King's Speech’ reigns with Producers Guild award

CALIFORNIA: "The King's Speech" won best-produced film from the Producers Guild of America on Saturday, a regal boost to its Oscar aspirations in an awards season so far swept by "The Social Network." The producers of "King's Speech" -- Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Gareth Unwin -- said they thought they were "the last guys in the running" among the 10 nominees for the top Producers award, which comes just before Tuesday's Oscar nominations. The drama depicts the struggles of the stammering British King George VI, played by Colin Firth, and his unlikely savior of a speech therapist. Firth won best actor at the Golden Globes a week ago, but his film did not fare as well there. The Facebook founding saga "Social Network" took home four Globes, including best dramatic film and best director, and has won several of the critics and industry awards this season. While "The King's Speech" has also made several best movie lists among critics, the Weinstein Company-backed film has not been considered a front-runner. It was not even nominated by the Writers Guild of America for its awards this season. Other films in contention for the best-produced movie of the year were "Black Swan," "The Fighter" and "Toy Story 3," which won best-produced animated film.