SHE'S WON IT FIVE TIMES! - 2017 SAG Awards Recap
Click to viewShe won it in Emmys!
She won it in TCA Awards!
In CCAs and Golden Globes, it was hers too!
She's won it five times, she's won it five times!
In SAG Awards, Sarah Paulson has won it five times!
And there you have it, folks, a milestone that can only be described with a Liverpool chant even though the English Premier League team currently in its unfortunate phase of losing games to the point that they lost in FA Cup. This has marked her fifth award win as a female actor in the TV movie, limited TV series, and Miniseries, in a consecutive manner (which also includes Television Critics Association Awards), and it's a total holy shit in Scouse accent! (context!)
Not just Sarah Paulson, it also marked Viola Davis' fifth SAG Awards win. Although I prefer Sarah's varied trophies she has won, both her and Viola are two of the best actresses indeed, and I can't be happier to see both of them winning five times. FIVE TIMES!!!
But, these aren't not the only thing happened during the 23rd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards. So many surprises on who won that night, in which I thought both La La Land and The People v. O.J. Simpson would be at it again, but they weren't as the winners were announced. With Oscars coming and this effectively became the last TV awards show until Emmys and also being The People's final appearance in award shows, the tables will turn faster than I turn this post into a Sarah Paulson musing post described in Liverpool's titular chant.
AS THE MOMENT LIVED
Thank you, @SAGawards for honoring @oitnb It remains an honor and a privilege for us to share these stories. Congrats to all the nominees!! pic.twitter.com/sHOX839O7P
- Uzo Aduba (@UzoAduba) January 30, 2017
The 23rd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards was held on 29th of January, taking place at Shrine Auditorium Los Angeles, California. The awards gala celebrates the actors, cast ensembles, and stunt ensembles in both motion picture and primetime television.
Starting with Comedy series categories, Julia Louis-Dreyfus bested everyone in Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series, with William H. Macy winning the Male counterpart, beating out last year's winner Jeffrey Tambor of Transparent. However, it was Orange is the New Black that was crowned as the winner of Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series, still undefeated from last year, despite the actress Uzo Aduba losing out to JLD.
“Thank you SAG-AFTRA!” - @violadavis #sagawards pic.twitter.com/OjfCLRLNgj
- SAG Awards® (@SAGawards) January 30, 2017
Continuing on to the Supporting Role honors for movies, Viola Davis' impeccable Fences performance earned her a Female Supporting Role win, as well as her fifth SAG Awards trophy, with her Oscars win being in a must-have priority. Mahershala Ali of Moonlight scored the movie's win number one in the Male Supporting Role race, beating out Manchester By The Sea's Lucas Hedges, among others.
The categories for Television Movie and Miniseries were won by Sarah Paulson of The People v. O.J. Simpson for Female and Bryan Cranston of All the Way for Male. The win finally marked Sarah Paulson's fifth win in different categories under the series, while Bryan Cranston's win avenged his last year's loss for Better Call Saul. The awards continued with the 53rd Annual SAG Life Achievement Award given to Lily Tomlin, who was also the award's nominee for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series.
Give it a spin! @LilyTomlin #sagawards pic.twitter.com/kMe4KjAvyN
- SAG Awards® (@SAGawards) January 30, 2017
The Drama series race saw a double win for Netflix's The Crown, making it the most-celebrated TV series, courtesy of wins from Claire Foy in Female Actor and John Lithgow in Male Actor, succeeding their Golden Globes success. However, it was Stranger Things that was awarded the Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series, marking the series' first award win since its first nomination in last year's Emmys. This however does not change the fact that all the drama wins were Netflix's taking. Stranger Things' win was awarded after the In Memoriam segment.
The televised climax came in the form of Leading Role and Outstanding Cast Performance for movies, starting up with Emma Stone's victory in the Female Actor honors after winning against Meryl Streep and Amy Adams, as well as bumping up her win count to two under La La Land's umbrella. The Male Actor winner, however, was a surprise: Fences' Denzel Washington, beating out Ryan Gosling in what might be another La La Land sweep. The Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture was eventually given out to Hidden Figures, another of the night's surprise.
Finally, the Stunt Ensemble honors were awarded to Hacksaw Ridge for Motion Picture and Game of Thrones for the television side.
In conclusion, the night saw Fences winning on the movies side and The Crown on the television side, with the rest of the titles each won one. Defending winners from last year included OITNB and Game of Thrones, while Viola Davis fills in such role for the actor/actress part.
