On the SAG winners: History making but will they prove Oscar & Emmy influential?
Monday, April 5, 2021 at 3:05PM by Nathaniel R
Riz Ahmed was one of handful of stars hat operated as inadvertent hosts by having bits of an interview spliced in all throughout the show about their careers and such.
We watched the SAG awards last night with a mix of fascination and relief. Fascination at the winners chosen and relief that the ceremony accepted that it couldn't be a normal one and therefore became merely a swift presentation of wins with acceptance speeches on Zoom. Aside from swift "bits" where famous actors talked about their headshots or the "special skills" on their resumes, it was all just actors talking about the nominated actors and then the winners beaming from their homes on Zoom. It ran just a single hour long...
THE FILM WINNERS
Trial of the Chicago 7 wins Outstanding Cast. This is Eddie Redmayne's 2nd SAG award and Michael Keaton's 3rd.
Cast Trial of the Chicago 7
Actress Viola Davis, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (6th SAG win)
Actor Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2nd SAG win)
Supporting Actress Youn Yuh-Jung, Minari
Supporting Actor Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah (2nd SAG win)
Stunt Ensemble Wonder Woman 1984
HISTORICAL TIDBITS FIRST:
• This is the first time in SAG's 27 year history when all four single performance film awards have gone to actors of color.
• This is only the second time in SAG's 27 year history when an entirely non-English language performance (Youn Yuh-Jung) has won one of the four individual performance awards and the first time it's happened for a woman. The only other time it happened was Roberto Benigni for his Italian performance in Life is Beautiful (1998). Sidebar note: Christoph Waltz also won for Inglourious Basterds (2009) but he spoke several languages in that film including a good deal of English.
• This is the fourth consecutive year in which a superhero film has won stunt ensemble, a trend that started with Wonder Woman (2017). Before that you'd have to go all the way back to The Dark Knight (2008) to find a superhero film winning.
• Michael Keaton is now the record holder for most wins for "Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture" with his third win in the category for Chicago 7. He previously shared this win with coworkers for Birdman (2014) and Spotlight (2015)
• WEIRD NOTE FOR OBSESSIVE AWARDS NERDS ONLY: Each year we complain about SAG's rules of who gets left off the "Cast" list (the rule being you have to have your own title card to be nominated in this category). Somewhere between the nominations and the awards, Kelvin Harrison Jr was added to the "official" nomination so now he is a SAG winner. We're not sure how this happened -- and you'll see his IMDb page still does not (at this writing) reflect that he was added as an official nominee since he wasn't an official nominee when SAG first announced. But now he is a winner. Something must have happened bheind the scenes as he is the only one of those 11 actors who shared a title card who is now an official winner and he wasn't even the first billed among those 11.
ABOUT THIS YEAR'S WINS
Some of the wins were expected: Chadwick Boseman and Daniel Kaluuya are sweepers this season for their Leading performances in the Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor categories. Other wins were not entirely expected but easy to see coming like Trial of the Chicago 7 for Outstanding Cast. I had predicted it right here but as I felt it was the least deserving of the five contenders, I dreaded being right. In the end it felt too much like what SAG goes for in "Outstanding Cast" for them to pass up. Namely lots and lots of famous actors assembled for a well liked movie. The frustration is that a collection of names should not be the whole story with this prize. There seems to be little actual consideration as to the quality of the work overall. In our estimation Chicago 7 is very competently acted (barring a couple of broad off notes) but overall 'competence' shouldn't win you awards. Not when you're up against casts all operating on a very high level with no weak links (One Night in Miami, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom) or casts where the best performers are just transcendent (Minari, Da 5 Bloods). But bygones. SAG is now behind us and the wins are the wins.
What does it all mean for Oscar?
We knew that there was suspense in the female acting categories but THIS MUCH suspense? That we did not anticipate. Neither Viola Davis nor Youn Yuh-Jung were expected to win yet both won. It could be a simple blip in the season or they could be heading to Oscar wins. But it shows that both Lead Actress and Supporting Actress remain hyper competitive. It almost feels as if these are both 3 or 4 way races... rather than the even odds races they felt like between 2 or 3 competitors. We'll discuss Best Actress tomorrow as that definitely requires its own article.
