LOS ANGELES, Jan 30, (Agencies): Finally, an awards show with some surprises and spontaneity.
The Screen Actors Guild Awards featured some unexpected winners, including “The Help” for best overall cast performance and French actor Jean Dujardin for best actor in “The Artist” alongside some of the longtime favorites in movies and television.
But there was a looseness and a playfulness that permeated the Shrine Exposition Center Sunday night — maybe because it was a room full of people who love to perform, without the rigidity of one single host to lead them.
Unlike the great expectations that came with the sharp-tongued Ricky Gervais’ reprisal at the Golden Globes a couple weeks ago or the much-anticipated return of Billy Crystal to the Academy Awards next month, there was no master of ceremonies at the SAG Awards. The presenters and winners seemed to have more room to improvise and put their own spin on the evening — but mercifully, the show itself still managed to wrap up on time after just two hours.

Drama
And so we had three of the stars of best-cast nominee “Bridesmaids” — Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph and Melissa McCarthy — introducing their comedy with a joke about turning the name “Scorsese” into a drinking game, which became a running gag throughout the night. When HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire” won the award for best drama series cast, among the first words star Steve Buscemi uttered in accepting the prize were “Martin Scorsese” — he just happens to be one of the show’s executive producers.
One of the more exciting moments of the night was the announcement of Dujardin’s name in the best-actor category for his performance in the silent, black-and-white homage “The Artist.”
In winning the award for his portrayal of a silent-film star who finds his career in decline with the arrival of talkies, Dujardin definitely boosts his chances at the Oscars on Feb 26. Little-known in the United States before this, the French comic bested bigger names like George Clooney (“The Descendants”), Brad Pitt (“Moneyball”) and Leonardo DiCaprio (“J. Edgar”).
If he follows this up with an Academy Award, Dujardin would become the first French actor ever to take the prize. Asked backstage how it would feel, Dujardin launched into a jaunty rendition of “La Marseillaise,” the French national anthem.

“Pressure, big pressure,” Dujardin then added in his halting English. “It’s unbelievable. It’s amazing already. Too early to tell.”
Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer continued to cement their front-runner status in the actress and supporting actress categories, respectively, for their formidable work in “The Help.” Both women play black maids in 1960s Mississippi who dare to go public about the bigotry they’ve endured.
“I just have to say that the stain of racism and sexism is not just for people of color or women. It’s all of our burden, all of us,” Davis said, accepting the ensemble prize on behalf of her “The Help” co-stars.
Backstage, Davis said of her own victory: “A few more people checked my name in the box for whatever reason. This time I kind of fooled them.”
Meanwhile, Christopher Plummer picked up yet another supporting-actor prize for his lovely turn as an elderly widower who finally comes out as gay in “Beginners.” Plummer won at the Golden Globes and is nominated for an Oscar. He would become the oldest actor ever to win an Academy Award at age 82, two years older than Jessica Tandy was when she won best actress for “Driving Miss Daisy.”
Backstage, Plummer joked when asked if he would like to win an Oscar, an honor so elusive during his esteemed 60-year career that he did not even receive his first Academy Award nomination until two years ago, for “The Last Station.”

Awful
“No, I think it’s frightfully boring,” Plummer said. “That’s an awful question. Listen, we don’t go into this business preoccupied by awards. If we did, we wouldn’t last five minutes.”
The win for overall cast for “The Help,” when “The Artist” and “The Descendants” have been the favorites all along, makes the conversation more interesting but it isn’t necessarily an indicator of how the film will do come Oscar time.
The guild’s ensemble prize, considered its equivalent of a best-picture honor, has a spotty record at predicting what will win the top award at the Oscars. While “The King’s Speech” won both honors a year ago, the SAG ensemble recipient has gone on to claim the top Oscar only eight times in the 16 years since the guild added the category.

