"The King's Speech" takes top SAG award

"The King's Speech" took home the Motion Picture Cast trophy at the 17th annual Screen Actors Guild awards held Sunday evening at the Shrine Exposition Center in Los Angeles. The win secured the film's place as Oscar frontrunner.

"It shouldn't be called the SAG Award, it should be called the uplifting award," said Geoffrey Rush accepting the statuette for the film.

Colin Firth was named best actor for his role England's King George VI, the stuttering monarch. Rush played the speech therapist who helped the king overcome his affliction in the years leading up to 1939 when Britain declared war on Nazi Germany.

It was Golden Globe winner Firth's first SAG win and it clearly makes him a heavy favorite for an Oscar.

"If I have had a trophy that told me things were happening to me, it was my SAG card," Firth said when accepting the award on a night where the winners often expressed their gratefulness to the union.

Natalie Portman won for the best actress in a movie for portraying an ambitious ballerina in "Black Swan." She beat out veteran actresses Annette Bening and Nicole Kidman. She also won the Golden Globe in the same category.

"I've been working since I was 11-years-old, and SAG has taken care of me," the pregnant actress said of her first SAG Award. "I'm so grateful to have this union protecting me every day."

The boxing film "The Fighter" had a good night, taking both supporting actor categories.

For his 37th birthday, Christian Bale got his trophy for playing Dicky Eklund, a washed-up boxer-turned-addict. Bale was just about to begin his acceptance when Eklund himself leaped onto the stage.

"This is the original quaker right here," Bale introduced him as Eklund said, "Good job, Christian."

The British actor, who won a Golden Globe for the role, then added, "Thank you for living the life, and thank you for letting me play you ... . You're a real gentlemen." He also noted that he appreciated getting the award from "fellow actors." (This was in contrast to his Globes acceptance speech, where he seemed unsure of who the Hollywood Foreign Press is.)

"The Fighter's" Melissa Leo got her first SAG, beating out fellow cast member Amy Adams to win as best supporting actress.

"I'm much better when I have my words written for me," she said onstage, looking much prettier than she did in the role of Bale's brassy mother,

In a moment of solidarity, she expressed gratitude to the six actresses who had played her daughters in the film and come to the ceremony with her. "Thank you for helping me get a man I can bring home tonight," she said hold up her "actor" prize.

As a predictor of Oscar wins, a SAG Award is little guarantee of a film or actor picking up a little golden man on Feb. 27 when the ceremony will be held. Sometimes taking the top prize may help, as it did with "Crash" in 2005, but for the most part the award ceremony's record is so-so. For best movie, it's 8 out of 15 (none was given out the first year); best actor 12-16, including the last six in a row; best actress 11-16, although only one in the last three years; and in both supporting actor categories it's 9-16.

On the other hand, the winner of Directors Guild of America's top award has only missed predicting the Oscar six times since 1948 and has been right for the last seven years. On Saturday, the DGA gave it's top honor to "The King's Speech" and British director Tom Hooper. A week earlier that film took home the best picture trophy from the Producers Guild of America, which is in line with the Oscars more than 60 percent of the time.

On the television side, outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama series went to HBO's lavish gangster series "Boardwalk Empire." Produced by Mark Wahlberg and Martin Scorsese, the series is set in Atlantic City in 1920 during the first year of Prohibition.

Despite some critics quibbles about his ability play a lead, "Empire's" star, Steve Buscemi, who plays a mobster/politician, was named best actor in a TV series. It was the first award of the night, and the Golden Globe winner was a bit nervous. He then thanked the ailing Scorsese, who won a DGA Award on Saturday night for directing the series' pilot episode.

Buscemi accepted his award from Alec Baldwin and Betty White in what turned out to be an omen.

The 89-year-old White, who last year received SAG's Life Achievement Award, was named best actress in a TV comedy for her role in "Hot in Cleveland." She looked genuinely stunned when her name was read. It was her first win and nomination.

"I can not believe this ... and they had to get the old broad up the stairs, too," quipped the five-time Emmy winner. "This is the biggest surprise I've had in this business." And in a moment of her trademark wit, suggestively grasped her statuette.

Baldwin won best actor in a TV comedy for the fifth consecutive time for his role on "30 Rock".

"I don't know what to say," said the actor who ties the record for second-most wins. "This is ridiculous."

Fourteen-time nominee Julianna Margulies won her second straight SAG Award as best actress in a TV drama for her role in "The Good Wife," as a lawyer and the burned spouse of a politician. It was her eighth overall win (six from when she was on "ER"). It sets a new record for the most wins by a single actor.

"What an honor this is. I'm so moved," she said and then thanked a list of people including another union, the Teamsters, who have helped dig out snow-bound New York City, where the series is shot.

Following up its Emmy win, ABC's "Modern Family," a satirical look at three different families, was named best TV ensemble comedy, beating out "Glee," which took the Golden Globe.

"This is the one we all wanted," said Ed O'Neill, accepting the award for the cast who assembled onstage.

Al Pacino, who was not at the ceremony, followed up his Golden Globe and Emmy wins as best actor in a TV movie or miniseries playing Jack Kervokian in HBO's "You Don't Know Jack." Claire Danes - also a Globe and Emmy winner - was best actress in a TV movie or miniseries as the title character in HBO's "Temple Grandin, the biopix about an autistic woman who was one of the first people to write and talk about her condition publicly.

Ernest Borgnine was presented with the Screen Actors Guild's 47th Life Achievement Award by Morgan Freeman. Tim Conway, who co-starred with the actor on "McHale's Navy" in the 1960s, introduced a tribute to the actor, who turned 94 last week. Conway noted that last fall's "Red" was Borgnine's 164th film.

"It all started with a question, `Have you ever thought of being an actor?.' (Actors) are a privilege few," said Borgnine in his acceptance speech, "and it's important that we always give the best we can to our profession."

It was a no-host evening (no Ricky Gervais worries), with only presenters. The evening began with stars, among them future winners Leo and Margulies, saying how proud they were to be actors.

Hilary Swank introduced a film clip tribute to the actors who have past away.

SAG president Ken Howard also gave a shout out to Tinseltown's other unions. (The Teamsters got three mentions.) And there was a tribute to actors who do commercials, which showed some big stars in their younger days like Dustin Hoffman.