Tonight’s PGA awards were the first stab at the preferential ballot for this year’s Best Picture hopefuls. The big winner in the feature film field was…oh my…“The King’s Speech.”
Considering this is a beefy organization (not quite as big as AMPAS but big) and its nominees are likely to match the Best Picture 10 pretty closely, I’d say this is one of the fairest indications of how things could play out in five weeks. Last year, remember, the PGA went for “The Hurt Locker” rather than $2 billion grosser “Avatar.” I think it will prove, more and more, to be a reliable indicator, as long as it shares this voting method and breadth of nominees with the Academy.
So does that apply this year? Is there a major swinging of the pendulum under way? Who knows. And there is still the increasingly strong possibility of “The Fighter” taking the SAG ensemble prize. Perhaps at the end of the day we’ll have a phase two to remember.
Check out the full list of theatrical and honorary PGA award winners at The Circuit.
[Photo: The Weinstein Company]
Comments
119 responses to “‘King’s Speech’ wins in PGA shocker”
Like Seinfeld said: I’m speechless. I’m without speech…
This win is not only a great thing for TKS but also a great loss for TSN.
I can’t believe it.
Anyway, TSN is still leading this race. The second horse is just gaining thrust.
Despite the fact that I enjoy their podcast, I just love that Wells and Stone both were giving shit to Anne on their last podcast about Anne having not switched her vote yet because of her conversations with actual Academy members, and then this shocker happens. Go Anne!
scott rudin is not smiling, and nor am I. I thought inception or black swan for the upset here but wow, the social network DID deserve this one. I am confused. CONFUSED. But ya, we got a race
I really hope this doesn’t repeat at the Oscars. Among those with a remote chance of winning, The Social Network is the greatest option.
Hah, how hard is it going to be for you not to obnoxiously throw this in Sasha’ s face?
This just solidifies TKS at second place. Weakens TSN a little but it’s still way ahead in first place.
Oh boy. Now all those who switched their BP pick from “King’s” to “Social” are going to come back blaring, stating that they never should have changed in the first place. I’m prepared for some interesting rhetoric this week. (And I love Awards Daily, but I’m curious to see some sparks fly over there this week from Sasha.)
For those of you who were complaining of boredom, be bored no more. We have ourselves a race! TKS for the win.
“Hah, how hard is it going to be for you not to obnoxiously throw this in Sasha’ s face?”
I don’t do that.
This angers me. King’s Speech is a good film but it’s also pure Oscar bait and does not deserve to win Best Picture. A traditional period piece like it hasn’t won in a while but it’ll still feel incredibly tiresome if it wins. It’s well-acted and it has heart, but it’s not BEST PICTURE great. It will not stand the test of time. Guaranteed. The Hurt Locker may not either but at least it’s a capsule of a big part of America’s history. Same with The Social Network.
the sheep are dead
“Now all those who switched their BP pick from “King’s” to “Social” are going to come back blaring, stating that they never should have changed in the first place.”
I don’t doubt it.
The bait’s been bitten.
I just gotta say…this solidies my hate for all of the old farts in these organizations who refuse to vote for something fresh and relevant. It’s absolutely ridiculous.
i think the box office, more than anything else, played a major factor for the The King’s Speech win.
Black Swan has still chance though. The vote could split between TKS and TSN.
How is the box office for King’s Speech any more impressive than the others? Social Network, Black Swan, Inception, and Toy Story 3 are all bigger hits.
“It’s a capsule of a big part of America’s history. Same with The Social Network.” Well, you could argue TKS is a capsule of a big part of British history.
Eh. TSN had a great script and mediocre actors. TKS has a boring script and great actors. Too bad Blue Valentine which excelled with both has barely a chance even at a BP nomination.
This is… unheard of. Woah.
I feel this will be a little like 2006, then. “Little Miss Sunshine” won PGA, “The Departed” wins DGA and then Oscar.
Kris, your key point in defecting to TSN was that maybe people would wonder whether they missed the point if they opted for alternatives. It seems plausible if not likely that king’s speech will win bafta. Does that collectively alter the picture. And to scott rudin’s mood, he got two nods as well an achievement award, so maybe that tempers things.
@j
You’re in the minority of those who think TSN had mediocre actors. C’mon…that’s just ignorant. But I wholeheartedly agree about Blue Valentine. Top 10 of the year without question.
DarkLayers: I think it does, but again, the shared preferential ballot is a big deal here. I’m officially predicting The King’s Speech once again. (Don’t worry, Marshall. No blaring from me.)
Kris, maybe this is not the ideal place to talk about this, but is waiting for superman looking solid for success in feb?
Congratulations on the King’s Speech winning best picture. It will go down as an embarssment in Academy history along with Crash, but apparently it has touched a lot of people. TSN will be considered a classic regardless of whether it wins best picture. It still makes me mad but I guess I should have seen it coming.