Supporting Actress had previously felt like a contest between Glenn Close (the reigning queen of "overdue" status) and Maria Bakalova (the critical darling for what counts for a zeitgeist hit this year in the hardest year ever to judge what such a thing was). They both lost at the Globes where they were in different categories and now they've both lost at SAG where they were in the same category. Clearly neither of them are "way out front" as the perception had widely been during precursor season. SAG has no way to reward movies outside of acting categories so this win might be a case of wanting to reward Minari which was also up for cast and having no deep love for the other two movies. Oscar voters could reward Minari in other ways, of course, but it might be a simple case of a) Minari having momentum and b) voters actually watching Youn Yuh-Jung's tremendous work in the film. It's now a three way race for Oscar gold. How thrilling!
As for the cast win...
This might mean -- and we're dreading typing this -- that Trial of the Chicago 7 actually does have a shot at winning Best Picture after all. It's possible that Oscar voters will consider Best Director / Best Cinematography reward enough for Nomadland and it will lose the top prize. That would be heartbreaking (unless it lost to a movie on its level like, say, Minari or The Father) but Oscar history is full of heartbreaks. This recent tweet from filmmaker Rod Lurie, an Academy member, gave us pause.
In my gut I have this strong feeling that the winner of this year's best picture #Oscar will be a film without a directing nomination. An #Argo redux.
— Rod Lurie (@RodLurie) April 3, 2021
We doubt he's talking about The Father (sigh). He must be talking about Chicago 7. 'Argofuckyourself' takes on a whole new meaning in this context.
THE TELEVISION WINNERS
Cast, Comedy Schitt's Creek
Cast, Drama The Crown (2nd consecutive win)
Actress, Miniseries Anya Taylor-Joy, The Queens Gambit
Actor, Miniseries Mark Ruffalo, I Know This Much is True (3rd SAG win)
Actress, Drama Gillian Anderson, The Crown
Actor, Drama Jason Bateman, Ozark (2nd SAG win... both for this show)
Actress, Comedy Catherine O'Hara, Schitt's Creek
Actor, Comedy Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso
Stunt Ensemble The Mandalorian
When it comes to the television awards here's what we find most interesting about SAG. Like the Globes they operate (mostly) on a simple calendar year system but the Emmys operate on a summer-to-summer continuum. So the Globes and SAG can alternately be both behind Emmy favor (as in bidding farewell to Schitt's Creek) or ahead of Emmy favor, as in latching on to new series or miniseries that weren't eligible at the previous Emmys... in this case The Queen's Gambit and Ted Lasso. The latter two programs are heading towards the forthcoming Emmy season as frontrunners but there are still months worth of programming ahead that will also be eligible and could shift the narratives. New favourites could well emerge.
The frankly awesome cast of "Ted Lasso" got position of favor in the broadcast operating as the defacto "hosts" in a way since the ceremony had no host or opening monologue and no other throughline really
These swift SAG Awards night, on Easter Sunday of all days, gave Ted Lasso the intro and outro to the show. The scripted /acted bit directly addressed the concept of "Outstanding Cast" and the awards show themselves but did it in funny, in-character, and good sportmanship ways. It was quite the FYC for the show itself as it heads to its next awards race five months from now... or to be more precise, on September 19th, 2021 when the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards will be held.
Reader Comments (65)
Best Actress is just wide open. With Andra Day winning the Globe, Viola Davis winning SAG, and NEITHER of them even being nominated by BAFTA, it’s guaranteed to stay wide open right up until the winner is announced. And despite the BAFTA snub and lack of wins elsewhere, somehow I’m still feeling in my gut that it’ll be Carey Mulligan. When’s the last time the Globes, SAG, BAFTA, and Oscar all went with different choices in any acting category?
