According to the awards show formula, the last twenty minutes are packed with all the big categories. We watch almost two hours (or in the case of the Oscars, four hours) of retrospectives and self-congratulatory film packages, and then they slam us with all the majors right at the end. It's hard to keep up with my ballot sheet, let alone the running commentary.
Here we go...
Ruby Dee wins the Female Supporting statue for her role in American Gangster. I'd say this one is more an acknowledgment of a lifetime of performances, as so often happens at the SAG awards. When the Oscars roll around and the voting community is composed of more than just actors, a critical favorite like Cate Blanchett should be collecting the honors.
The Male Leading Role Actor goes, unsurprisingly, to Daniel Day-Lewis. Surprisingly, the actor used his acceptance speech to dedicate the award to Heath Ledger. He honored Ledger's performances in Brokeback Mountain and Monster's Ball, and said how moved he was by them. Day-Lewis is a selfless actor and a class act.
Julie Christie's portrayal as a woman suffering from Alzheimer's in Away From Her won her an Actor for Female Leading Role. Christie used her acceptance speech to mention the importance of unions. I'm so happy that's as political as any of the speeches got.
Tom Cruise presented the biggest award of the evening, Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture. He was considerably low-key and serious. I don't know if I like this version of Tom. Damn you TMZ.com!
No Country for Old Men took top honors, making it almost a lock for the Best Picture Oscar. The race looked uncertain when Atonement won at the Golden Globes, but just as with the DGA and the major critics' circles, the Coens reign supreme with SAG actors.
Kylie's Best SAG Award Moment: Mickey Rooney accepting an Actor on behalf of "Miss Latifah."
Kylie's Worst SAG Award Moment: The shot of Angelina Jolie tearing up while watching a clip of her own performance in A Mighty Heart. Who knows? Maybe it's the pregnancy hormones.
That's all folks. Have a great night!
Sunday, January 27, 2008
SAG Awards Play-By-Play
Kevin Kline and Queen Latifah won Actors for TV movies that even I, the pop culture guru, hadn't heard of before the nominations were announced. But congrats to them.
Their awards were overshadowed by the presence of Mickey Rooney as a presenter anyway. The guy is 87 years old, and still sharp as a tack. This is probably the first time I've seen an audience give a standing ovation to the guy holding the envelope.
The "In Memoriam" segment of the telecast played out for me with a bit of suspense. Would they include Heath Ledger, or wouldn't they?
They did, but I think it may have been a last-minute call. Usually, the last person shown on the memorial reel is the biggest star. More well known actors get more screen time, even after they've died. It's shallow, but it's true.
The clips seemed to be concluding with several iconic shots of Deborah Kerr. The screen went dark for a moment, then the last image was one of Ledger in Brokeback Mountain.
It seems a silly question; would he be included? Of course he should be, his performances and talent ensure that. But with the actor's passing so recent and fresh in people's minds, it just reminds us how strange it is to see him included so soon.
Their awards were overshadowed by the presence of Mickey Rooney as a presenter anyway. The guy is 87 years old, and still sharp as a tack. This is probably the first time I've seen an audience give a standing ovation to the guy holding the envelope.
The "In Memoriam" segment of the telecast played out for me with a bit of suspense. Would they include Heath Ledger, or wouldn't they?
They did, but I think it may have been a last-minute call. Usually, the last person shown on the memorial reel is the biggest star. More well known actors get more screen time, even after they've died. It's shallow, but it's true.
The clips seemed to be concluding with several iconic shots of Deborah Kerr. The screen went dark for a moment, then the last image was one of Ledger in Brokeback Mountain.
It seems a silly question; would he be included? Of course he should be, his performances and talent ensure that. But with the actor's passing so recent and fresh in people's minds, it just reminds us how strange it is to see him included so soon.
SAG Awards Play-By-Play
Congratulations to Charles Durning.