The Social Netowrk only earned 90+ million in the US. that’s kinda small for a american mainstream film about an ever popular facebook.
While The King’s Speech already has 75+ million with just a 1500+ theaters around. And could easily exceed TSN for two weeks.
But the real point is, The King’s Speech is totally a British film. With the British casts, director and production.
So why is a British Period film drama is making much more money than the American mainstream facebook movie?
booooooooooooooo
I still think that Black Swan is the best film of the year. It is the only movie for me this year that exceeded my expectations in all departments.
I’m hoping for a vote split between The King’s Speech and The Social Network. Paving a way for a Black Swan win.
Well, this is a c-c-c-combo breaker!! if there ever was one.
I still think The Social Network’s safe as a frontrunner though. Save for actor and maybe original screenplay, there’s not a lot else going on as confidently as those categories.
Like Speaking English said The King’s Speech could be the new Little Miss Sunshine. Or the new Crash. It’s a lovely film, though ☺
I welcome the upset.
I just gotta say….
GREAT choice. I’m really pulling for The King’s Speech. A lot of people are arguing against it, calling it Oscar bait. Oscar invented the bait. Tom Hooper didn’t. Hooper set out to make an amazing film and, I have to say, he succeeded. It’s brilliantly directed, written, acted, shot, cosutmed, etc. What more could you ask for? My pick for best of the year.
That’s not to take away from the merits of the Social Network. I also loved that film. But, for me, if it wins the Oscar, it will be because Oscar’s main concern is looking relevant. I will not be upset if it wins; I just don’t think the Academy’s mind is in the right place (but really, that’s a rare thing).
So, three cheers for The King’s Speech!! It has SOME uphill climb, but I’m really pulling for it.
Inception.
@Gold
The King’s Speech, barring a Best Picture win, will likely top out around 90 mil, so about the same as Social Network. And in terms of box office, King’s Speech is an easier get. TSN is a talking-heads business/courtroom drama with no stars, relatively unlikable characters (though I disagree with this notion, I can see why some would think this), and a tragic ending. It finds itself in a catch-22. Those who like that genre (older audience members) have no interest in Facebook. Those who have an interest in Facebook (younger audience members) don’t often go to see business/courtroom dramas. So really, 90 mil is excellent for it.
The King’s Speech, on the other hand, while also a dialogue-driven film, is a sentimental drama steeped in a very popular (film-wise) part of history (World War II) with likeable characters, a couple fairly well-known actors (Firth, Rush) and a happy ending.
HA!
People need to learn to differentiate between films that they personally love and films that have any realistic chance of winning the Best Picture Oscar. Black Swan and Inception are two terrific genre pictures, but they have zero chance of winning the Oscar.
Yay! But this is stray win. I am still predicting Social Network for everything, even for things it is not nominated :P
And let nobody say The King’s Speech is a bad movie. Its a perfectly respectable movie and there will be no love lost between me and Oscar if it wins. Afterall my first choice, Toy Story 3 has no chance.
“And there is still the increasingly strong possibility of ‘The Fighter’ taking the SAG ensemble prize.”
This is probably as good a moment as any to mention that I submitted my SAG ballot on Jan. 12 (sixteen days early) and this is how I voted. Usually I match with the actual winners 3/6, so I couldn’t be called a typical voter:
Outstanding Performance By A Male Actor In A Leading Role: Colin Firth – The King’s Speech
Outstanding Performance By A Female Actor In A Leading Role: Nicole Kidman – Rabbit Hole
Outstanding Performance By A Male Actor In A Supporting Role: Christian Bale – The Fighter
Outstanding Performance By A Female Actor In A Supporting Role: Helena Bonham Carter – The King’s Speech
Outstanding Performance By A Stunt Ensemble In A Motion Picture: Inception
Outstanding Performance By A Cast In A Motion Picture: The Kids Are All Right
Am I the only one happy for the PGA result?
I mean I love both The Social Network and The King’s Speech, they’re both exceptionally great films in a great year but there is something in the latter that stood out when I watched this film in a Melbourne (Australia) cinema in December. Audiences young and old unanimously gave a rousing standing ovation when the credits for The King’s Speech were on. I’ve never seen anything like this happen in a normal suburban cinema. I’ve also read other forums of people saying the same reactions in other countries. This must be why there is the universal appeal factor that got The Kings Speech through to the final round.
If you take a look at most Best Picture winners in Oscar history, you’d notice that most of them are well supported by the Best Actor, e.g. Rain Man, The Silence of the Lambs, Forrest Gump, American Beauty, Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind (if Russell Crowe behaved properly he would have won), so there you have it.
And the Oscar for Best Motion Picture goes to
The King’s Speech!
(it would be awesome if Queen Elizabeth attended this event!)
