The sci-fi smash “Inception” and the Facebook drama “The Social Network” took top screenplay honors Saturday night at the Writers Guild Awards.
“Inception” writer Christopher Nolan won for best original screenplay and “The Social Network” writer Aaron Sorkin won for best adapted screenplay. The awards were handed out by the Writers Guild of America in simultaneous ceremonies at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel in Los Angeles and the AXA Equitable Center in New York.
“The Social Network,” which Sorkin adapted from the Ben Mezrich book “The Accidental Billionaires,” was expected to win Saturday. But the original screenplay category was considered a toss-up between “Inception,” the psychosexual thriller “Black Swan” and the boxing drama “The Fighter” because current awards-season darling “The King’s Speech” was not eligible for a WGA award as it was not made under the writing union’s contract guidelines.
Other top films of 2010 like “Toy Story 3” and “Winter’s Bone” were ineligible for the same reason.
Sorkin will be the prohibitive favorite in the adapted category, and “The King’s Speech” and “Inception” will vie for original screenplay honors at the Academy Awards on Feb. 27.
“The Social Network,” was also considered an early favorite for a best picture Oscar. But it has been trumped in recent award ceremonies including the Golden Globes and Producers Guild Awards by “The King’s Speech,” which features Colin Firth as the stammering father of Queen Elizabeth II and is expected to sweep several categories on Oscar night.
In other WGA categories, Charles Ferguson, Chad Beck and Adam Bolt won best documentary screenplay honors for “Inside Job,” a chronicle of the 2008 economic meltdown.
And large teams of writers from AMC’s “Mad Men” and ABC’s “Modern Family” won for best drama and comedy series, respectively.
Apple and Google Face UK Investigation Into Mobile Browser Dominance
Apple and Google aren't giving consumers a genuine choice of mobile web browsers, a British watchdog said Friday in a report that recommends they face an investigation under new U.K. digital rules taking effect next year.
The Competition and Markets Authority took aim at Apple, saying the iPhone maker's tactics hold back innovation by stopping rivals from giving users new features like faster webpage loading. Apple does this by restricting progressive web apps, which don't need to be downloaded from an app store and aren't subject to app store commissions, the report said.
"This technology is not able to fully take off on iOS devices," the watchdog said in a provisional report on its investigation into mobile browsers that it opened after an initial study concluded that Apple and Google effectively have a chokehold on "mobile ecosystems."
The CMA's report also found that Apple and Google manipulate the choices given to mobile phone users to make their own browsers "the clearest or easiest option."
And it said that the a revenue-sharing deal between the two U.S. Big Tech companies "significantly reduces their financial incentives" to compete in mobile browsers on Apple's iOS operating system for iPhones.
Both companies said they will "engage constructively" with the CMA.
Apple said it disagreed with the findings and said it was concerned that the recommendations would undermine user privacy and security.
Google said the openness of its Android mobile operating system "has helped to expand choice, reduce prices and democratize access to smartphones and apps" and that it's "committed to open platforms that empower consumers."
It's the latest move by regulators on both sides of the Atlantic to crack down on the... Read More