By Jeffrey Jolson

A taste of Scorsese anyone?

HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 1/30/12 – The 2012 Screen Actors Guild Awards was star-studded, glamorous and even fun.

What can you say about a drinking game, instituted by the cast of Bridesmaids that had folks slugging one down every time Scorsese was thanked or even mentioned. And given the director’s lively output this year, a lot of folks were smashed by the time the two-hour show wrapped, and probably had to be carried from the after-party next door at the Shrine.

It was hard not to mention Scorsese (gulp). Steve Buscemi of SAG winner for dramatic cast “Boardwalk Empire” mentioned the show’s exec producer Martin Scorsese; it was gulp, gulp, gulp.

The big winners were The Help for overall cast, which gives them a leg up (not a shoe-in) for the Oscars.   Jean Dujardin took best actor in “The Artist” and the reason we mention Academy Awards here is that the actors are the largest voting body for the big Golden Boy next month where Billy Crystal will return to host.

Already The Artist, the black and white tribute to old Hollywood, took the Producers Guild Award, giving it two guilds and making it a fave in the Oscar pools for Feb.26.

Make it a lucky three: The film’s director Michel Hazanavicius took the Directors Guild Award away from Eastwood and Scorsese (gulp) said he no way expected the DGA prize for his film “The Artist.” But last Saturday evening’s DGA Awards shattered any doubts he may have had.

“I remember when we finished the movie, we didn’t even have any distributors,” Hazanavicius said on the red carpet.

A surprising event was the star of The Artist, French comedian Dujardin’s named the best-actor over 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.

We all should get as much Help as this cast has

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.

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.

Meanwhile, Christopher Plummer picked up yet another supporting-actor prize for his lovely turn as an elderly widower who finally comes out of the closet 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.”

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, according to AP.

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 became Mary Tyler Moore. I spoke it out loud.”