If you didn't watch the show, you're probably asking, "Who's Charles Durning?" Flip over to imdb.com and look him up. He's one of the most prolific character actors in film and TV, and as soon as you see a picture of him, your mind will come up with all the roles you know him from.
Good for The Screen Actor's Guild. While they have honored some of the most recognizable actors in history with their Life Achievement Award (Audrey Hepburn, Jimmy Stewart, Paul Newman...), they also remember that marquee stars wouldn't get anywhere without the support of quality character actors like Ed Asner, Walter Pidgeon and Karl Malden.
So kudos to Durning.
But, man, presenter Burt Reynolds had me so distracted in that velvet suit jacket. When did he get so old? Bandit, what's become of you?
If you didn't watch the show, you're probably asking, "Who's Charles Durning?" Flip over to imdb.com and look him up. He's one of the most prolific character actors in film and TV, and as soon as you see a picture of him, your mind will come up with all the roles you know him from.
Good for The Screen Actor's Guild. While they have honored some of the most recognizable actors in history with their Life Achievement Award (Audrey Hepburn, Jimmy Stewart, Paul Newman...), they also remember that marquee stars wouldn't get anywhere without the support of quality character actors like Ed Asner, Walter Pidgeon and Karl Malden.
So kudos to Durning.
But, man, presenter Burt Reynolds had me so distracted in that velvet suit jacket. When did he get so old? Bandit, what's become of you?
SAG Awards Play-By-Play
Tina Fey wins for Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.
(Oh, pardon me, Female Actor in a Comedy Series. As a woman, I have to say that I don't feel marginalized by feminine suffixes, and the SAG's insistence on calling all the categories "Actor" is self-indulgent, politically-correct posturing. I will now hop down off my soapbox and continue the play-by-play.)
Alec Baldwin wins for 30 Rock, deservedly so. Megastar actors clearly have very busy schedules, and I'm sure he's got somewhere important to be, but I hate it when nominees aren't there to pick up their awards.
The Office's Jenna Fischer accepted for her cast's Ensemble Comedy win, and her speech highlighted the feeling hanging over the awards. She dedicated the Actor to the show's crew and stated that she can't wait to get back to work. I agree. Come on writers, work it out!
(Oh, pardon me, Female Actor in a Comedy Series. As a woman, I have to say that I don't feel marginalized by feminine suffixes, and the SAG's insistence on calling all the categories "Actor" is self-indulgent, politically-correct posturing. I will now hop down off my soapbox and continue the play-by-play.)
Alec Baldwin wins for 30 Rock, deservedly so. Megastar actors clearly have very busy schedules, and I'm sure he's got somewhere important to be, but I hate it when nominees aren't there to pick up their awards.
The Office's Jenna Fischer accepted for her cast's Ensemble Comedy win, and her speech highlighted the feeling hanging over the awards. She dedicated the Actor to the show's crew and stated that she can't wait to get back to work. I agree. Come on writers, work it out!
SAG Awards Play-By-Play
Sopranos - 3. Everyone else - 0.
Okay, just like this season's baseball playoffs, the sweep appears to be the SAG Awards modus operandi.
As the cast makes it way to collect their honors, all I can think is: What exactly does Steven Van Zandt's head look like under that do-rag?
Moving on the to the movies, let's jope things get a little more unpredictable.
Best Supporting Actor goes to... Javier Bardem. No Country for Old Men is looking more and more like this year's big winner. Bardem's acceptance speech was gracious and well-timed, and he acknowledged the fact that more goes into an award-winning performance than an actor simply standing in front of a camera, reading lines.
Good for Javier. Hopefully that statue makes up for having to be interviewed by Lisa Rinna.
Okay, just like this season's baseball playoffs, the sweep appears to be the SAG Awards modus operandi.
As the cast makes it way to collect their honors, all I can think is: What exactly does Steven Van Zandt's head look like under that do-rag?
Moving on the to the movies, let's jope things get a little more unpredictable.