The winners at the SAG ceremony often do go on to earn Oscars, however. All four acting recipients at SAG last year later took home Oscars — Colin Firth for “The King’s Speech,” Natalie Portman for “Black Swan” and Christian Bale and Melissa Leo for “The Fighter.”
On the television side, comedy series awards went to “Modern Family” for best ensemble; Alec Baldwin as best actor for “30 Rock”; and Betty White as best actress for “Hot in Cleveland.”
“You can’t name me, without naming those other wonderful women on ‘Hot in Cleveland,’” the 90-year-old White said. “This nomination belongs to four of us. Please, please know that I’m dealing them right in with this. I’m not going to let them keep this, but I’ll let them see it.”
The TV drama show winners were: Jessica Lange as best actress for “American Horror Story”; and Buscemi as best actor for “Boardwalk Empire.”
For TV movie or miniseries, Kate Winslet won as best actress for “Mildred Pierce,” while Paul Giamatti was named best actor for “Too Big to Fail.”

The guild gave its lifetime achievement award to Mary Tyler Moore, presented by Dick Van Dyke, her co-star on the 1960s sit-com “The Dick Van Dyke Show.”
Moore recalled that when she entered show business at age 18 in 1955, there were already six others Mary Moores in the Screen Actors Guild. Told to change her name, she quickly added Tyler, the middle name she shares with her father, George.
“I was Mary Tyler Moore. I spoke it out loud. Mary Tyler Moore. It sounded right so I wrote it down on the form, and it looked right,” she said. “It was right. SAG was happy, my father was happy, and tonight, after having the privilege of working in this business among the most creative and talented people imaginable, I too am happy, after all.”

A complete list of winners at Sunday’s 18th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards:
Movies:
* Actor: Jean Dujardin, “The Artist”
* Actress: Viola Davis, “The Help”
* Supporting actor: Christopher Plummer, “Beginners.”
* Supporting actress: Octavia Spencer, “The Help.”
* Cast: “The Help”
* Stunt ensemble: “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.”

Television:
* Actor in a movie or miniseries: Paul Giamatti, “Too Big to Fail.”
* Actress in a movie or miniseries: Kate Winslet, “Mildred Pierce.”
* Actor in a drama series: Steve Buscemi, “Boardwalk Empire”
* Actress in a drama series: Jessica Lange, “American Horror Story”
* Actor in a comedy series: Alec Baldwin, “30 Rock.”
* Actress in a comedy series: Betty White, “Hot in Cleveland.”
* Drama series cast: “Boardwalk Empire”
* Comedy series cast: “Modern Family.”
* Stunt ensemble: “Game of Thrones.”
* Life Achievement: Mary Tyler Moore

Mary Tyler Moore made it after all.
The 75-year-old actress, who as Mary Richards “turned the world on with her smile” in her groundbreaking 1970s sitcom “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” received the lifetime achievement award at Sunday night’s 18th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards.
“MTM. There’s probably not a person in the civilized world who doesn’t know what that means,” said Dick Van Dyke, her former co-star in the equally appealing 1960s sit-com “The Dick Van Dyke show,” as he introduced her.
He noted Moore’s achievements as an Oscar-nominated actress, a dancer and a Hollywood executive whose MTM Enterprises has produced several other hit TV shows.

Revealed
As she accepted her award, Moore revealed how the civilized world almost never did hear of MTM, who was told in the opening theme song of her show each week, “You’re gonna make it after all.”
When she entered show business at age 18 in 1955, Moore said, there were already six others Mary Moores in the Screen Actors Guild.
Told to change her name, she quickly added Tyler, the middle name of both her and her father, George.
“I was Mary Tyler Moore. I spoke it out loud. Mary Tyler Moore. It sounded right so I wrote it down on the form, and it looked right,” she said. “It was right. SAG was happy, my father was happy, and tonight, after having the privilege of working in this business among the most creative and talented people imaginable, I too am happy, after all.”