Supporting Actress COULD be a bit more clear if Youn Yuh-jung wins the BAFTA as well, because then I’ll be pretty convinced that she’s the frontrunner. But if BAFTA goes for Maria Bakalova—or more confusingly, one of the other nominees who’s not even nominated for the Oscar—then that’ll be a nail biter also.
That said, both male acting categories are 100% done deals. I’d say Director, Actor, and Supporting Actor are the sure things at this point.
Would someone like Ted Lasso of they normally don't like Jason Sudeikis?
A moment of silence for I May Destroy You, whose final awards fate is in the hands of the Emmys.
(As suspected and expected, only three nominees I voted for actually won, all on the television side.)
I think Best Picture and Director WILL go to two different films this year.
I still have a feeling that Minari will win Best Picture and Chloe Zhao will win Director ( and really piss off the Chinese government)
Best Actor and Supporting Actor are locks for Boseman and Kaluuya.
Best Actress is wide open.
And as for Supporting Actress - I haven't seen the films nominated but if Glenn Close loses her 8th nomination , will she ever win???
Is she hated by the Academy - like Barbra Streisand is???
Time to polish those Razzies for Miss Close. *EVIL LAUGH*
I'm strangely at peace with Glenn Close losing AGAIN
Interestingly, I see that Kelvin Harrison Jr. was included as part of the winning ensemble for The Trial of the Chicago 7, so both Fred Hamptons managed to win! Does anyone know how he managed to ultimately be included after not receiving his own title card?
I liked that Helen Mirren presented the top award. Fun choice. Will Oscar take the challenge and choose an even more interesting presenter? Since Soderbergh is producing, I'd guess Julia Roberts, except she presented the top award to Green Book just two years ago. (And she did it in a way that made me giggle. Don't think she liked that win.)
Glenn Close has been nominated for an Oscar 8 times. I'm pretty sure people like her.
With eight nominations, the answer is no.
Would competition with Stanfield cause Kaluuya to loose? He has never directly competed against Stanfield before. Even if they split the votes, who would benefit? Kaluuya has taken up so much of the narrative that I really don't know who is 2nd in this race.
It will be interesting to see if the Trial of the Chicago 7 can win BP. I think it has a solid shot - its politics are far more palatable to the academy's taste than Nomadland, and it tells a crowd pleasing story.
The Best Actress race is really exciting. I'm especially happy to see Viola win here. I thought she was great, and I think if Netflix were smart they'd make a strong case for it being "time" for there to be another Black Best Actress winner. Given Viola's legacy and status, it's easy to see the academy really wanting to give it to her over a newcomer like Day. However, I think Mulligan is very much in this race.
The best supporting actress race has a lot going on. Let's just hope the role Glenn is filming in Toronto is a substantive role, because it feels like her chances of winning are waning.
Also worth noting that Viola Davis’s win makes her tied with Julia Louis-Dreyfus for most individual SAG awards ever for a female actor. Together they trail only Alec Baldwin for the most individual SAG award wins (they have 5 each, he has 7).
Chicago 7 can't win best picture at the Oscars. Not this year that all the other movies nominated are all almost masterpieces. PLEASE.
I'm hoping for the Boseman/Davis double at the Oscars. No movie has won both leading prizes in 23 years!
As for CHICAGO 7, it's a good movie, so stop it with the relentless grievances. Also, NOMADLAND is still winning.
@thevoid99, no need to constantly be so unpleasant.
I'm glad Glenn isn't winning for this. I love her to pieces and hope she gets another chance, but being remembered as one of the most nominated actresses ever is already a victory.
I really hope Youn (my favorite) will win now. I think if she takes BAFTA, it's over.
I am more in love of Andra winning than Viola.
Viola became a actress that we see more of her ego than her talent in the last years. I know she deserves more recognition, but, that idea of winning awards whatever the cost is piss me off a long time. She wasn't that person and became that person some years ago, precisely after Fences's Oscar.
I like to see her looking for more challenges, asking herself to work in Europe, Latin America, Afrika. If she is not accept in USA's industries, she will be in other countries.