In the past decade, that’s not particularly clear:
2009: Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart, THL win
2008: Sean Penn for Milk, Slumdog Millionaire
2007: Daniel Day-Lewis for There Will Be Blood, No Country for Old Men
2006: Forrest Whitaker for ‘Last King’, The Departed
2005: Capote in Actor, Crash for BP
2004: Ray in Actor, Million Dollar Baby for BP
2003: Sean Penn for Mystic River, LOTR for BP
2002: Adrian Brody and The Pianist in Actor, and Chicago for BP
2001: Denzel Washington and Training Day, Beautiful Mind (UGH) for Best Pic
2001: As you said, Crowe and Gladiator
I also wanted to mention “True Grit” in terms of other nods that made more $$$. In terms of PGA, recall the gross for “The Town”, though people aren’t as bullish about it’s Oscar potential.
Paul Outlaw said…
“Outstanding Performance By A Female Actor In A Leading Role: Nicole Kidman – Rabbit Hole”
Don’t waste your vote Paul. Kidman stands no chance this year. You could have voted for Annette Bening as she really needed that extra push to knock Natalie Portman off the podium.
I’d much prefer Kidman win for something meatier and challenging like the upcoming The Danish Girl. The Rabbit Hole looks just like any suburban family drama it doesn’t do any justice to Kidman’s versatility that she previously shown in Moulin Rouge, The Hours, Dogville or Birth.
This win was a great day for America and The World.
Like King Edward, I also saw The King’s Speech in an Australian cinema. While there were no standing ovations, there was applause which just doesn’t happen in Australia. I’ve never seen that sort of reaction outside of a festival screening.
I liked the film more than I did The Social Network but I wouldn’t want to see either of them win Best Picture, regardless of the competition. They just don’t seem worthy to me.
I’m going to have to read some reviews of The Social Network because I don’t understand the near-universal love it has received from critics. I liked it but I like a lot of films that never win awards.
And King Edward, why should Paul Outlaw vote strategically instead of voting for the performance he thinks is the best of the five nominated? Wouldn’t it be nice to think that everyone voted this way?
Shocking. I mean, just…shocking.I want some analysis here: why would the PGA *not* pick The Social Network, especially since it was such a Rudin-driven film in a year that Rudin is being recognized on several fronts? Backlash?
You know what, none of those SAG best actress nominees deserves the nomination much more than Kim Hye-ja of The Mother. If everyone voted from their hearts, then Kim would have been in contention.
Paul outlaw, I was wondering if you had any thoughts on the (a) itunes screener policy and (b) new sag voting policy.
IT’S ALIVE! IT’S ALIVE!
The awards season is alive!
Now if TKS nags the SAG ensemble, it IS a possible BP winner…who would’ve thought??
I still think The Fighter will nail SAG, though, and the fact that there are two runner ups is, logically speaking, to TSN’s favor. But, man, we have a race…the Bp is probably all of a sudden the most difficult category to predict (alongside supp actress). Intriguing, to say the least…
Gotta say, this is the absolute best thing that could’ve happened to this year’s race. The Social Network may still be heading towards an inevitable Best Picture win, but at least this injects a bit of uncertainty into things and it really is enough to keep me going for the next month. I’m feeling excited for the Oscars again!
Glad TSN was upset and that something else is also winning but TKS over Inception ot TS3? I don`t believe for a second that Hurt Locker was better producer deal than Avatar (and PGA later retracted it in backhanded way by giving Cameron some achievement/visionary honor which clearly means “We were wrong”) and I don`t believe for a second that TKS was better producer deal than Inception or TS3 ($1 billion WW is hard to ignore mo matter how risk-free the movie was). Anti-genre bias is just disgusting.
Dillon: well said. I might disagree with you on the merits of “The King’s Speech” (I didn’t hate it like Guy, but I certainly wasn’t caught up with it), but I agree that “The King’s Speech” is being unfairly dinged for “Oscar bait”, which is not its fault.
My thoughts:
Firstly, wow.
Secondly, it’s funny – I don’t know if too many others feel similarly to me – but even though I prefer The Social Network as a ‘better film’ … I can’t help but feel happy for ‘The King’s Speech’ a) because I really, really liked it also. And b) because it makes the race more exciting.
Come 2/27, I will be slightly pulling for The Social Network because I think it’s the better film, but to me, The King’s Speech is excellent and would be deserving.
I also feel like TKS is the kind of movie that always does well (British period), but never wins. You know the kind: Room with a View, Howards End, Age of Innocence, Sense & Sensibility, Remains of the Day, Atonement, etc.. These films are exquisite, but lack the “epic” to make them win. It would be nice to see one of those win one day. I have an affinity for them.
So, yeah … TSN winning the Oscar would be just and I’d be ecstatic. But I’d be similarly happy for TKS.