Before the awards show Van Dyke had stopped on the red carpet to remember working with Moore on his show.
“She was 23 and had never done comedy. I never saw somebody pick it up so fast. I still have a crush on her,” he said.
The show’s audience, including Moore’s former co-star Betty White, showered both her and Van Dyke with standing ovations, leading Van Dyke to remind them, “I’m just a presenter.”
Van Dyke and Moore were so believable as husband and wife Rob and Laura Petrie on “The Dick Van Dyke Show” that many viewers thought they were married in real life.
As Laura Petrie, Moore also turned Capri pants into a fashion trend during the show’s run.
Van Dyke noted they fit her so well, which created such a concern during that more conservative era, that she was limited to wearing them in only one scene per show.


When your dinner party guests include Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Kate Winslet and Glenn Close, and the whole affair is televised live, it can take months to plan the menu. That’s why the team behind the Screen Actors Guild Awards began putting together the plate for Sunday’s ceremony months ago.
It was still summer when show producer Kathy Connell and executive producer and director Jeff Margolis first sat down with chef Suzanne Goin of Los Angeles eatery Lucques with a tall order: Create a meal that is delicious at room temperature, looks beautiful on TV, is easy to eat and appeals to Hollywood tastes. Oh, and no poppy seeds, soups, spicy dishes, or piles of onions or garlic.
“It can’t drip, stick in their teeth or be too heavy,” Connell said. “We have to appease all palates.”
Portions
The chef put together a plate of possibilities: Slow-roasted salmon with yellow beets, lamb with cous cous and spiced cauliflower and roasted root vegetables with quinoa. There was also a chopped chicken salad and another chicken dish with black beans.
To ensure the dishes are both tasty and TV-ready, Connell and Margolis, along with the SAG Awards Committee and the show’s florist and art director, dined together at this summertime lunch on tables set to replicate those that will be in the Shrine Exposition Center during the ceremony. The pewter, crushed-silk tablecloths and white lilies you’ll see on TV Sunday were also chosen months ago.
The diners discussed the look of the plate, the size of the portions and the vegetarian possibilities.
“We’d like the portions a little larger,” Connell told the chef.
“And a little more sauce on the salmon,” Margolis added.
Come Sunday, it’s up to Goin to prepare 1,200 of the long-planned meals for the A-list audience.

Also:
LOS ANGELES: The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists’ national board approved a merger proposal with the Screen Actors Guild on Saturday.
The proposal passed with 94 percent of the panel voting for approval, which followed approval by SAG’s national board on Friday night.
The approval by both national boards will be followed by a referendum on the merger measure to be approved by the full membership of each guild. The referendum for AFTRA wil be mailed to AFTRA members on or about Feb. 27, 2012, with a ballot return and tabulation deadline of March 30, 2012.
“I applaud the AFTRA National Board for their overwhelming approval of this historic merger package,” said AFTRA National President Roberta Reardon. “The partnership we formed on the G1 was one of collegiality and consensus that went into laying the foundation for a new union. This plan embodies the thoughtful work and valuable perspectives from large and small markets across the nation of many working actors, broadcast professionals, recording artists and other performers.”

Last year, AFTRA’s New Union Committee and SAG’s Merger Task Force formed a joint committee called the “G1,” or Group for One Union. That committee broke into study groups, which examined governance and structure, finance and dues, collective bargaining, pension, health and retirement, operations and staff and member education and outreach.
The G1 spent nine days this month working on its recommendations for a merger.
The Screen Actors Guild vote on Friday was approved 87.1 percent to 12.9 percent.
Screen Actors Guild National President Ken Howard released the following statement regarding the AFTRA National Board vote on the proposed merger with Screen Actors Guild:
“This is a terrific outcome and I offer my sincere thanks and congratulations to AFTRA’s National Board and National President Roberta Reardon. Professional performers are now an important step closer to the strongest union representation possible. Just as our boards have, I believe our members will decisively approve this merger and that SAG-AFTRA will be a leader in shaping the entertainment and media industries.”