I miss u, Viola. I never thought that you could sell herself to your ego.
Supporting actress will not be influential for Oscar. It's Close's time to leave The Inevitables and ascend to the realm of the winners.
Not a popular opinion, but I'm not a fan of Viola Davis' performance in Ma Rainey's. I found it hammy. Especially when compared to the other nominees. Vanessa Kirby still gets my vote.
Ricky - But the more pertinent question is if you are at peace with her winning for Hillbilly Elegy?
If Close can do one more film and perform at the level of her work in THE WIFE or ALBERT NOBBS, she'll win. They know she deserves one, but I doubt they're completely on board giving her a mere supporting award (she should win in lead) for a scenery chewing performance (considering she's usually refreshingly NOT hammy). The days of Renée Zellweger winning for COLD MOUNTAIN and Al Pacino winning for SCENT OF A WOMAN may be over. The Academy's more diverse and global membership has been showing improved taste, GREEN BOOK not withstanding.
I always thought that Trial could win best film because of the preferential vote that no longer requires the director's nomination, and having the support of the actors + the nomination in editing, being able to win this and script ...
Actress is Davis x Mulligan tight, always saw Davis as an obvious victory until I watched the movie and see how her character is mistreated there, Boseman calling all attention to himself, Mulligan and his film growing up and finally Ma Rainey's out of the best film at the Oscars. Everything seemed lost, but behold, SAG rescues Davis and it seems to show that Mulligan's performance is not so dear. Davis looks like she will arrive at the ceremony ahead ...
And supporting actress I don't see Bakalova winning, and Youn just isn't lock at this point by the debt to Close, because they like Minari, they love their cast and I don't see the movie with a chance to win any other category than this one.
I don't think Glenn Close is hated, after all she got 8 noms and this one for a film in red on Metacritic. The issue is related to the consensus phase. She never came close to make the deal, and this 8th nom will be the same. Bakalova and Youn shared the critics awards, then Foster won GG, Bakalova the CC and Youn SAG. Also Youn and Bakalova are nominated per BAFTA. In this kind of split, go to the actress with SAG and Best Picture nominee.
As usual, I voted for only one of the winners in the film categories. I am the anti-consensus as a SAG member.
I would think Sacha Baron Cohen is second in the Supporting Actor lineup behind Kaluuya. He's great in Trial of the Chicago 7 (a true Supporting Actor unlike Stanfield in Judas). Raci and Odom, Jr are fantastic as well, but Baron Cohen has the heat if someone were to pull (an unlikely) upset.
Yuh-Jung winning is so exquisite, and I reiterate how unsurprising the win itself is. Minari is beloved in Hollywood, both for it being a beautiful story, but ALSO being a political get, giving awards bodies a chance to nominate and give awards to Asian actors/actresses.
I’m sincerely not trying to be cynical, just seeing it from the perspective of a paradoxical world that is full of bleeding-heart liberals who throw themselves to signal virtue, who ALSO fight to enact actual lasting change, and who are ALSO berated and harassed constantly for never being able to Do the Right Thing.
That Yuh-Jung’s performance is so, so, so lovely, well, that must be the cherry on top for them. Hehe.
Does anyone else just want to hug her when they see her? Adorable.
I don’t see Mulligan winning. Sigh. Gets my vote without breaking a sweat, but there’s nothing scarier than a woman scorned. I can only imagine how much Promising Young Woman rankles, and rightfully so. It will be revisited in a decade’s time as more than what it is now.
Anyway, it’s kind of a fun race now. Kind of! ;)
Is Supporting Actress a 3-way race only because Glenn is "overdue"? She hasn't won any major precursor so I'm confused as to how the race is anything butt Bakalova vs. Youn, with the latter probably pulling through in the end (Best Picture heat + beloved performance).
Seriously, how far back do you have to go to find a Best Actress race where there was no frontrunner and !!FOUR!! women all had this strong of a chance to win?!
Glenn Close should present BP as a consolation prize.