DEEP SPEECHES & UNMISSABLE MOMENTS
Mahershala Ali of @moonlightmov #sagawards pic.twitter.com/q9txL6fW8R
- SAG Awards® (@SAGawards) January 30, 2017
If you watched SAG Awards, I would guess that you spotted a rising number of "deep" speeches, more than what Golden Globes brought earlier (remember Meryl Streep's speech directed to the one that made fun a disabled reporter?). With the US president making a bunch of nonsensical policies that do more harm than good (trust me, if I were an American, I would freak out as well), some winners took acceptance speeches to the next level.
For instance, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, the winner for the Female Actor in Comedy Series. Her speech paid tribute to her late father who fled religious persecution in Nazi-occupied France and moved to USA with his mother in 1940. Julia stated that she is an American patriot, and she loves the country that she is horrified with the un-American blemish, which is the "immigrant ban" Trump officiated recently. At the same time, she continued with the Guild's statement which emphasized the importance of storytelling by creators from diverse backgrounds and nationalities.
Mahershala Ali also gave his emotional winning speech, opened by the fact that what he has learned from working on Moonlight is that they see what happens when they persecute themselves. He later reveals he is a Muslim, and his mother, who is an ordained minister, didn't do backflips when he called her to tell her he converted 17 years ago. In addition, he continued "we put things to the side, I'm able to see her, she's able to see me, we love each other, the love has grown. That stuff is minutiae. It's not that important."
While winning Outstanding Cast Ensemble for the TV side and having the signature Winona Ryder face on the go, Stranger Things' David Harbour dedicated the award to the "ones who take their craft seriously and believe that great acting can change the world" as "it is a a call to arms from their fellow craftsmen and women, to go deeper, and battle against fear, self-centeredness and exclusivity" through their art. The speech continued with the fact that "we are united, in that we are all human beings, and we are all together on his horrible, painful, joyous, exciting and mysterious ride that is being alive," sheltering freaks, outcasts, and those who have no home, while going past the lies and will "punch some people in the face when they seek to destroy the meek and the disenfranchised and the marginalized" as chief Jim Hopper said.
Some winners even injected in-character humor to their statements, for instance Comedy series lead actor winner William H. Macy (of Shameless) who would "like to thank president Trump for making Frank Gallagher seem so normal," and Bryan Cranston (of All the Way), as the lead actor in a miniseries or TV movie winner, said he is often asked what Lyndon Johnson would think about Trump. Cranston said "I honestly feel that 36 would put his arm around 45 and earnestly wish him success, and he would also whisper something in his ear that he often said, as a form of encouragement, and as a cautionary tale: 'Just don't piss in the soup that all of us got to eat.'"
This, along with several others, were the responses to President Trump's "immigrant ban" executive order which was officiated recently before the night began. The ban restricted seven Muslim-majority countries, namely Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen, to visit US for 90 days, despite there have been talks that this would go on forever. The ban also applies to the US citizens who are born in any of the mentioned countries. As predicted, the ban has caused numerous uproars due to the fact that the ban does more harm than good, in that it is much more about shooing those from any of the mentioned countries regardless if they are US citizens or not (read: racism) than defending themselves against the "baddies" or "evil," as Trump tweeted in his official account. The baddies in question are the Muslim refugees, which he believes are dangerous. The UCLA, among others, stand against the immigrant ban.
In Memoriam #sagawards pic.twitter.com/2FtDEWsIPa
- SAG Awards® (@SAGawards) January 30, 2017
Despite the whole madness, we also get to see the 'In Memoriam' segment which remembered the notable actors and actresses who passed away, such as Ken Howard, Anton Yelchin, Prince, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Gene Wilder, Mary Tyler Moore, Carrie Fisher, and Debbie Reynolds.
THE OSCARS
And the Awards Season has finally reached its climax for movies, the fateful last battle to determine the finest movies of all that is the Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars. With the nominations already released last Tuesday via live streaming featuring Academy members, it's going to be a two-way battle between La La Land and Moonlight, two of the top-tier movies that has won awards prior to their journey this Awards Season. However, keep in mind that Hidden Figures and Manchester By The Sea have the same odds too, and could get away with some unexpected results, just like what the SAG Award already presented. Battling it out in the actors field will include the usual suspects such as Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Meryl Streep, Viola Davis, Mahershala Ali, Denzel Washington, and several others. To spice up the star-studded line-up, Doctor Strange and Rogue One qualify for Best Visual Effects, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them compete in the Best Costume Design, and Suicide Squad is in for Best Make-up & Hairstyling title, as well as having a real diverse line-up after last year's #OscarsSoWhite trainwreck.
The Oscars post should come out soon in a couple of days. Oh, and one last thing, to...
~[R]