24th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards Winners

Yesterday evening the guild had their awards ceremony and for the first time ever had a host and was female as well as all award presenters.  So was a night of female actors, which I suppose goes well with all the demonstrations happening during the day all over the good old USA.

Obviously this female thing does not reflect the industry, which is still male dominated; but, it's time the country has a strong shift toward better equality as if trend goes there, then the rest of the world will follow sooner than later.  Sigh.

All right, enough of non-cinema related comments.  We know Actors guild is the largest of all and the one that has more Academy voters, so all eyes were fixed into what guild members will do and seems Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri as well as Frances McDormand have increased their chances to win top AMPAS awards.  As a matter of fact and according to what we have learn with PGA and SAG winners, it seems like Oscars male actor is lock while best picture could be a race between The Shape of Water and Three Billboards outside Ebbing and best actress a close race between Sally Hawkins and Frances McDormand.  Still coming are DGA awards and then we will get an idea of what could happen with the best director category.

Three Billboards outside Ebbing became the big winner among actors as got three awards but believe that in general and including TV categories the guild behaved in such a conservative way that doesn't speak well about whoever voted as honors went to "expected" individuals in traditional movies and shows. Sigh.  Fortunately other awards are recognizing newer trends both in films and TV.

Winners are in *BLUE. To check winners in all categories go official site here.

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
Adeel Akhtar, Holly Hunter, Zoe Kazan, Anupam Kher, Kumail Nanjiani, Ray Romano, and Zenobia Shroff in The Big Sick
Caleb Landry Jones, Daniel Kaluuya, Catherine Keener, Stephen Root, Lakeith Stanfield, Bradley Whitford and Allison Williams in Get Out
Timothee Chalamet, Beanie Feldstein, Lucas Hedges, Tracy Letts, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Laurie Metcalf, Jordan Rodrigues, Saoirse Ronan, Odeya Rush, Marielle Scott and Lois Smith in Lady Bird
Jonathan Banks, Mary J. Blige, Jason Clarke, Garrett Hedlund, Jason Mitchell, Rob Morgan and Carey Mulligan in Mudbound
*Abbie Cornish, Peter Dinklage, Woody Harrelson, John Hawkes, Lucas Hedges, Zeliko Ivanek, Caleb Landry Jones, Frances McDormand, Clarke Peters, Sam Rockwell, and Samara Weaving in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri



Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Judi Dench in Victoria and Abdul
Sally Hawkins in The Shape of Water
*Frances McDormand in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Margot Robbie in I, Tonya
Saoirse Ronan in Lady Bird

Oustanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Mary J. Blige in Mudbound
Hong Chau in Downsizing
Holly Hunter in The Big Sick
*Allison Janney in I, Tonya
Laurie Metcalf in Lady Bird

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Thimothee Chalamet in Call Me by Your Name
James Franco in The Disaster Artist
Daniel Kaluuya in Get Out
*Gary Oldman in Darkest Hour
Denzel Washington in Roman J. Israel, Esq

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Steve Carell in Battle of the Sexes
Willem Dafoe in The Florida Project
Woody Harrelson in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Richard Jenkins in The Shape of Water
*Sam Rockwell in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture
Baby Driver
Dunkirk
Logan
War for the Planet of the Apes
*Wonder Woman

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12/13/17
A few minutes ago Olivia Munn and Niecy Nash revealed the nominees from the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood.  The nominations for the 2018 edition of these awards are given to performances in films released in 2017.  Two nominating panels -one for television and one for film- each composed of 2,500 randomly selected union members from across the United States, chose this year's nominees.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri leads the pack with four (4) nominations followed by Lady Bird (3), and with two each, The Big Sick, Get Out, I, Tonya, and Mudboud.

As Scott Feinberg from THR notes in a tweet, "It has been 22 years since a film won the best picture Oscar without being nominated for this SAG award, so one of these five is almost certainly your eventual winner", he's referring to the top award, Cast in a Motion Picture.  I tend to agree with him but there are a few movies that not many have seen and could stop the trend, The Post, Phantom Thread, and All the Money in the World; another batch of independent movies that could upset the trend are The Florida Project and Call Me by Your Name and last, but not least, there is The Shape of Water that I'm certain will get a nomination and in my book still has high chances to win top Oscar.

There are some major surprises but not one more shocking than honoring Judi Dench with a nomination when the spot should have been given to Meryl Streep for example.  Admit that I did not enjoy much the film, Victoria and Abdul nor Dench performance so definitively that's the spot that should go to Streep or even Michelle Williams but surely these two were overlooked because members haven't seen the films. Then no one will ever convince me that James Franco performance in The Disaster Artist is "better" than Daniel Day-Lewis in Phantom Thread. Sigh.

On the not so-serious side, my biggest surprise is to find Thimotee Chalamet was nominated before in 2013 for the drama ensemble in Homeland and besides being in Call Me by Your name, he also performs in Lady Bird!  -and me believing he was a newcomer (lol).

This year the Life Achievement goes to none other than Morgan Freeman and if you wish to read about his impressive career and long list of achievements and honors go to SAG official site here.

Now final voting information will be sent to the 121,544 SAG-AFTRA members in good standing across the country, who may vote on all categories.  Kristen Bell to host the awards ceremony on Sunday, January 21, 2018, an event which is simulcast live on TNT and TBS.  She breaks new ground as the SAG Awards first-ever host.

To check film and television nominations at the official site go here (pdf file).

Not often talk about television but there are some nominations that called my attention, most remarkable is the nomination of Millie Bobby Brown in Stranger Things which I find extremely well-deserved.  Then was a huge positive surprise to find Glow nominated as when watching felt I was doing something "bad" for my viewing-reputation but uff!, am I so glad that even when I feel I'm having a "guilty-pleasure" moment, my good-cinema intuition still works (lol!). Yes, I devoured Glow in one long binge moment.