@Tom G: Some very tenuous logic to follow. Kaluuya and Stanfield cancel each other out, and voters decide that Cohen can win for Screenplay and Odom can win for Song. This leaves Paul Raci, which would be a sensible way to reward Sound of Metal if voters chose to spread the wealth.
It would be like Mark Rylance's win on steroids.
Frankly every acting race every year should be what the Best Actress/Supporting Actress this year have been. There's rarely ONE person who deserves all the awards every year. Spread the wealth!
I really enjoyed the extended interview bits with the actors throughout the show. I hope they keep that even when they go back to being in-person ceremonies.
I'd say Cohen is 2nd with Raci a surprise spoiler.
I can't see Close winning and I can't see her losing for the 8th time.
Boseman wins Davis wins,it's not happened in years and the time feels right for a Davis win,i'll be happy for her and sorry for the other 4 who are all superior..
What is the rationale for predicting a possible win for Glenn Close at this point? Her biggest prize this year was from the Nevada Critics. Has anyone with so few precursers won in that category in the modern era? Swinton won BAFTA. Harden won NYFCC. Even Binoche won NBR. I understand it is Close's eighth nomination, but Peter O'Toole also received eight nominations, and the Academy did not award him an Oscar.
Youn is a history-making contender in a beloved film that the Academy may not award elsewhere (a film that feels similar to Marriage Story, Beale Street, Fences, Boyhood, etc. in this respect). She has been honored by peers and critics alike. She feels like a clear frontrunner.
The Mulligan predictions are WILD.
“She hasn’t won anything major—but they really liked her film” is just as good an argument for Frances McDormand, except they liked her film even more. And Davis, except she just won the SAG. Day has the Drama Globe, a baity traditional biopic performance and a bit more "narrative" than Mulligan does.
Yes, McDormand and Davis already have Oscars. But do you think Oscar voters will bend over backwards to deny Viola Davis Oscar #2? They'll give anyone a second Oscar if the timing is right, look at last year's Best Actress winner. And who could be more deserving of that than Viola Davis in an August Wilson adaptation?
Kirby is the only nominee in a weaker position than Mulligan for the win—and watch her change that with a BAFTA win. (It could happen! Frances hasn’t been lucky with precursors.) People will still insist that Carey is the frontrunner, lmao.
@Adam, me too; but for some reason, the sole justification of having her 8th nom is enough even when her competition has better odds and the AMPAS is less sentimental than before. But that fanatic group will go harsh on reality check.
I feel for Glenn but it may be too tempting for voters to go with all for actor winners being POC, from films they can reasonably say they like. Why reward Hillbilly Elegy?
I also think Viola could win for the Jessica Lange Rationale, which is a belief that this person is very talented and therefore should have both a lead and a supporting actress win.
@ Tom M
Zero in the film categories for me fwiw.
I’m surprised on how Carey Mulligan’s weak in Best Actress race is. Her film shows major strengths (looks like a Top 3 film) but she’s couldn’t muster a support to win at all. We’ve seen before films with Best Actress front runners (Room, The Reader) that win BA at every awards shows. Somehow she becomes an afterthought and I have a feeling PYW will just win Best Original Screenplay instead.
I had a long conversation with my friend last night on why Carey Mulligan keeps on missing major awards. I think there's still a large contingent of (male) voters who just will not vote for this performance. It's too edgy, it's too provocative, it's unabashedly feminist, and her character makes them uncomfortable. I still think there's a slight chance she may pull off an upset but I think it's unlikely. It'll probably be Day, Davis, or McDormand.
And RE: McDormand's strength over Mulligan—in addition to her film, the Oscars like *her* more, and she got a BAFTA nomination which Carey, a natural BAFTA contender whose film they saw (and nominated for Best Picture!), did not. Where is this Mulligan heat people are sensing?
@Leon, Glenn had the consensus in 2018. She won the Globe, the Critics Choice Award, and the SAG. Even with her BAFTA loss it seemed more like the Brits rallying around their own in a popular and critically loved film than it did a setback to her campaign. Until she lost.
