by Nathaniel R
It's SAG night. Let's jump right in...
Christina Applegate got here SAG card in the 70s on an indie film. She doesn't remember what it was (yeah, right) but everyone was "really really high". Cynthia Erivo played a shepherd -- "Everyone lauded my performance." she was hooked at five years old. Eugene Levy dreamed of being the next Mr Whipple but goes on and on in a funny bit. They are actors! (We always love that corny intro.)
Levy and (hot/gay) Son present Male Actor, Comedy Series for which, inexplicably, neither of them is nominatd. The statue goes to awards magnet Tony Shalhoub in Marvelous Mrs Maisel
Female Actor, Comedy Series is presented by Jharrel Jerome and a suddenly bespectacled and mature Millie Bobby Brown. She still plays "Eleven" on TV but she must be angling for college comedies now. The actor goes to Phoebe Waller Bridge for Fleabag and we're hoping her home has steel girded mantles for all the statues she's collecting.
Taking a trip to to the Spahn ranch for the intro of the clip from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood we hear from Squeaky (Dakota Fanning), George Spahn (Bruce Dern), and Pussycat (Margaret Qualley) who call Tarantino the greatest movie lover. QT raises his glass in gratitude.
I voted for Fleabag. This is really weird. This makes no sense.
Ensemble in a Comedy Series goes to Marvleous Mrs Maisel for the second year in a row. They seem genuinely shocked and keep talking about Fleabag before saying "this is a mistake". It's kind of a delight to hear genuine fandom cross shows rather than just the typical 'so honored to be in your company'
Taron Egerton gets to present Best Supporting Actress. He booked this gig before getting snubbed by Oscar. Don't you always feel bad for those particular actors on the circuit?
That JLo clip is great and brings the hurt right back (*weeps*). Laura Dern wins and gives a lovely heartfelt speech to her actor's community with special attention to her parents Bruce & Diane.
The Parasite ensemble gets a standing ovation when they come out to share their clip, how cool is that? Still hoping they win.
Best Supporting Actor goes to Brad Pitt who calls acting a team sport (yes!) and tells at least three jokes that get a huge response about: Tarantino's foot fetish, his own tindr profile, and a self-deprecating take on his own performance "a guy who gets high, takes his shirt off, and doesn't get on with his wife -- a real stretch" Utterly adorable.
Actress in a Limited Series goes to Michelle Williams for Fosse/Verdon. It's actually her first win after several nominations (individual and cast). Lovely speech with generous praise of Sam Rockwell.
Gabrielle Carteris and Gwendolyn Christie both give little speeches, one about the acting as an art, one about heroism, activism. The montage for heroes is completely all over the place but given that it thankfully stretches back to the 1970s and includes a million movies we weren't expecting.
Taika, Scarjo and a hilariously enthusiastic Roman Griffin Davis (who is very exciting when he nails his cue card reading) to introduce the clips of Jojo Rabbit.
Female Actor in a Drama Series goes to Jennifer Aniston for The Morning Show. She is shocked. Fun speech. There's a shout out to Reese about it taking 20 years but we did it. Were they trying to reunite since Reese's awesome guest spot on Friends? The answer to this is surely obvious if you've been following the Morning Show press which we must admit we haven't.
Leonardo DiCaprio comes out to introduce his This Boy's Life co-star Robert DeNiro...
Robert De Niro Lifetime Achievement Award
Standing ovation of course. He talks about no victory laps because you're always worried about your next job (and here a little plug to the fact that he's working Scorsese and DiCaprio together next). He speaks about the power of unions and about his political outspokennss. He believes in always speaking out against blatant abuses of power.
The three stars of Bombshell come out to introduce it. And they're followed by two more goddesses Danai Gurira and Lupita Nyong'o to introduce the next category
Actor in a Limited Series goes to Sam Rockwell, who is also legitimately shocked, for Fosse/Verdon. That's followed by the In Memoriam which is always both sad and inspiring, the latter because it brings so much great work back to mind.
Best Leading Actor goes to Joaquin Phoenix for Joker. And wow... a loveely speech from Joaquin where he spends the bulk of it just speaking to the brilliance of his fellow nomineees and even suggests that Adam Driver should be up there winning (yes).
Best Leading Actress goes Renée Zellweger. It's her 3rd individual SAG win. She celebrates her costars with a "popcorn breakfast". (Tom Hanks' intro is funnier mentioning that this is the first time Judy Garland, Megyn Kelly, and Harriet Tubman have ever been together in a category.)
Eugene and Dan Levy who began the show also close it.
Outstanding Cast goes to Parasite.
Couldn't have happened to a more deserving cast, every performance is just modulated perfectly to deliver a remarkable whole. This is the first time a foreign language film has ever won the top prize at SAG. No foreign film has ever won the Best Picture Oscar and SAG's top prize only translates to a Best Picture win at the Oscar about 46% of the time. However, there's a first time for everything so we'll keep the dream alive thanks to this blessed results at th Screen Actors Guild Award.