Best Supporting Actor goes to... Javier Bardem. No Country for Old Men is looking more and more like this year's big winner. Bardem's acceptance speech was gracious and well-timed, and he acknowledged the fact that more goes into an award-winning performance than an actor simply standing in front of a camera, reading lines.
Good for Javier. Hopefully that statue makes up for having to be interviewed by Lisa Rinna.
SAG Awards Play-By-Play
After the prerequisite SAG "I'm an actor" opening sequence, with a very funny Jane Krakowski and an over-reaching Kyle MacLachlan, we jump right in with Lead Actor in a Drama Series.
James Gandolfini. No surprise there, considering that television recipients often get "goodbye" statuettes for a body of work on a departing show. But The Sopranos has won an armload in the past. How about sharing the wealth?
With Glenn Close, Sally Field, Holly Hunter, and Kyra Sedgwick in the mix for Lead Actress, maybe Edie Falco won't benefit from the Sopranos' swan song...
Oops, maybe not.
I guess those other nominees can just wait until their shows go off the air for an Actor award.
James Gandolfini. No surprise there, considering that television recipients often get "goodbye" statuettes for a body of work on a departing show. But The Sopranos has won an armload in the past. How about sharing the wealth?
With Glenn Close, Sally Field, Holly Hunter, and Kyra Sedgwick in the mix for Lead Actress, maybe Edie Falco won't benefit from the Sopranos' swan song...
Oops, maybe not.
I guess those other nominees can just wait until their shows go off the air for an Actor award.
SAG Awards Play-By-Play
Okay, awards season: bring it on!
The SAG Awards air tonight, unpicketed by the WGA. In honor of this auspicious occasion, I'll be doing a little running commentary on the highs, lows, and the somewhere-in-betweens. Don't be afraid, this won't be anything like Larry King's stream of consciousness rambling over the Golden Globe press conference. (At least, I hope not.)
Currently airing are the ever-scintillating pre-shows on various networks. You know, the time to really show the dresses and watch TV "personalities" attempt snappy banter with nominees, usually with varying degrees of success and rapidly changing comfort levels. Take TVGuide Channel's Lisa Rinna, who couldn't think of anything more interesting to ask Javier Bardem than whether or not his No Country for Old Men hairstyle was a wig or not.
And Joey Fatone. I'll admit it, I love Joey from way back. I still listen to *NSYNC albums on a regular basis. (Hey! Don't judge me.) But, oh Joey, did you really just ask Grey's Anatomy actress Sara Ramirez if her Angel Sanchez gown was a "Dirty Sanchez?" Come on kid, it's a family show!
Meanwhile, Rinna's interview with the Entourage cast was drowned out by the deafening crowd noise that accompanied Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's entrance. Jolie appears to be rockin' a dress designed to fuel "baby bump" rumors around the world.
More to come...
The SAG Awards air tonight, unpicketed by the WGA. In honor of this auspicious occasion, I'll be doing a little running commentary on the highs, lows, and the somewhere-in-betweens. Don't be afraid, this won't be anything like Larry King's stream of consciousness rambling over the Golden Globe press conference. (At least, I hope not.)
Currently airing are the ever-scintillating pre-shows on various networks. You know, the time to really show the dresses and watch TV "personalities" attempt snappy banter with nominees, usually with varying degrees of success and rapidly changing comfort levels. Take TVGuide Channel's Lisa Rinna, who couldn't think of anything more interesting to ask Javier Bardem than whether or not his No Country for Old Men hairstyle was a wig or not.
And Joey Fatone. I'll admit it, I love Joey from way back. I still listen to *NSYNC albums on a regular basis. (Hey! Don't judge me.) But, oh Joey, did you really just ask Grey's Anatomy actress Sara Ramirez if her Angel Sanchez gown was a "Dirty Sanchez?" Come on kid, it's a family show!
Meanwhile, Rinna's interview with the Entourage cast was drowned out by the deafening crowd noise that accompanied Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's entrance. Jolie appears to be rockin' a dress designed to fuel "baby bump" rumors around the world.
More to come...
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