I think before that she never really had a strong season. Maybe the best was 1982, but that was mostly from critical backing.
Pam, I'm not a fan either. I thought she seemed a bit uncomfortable in the role, like her characterization didn't quite come together. I also felt her makeup and costumes were wearing her, not the other way around.
I need someone to hold my hand and reassure me that Nomadland isn't losing Best Picture. I hope this blip in buzz for Trial is just temporary, and that the DGA and BAFTA Awards swing things back in Nomadland's favor.
Oscar season is so much easier when I don't have strong favorites! Lol.
I'll say I'm also feeling a bit sad for Olivia Colman, who has yet to win an individual SAG award. Not a big deal, but her work on the crown was excellent and I'm sad to see her lose, even if Anderson was brilliant.
Depending on where Corrin is placed for the Emmys, I still think Colman is the frontrunner for the emmy (she has the episodes for it). Even with Corrin in lead, I think Colman can pull it off.
I suspect Carey Mulligan may not quite have the narrative to pull off a win this year unfortunately.
I'm prepared for thunder and lightning to come raining down on me for saying this, but I'm bored with Nomadland and hope it doesn't win Best Picture. People living in trailers, including people using plastic buckets to shit in. What's the point? I loved The Father, One Night in Miami, Ma Rainey, Trial of the Chicago 7 and Promising Young Woman. Haven't seen Minari - not spending $19.99 to see another streaming film. Anyway.
Although I'm not so sure Mulligan can get to the end, I do see the narrative. She's been a reliable actor who's never given a bad performance for over ten years, is in a popular film nominated for Best Picture and two of her contenders have already won. Plus being young and pretty isn't exactly an obstacle in this category.
I was thinking she'd take it but maybe, due to lack of support, how fragile masculinities are and the Academy's love for biopics, Andra Day will be the obvious winner?
I know Trial of the Chicago 7 is not terrible like Green Book but what I can't wrap my head around is how this is a crowd pleaser. I not a baby boomer, so maybe I am missing something, I saw a film about a vindictive federal agency arresting activists on trumped up charges (for show and to intimidate other activists) and a stacked court which offered no chance of a fair trail. I did not pleased at the end; was I supposed to be? And if people do feel pleased, is this not due totally inept writing/direction?
Why does everyone say Mulligan is a front runner? I want her to be but I’m just not feeling it.
SAG loves Davis, she did win for the Help after all.
Still think Day is going to take Best Actress and Bakalova or Youn takes SA - it feels like the time for another black best actress winner
Glenn chances went right out the window when she got that Razzie nom.
I feel like punditry this year is trying too hard.
The answer will be simple: Yug-Jung and Davis.
Yuh-Jung is a BP nominee, it's a scene-stealing part, fulfills their diversity cred, makes amends for their treatment of Asian actors and it's a good performance in a beloved movie to boost the appeal.
She would NEVER get the Globe, but she got the SAG and she'll get the BAFTA. Oscar next.
Viola Davis makes sense as a Lead winner (easy narrative to push), Mulligan never took off, Kirby even less so and McDormand has 2 and as the BP frontunner they have plenty opportunity to honor Nomadland elsewhere. The Globe for Day seems like a fluke.
It is hers to lose.
Kaluuya and Boseman are locked up.
Nomadland will win BP and BD. Everyone else thinking abut Trial of Chicago are crazy.
Nomadland won PGA. THAT kind of movie won PGA.
It's not losing BP.
I think Best Actress is a battle between Davis & Day. I think McDormand's recent second win will count against her, whereas voters may well want to grant Davis a leading Oscar to go with her supporting one. But other than Kirby, I could see any of them winning. It's a swell line-up, not a dud in the bunch.
I think the Supporting Actress winner will be Yuh-Jung. It's an easy to love character and an easy to love performance, plus—let's not forget politics are a part of things—it's long past the time for another deserving Asian person to win some gold (much less actually get nominated).