SNL favorites, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, returned and brought the laughs as hosts. In a surprise twist, Poehler won Best Actress in a TV Series, Comedy for Parks and Recreation. Talk about a stellar night for her!

Check out a complete list of winners below: (winners names are in bold):

Best Motion Picture, Drama

12 Years a Slave

Captain Phillips

Gravity

Philomena

Rush

Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama

Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club

Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave

Idris Elba, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

Tom Hanks, Captain Phillips

Robert Redford, All Is Lost

Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama

Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine

Sandra Bullock, Gravity

Judi Dench, Philomena

Emma Thompson, Saving Mr. Banks

Kate Winslet, Labor Day

Best Director -- Motion Picture

Alfonso Cuarón, Gravity

Paul Greengrass, Captain Phillips

Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave

Alexander Payne, Nebraska

David O. Russell, American Hustle

Best Screenplay -- Motion Picture

Spike Jonze, Her

Bob Nelson, Nebraska

Jeff Pope and Steve Coogan, Philomena

John Ridley, 12 Years a Slave

David O. Russell and Eric Warren Singer, American Hustle

Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy

American Hustle

Her

Inside Llewyn Davis

Nebraska

The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy

Amy Adams, American Hustle

Julie Delpy, Before Midnight

Greta Gerwig, Frances Ha

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Enough Said

Meryl Streep, August: Osage County

Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy

Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street

Christian Bale, American Hustle

Bruce Dern, Nebraska

Oscar Isaac, Inside Llewyn Davis

Joaquin Phoenix, Her

Best Animated Feature Film

Frozen

The Croods

Despicable Me 2

Best Foreign Language Film

The Great Beauty (Italy)

Blue Is the Warmest Color (France)

The Hunt (Denmark)

The Past (Iran)

The Wind Rises (Japan)

Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture

Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle

Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine

Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years a Slave

Julia Roberts, August: Osage County

June Squibb, Nebraska

Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture

Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club

Bradley Cooper, American Hustle

Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave

Daniel Bruhl, Rush

Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips

Best Original Score -- Motion Picture

Alex Ebert, All Is Lost

Alex Heffes, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

Steven Price, Gravity

John Williams, The Book Thief

Hans Zimmer, 12 Years a Slave

Best Original Song -- Motion Picture

"Ordinary Love," Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

"Atlas," The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

"Let It Go," Frozen

"Please Mr. Kennedy," Inside Llewyn Davis

"Sweeter Than Fiction," One Chance

Best TV Series, Drama

Breaking Bad

Downton Abbey

The Good Wife

House of Cards

Masters of Sex

Best Actress in a TV Series, Drama

Robin Wright, House of Cards

Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife

Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black

Taylor Schilling, Orange Is the New Black

Kerry Washington, Scandal

Best Actor in a TV series, Drama

Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad

Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan

Michael Sheen, Masters of Sex

Kevin Spacey, House of Cards

James Spader, The Blacklist

Best TV Series, Comedy

Brooklyn Nine-Nine

The Big Bang Theory

Girls

Modern Family

Parks and Recreation

Best Actress in a TV Series, Comedy

Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation

Zooey Deschanel, New Girl

Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie

Lena Dunham, Girls

Julia Louis-Dreyfus,Veep

Best Actor in a TV Series, Comedy

Andy Samberg, Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Jason Bateman, Arrested Development

Don Cheadle, House of Lies

Michael J. Fox, The Michael J. Fox Show

Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory

Best Miniseries or TV Movie

Behind the Candelabra

American Horror Story: Coven

Dancing on the Edge

Top of the Lake

White Queen

Best Actress in a Miniseries or TV Movie

Elisabeth Moss, Top of the Lake

Jessica Lange, American Horror Story: Coven

Helena Bonham Carter, Burton and Taylor

Rebecca Ferguson, The White Queen

Helen Mirren, Phil Spector

Best Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie

Michael Douglas, Behind the Candelabra

Matt Damon, Behind the Candelabra

Chiwetel Ejiofor, Dancing on the Edge

Idris Elba, Luther

Al Pacino, Phil Spector

Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries, or TV Movie

Jacqueline Bisset, Dancing on the Edge

Janet McTeer, The White Queen

Hayden Panettiere, Nashville

Monica Potter, Parenthood

Sofia Vergara, Modern Family

Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries or TV Movie

Jon Voight, Ray Donovan

Josh Charles, The Good Wife

Rob Lowe, Behind the Candelabra

Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad

Corey Stoll, House of Cards

Cecil B. DeMille Award

Woody Allen