Well, well: the Oscar race is shaping up into a little drama of its own.
Last night the Producers Guild of America gave it award to “The King’s Speech.” After everyone expected “The Social Network” to win, here comes Tom Hooper’s classic Best Picture to snatch a very important award.
It was so unexpected that Harvey Weinstein wasn’t even there. He’s here, at Sundance, checking out new fillms. I’m told he was ecstatic–and genuinely shocked–when he got the news.
Meanwhile, Scott Rudin, the producer of “The Social Network” was at the PGA, getting a lifetime achievement award. It couldn’t have been fun to lose that way. And Scott has two big movies this season: “Network” and “True Grit.”
Ironically, everyone from “The Social Network” was on hand–from Sony’s Amy Pascal to Justin Timberlake. Our pal, Leah Sydney, says there was a gasp in the room when the winner’s name was read. (More on the PGA later.)
The PGA is a pretty decent indicator of the Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Recent winners include “The Hurt Locker,” “Slumdog Millionaire,” and “No Country for Old Men.” It’s rare that the PGA winner doesn’t go on to win the Oscar. “Little Miss Sunshine” is one of those examples.
Harvey Weinstein has two recent PGA wins, for “Chicago” and “The Aviator”–the latter did not win the Oscar, the former did. “Shakespeare in Love,” which won the Oscar, didn’t take the PGA. “Saving Private Ryan” did.
“The Social Network” won the Golden Globe, which, I think, will also contribute to its losing the Oscar. The voters of the Academy are smart, and disregard choices made by the laughable Hollywood Foreign Press.
