Musings from SAG screenings (Pt 2): Judy, Bombshell, Little Women, and Dolemite

renee's first SAG winsIf you missed part one, we've invited a longtime SAG member to share this thoughts from SAG Nominating Committee screenings of the would be contenders... 

JUDY:  This one definitely got the most lackluster response.  When the movie was over, there was only a smattering of applause—though I had the feeling that had something to do with the way it ends.  It kind of ends with a whimper. But people got on their feet for Renee Zellweger—who appeared along with Finn Wittrock. They gushed about her performance—the acting, the singing, all of it.  And she had some interesting things to say about the research she did—particularly in regard to addiction. It’s an engaging performance, I think—but is it really as much of a “transformation” as people say?  I feel like you see a lot of Renee Zellweger in there—like, it’s as much Judy Garland playing Renee Zellweger as it is Renee Zellweger playing Judy Garland. Does that make any sense? And for what it’s worth, I hated the Oz stuff.  Was Louis B. Mayer a sexual predator?  You can’t just drop that suggestion into all the other horrible stuff and move on.  It all felt very undefined.

BOMBSHELL:  With no disrespect to Ms. Zellweger, the “transformation of the year” has got to be Charlize Theron as Megyn Kelly...

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Musings from SAG screenings (Pt 1): The Farewell, The Irishman, Marriage Story

Special Secret Guest Post!

This New-York-based performer (and Emmy-nominated writer) has been a SAG member for 19 years, though this is his first time on the SAG Awards Nominating Committee.  He works primarily in television -- most famously, playing a role on a series that has been seen in over 100 countries. We've invited him to share impressions from SAG Nominating Committee screenings which are happening left and right of late. Here we go...

THE FAREWELL:  For what it’s worth, this is the only screening I’ve been to where the movie itself—not the panelist, but the movie itself—got a standing ovation.  I, frankly, wasn’t bowled over by it (I thought, for such a dramatic subject, the emotions were curiously muted—I didn’t feel much during the movie, but maybe that’s me)…But anyway, the crowd loved it.  When Awkwafina came out for the Q&A, the comments were positively effusive. One guy called it a “perfect” movie.  Everything was perfect, he said: the acting, the writing, the directing, the editing. (The editing?) With a celebrity in the room, it’s hard to know when people are really being honest with themselves.  But Awkwafina seemed super cool.

Side note: SAG members ask the dumbest questions.  One person asked Awkwafina how she got her start in the business—which is fine, but I’m thinking, really?  You’re in a room full of peers, you’ve just spent two hours watching something that’s ripe for discussion, and this is what you ask?  Look it up online. At least it gave her an entree to talk about her youtube video “My Vag,” which, amusingly, caught a few people off-guard. 

The Irishman and Marriage Story after the jump...

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The 25th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards

Megan Mullaly showing one of her dad's residual checks from SAGMegan Mullally served as host for the 25th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards with a droll, endearingly casual approach, often making Lady Gaga the brunt of good natured jokes. But as with most awards show she got out of the way very early. SAG is all awards and no frills. They even shortened the "I am an actor" intro this year, limiting it to just three people. There's no awards show that's faster than SAG but the continually nervous Oscar producers might want to consider, when trying to shorten their own ceremony,  that SAG is not even a fraction as popular as the Globes or Oscars, both of which are considerably longer! 

The winners and notes...

BEST ACTOR IN A TV COMEDY Tony Shalhoub, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel
Tony Shalhoub has prepared nothing because, he suggests, his category was too great to think he'd win. This seems naive since he is an awards magnet. He probably has to wear protective gear whenever entering a ceremony, lest he be pummelled with statuettes of all kinds...

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Who will win SAG tomorrow?

by Nathaniel R

Is the Oscar race as locked up as we think, or will SAG hold some surprises? Care to conjecture about what will win? I'll confess, perhaps foolishly, that I think we could be in for some surprises. Conventional wisdom will tell you that Close, Bale, Ali, and Adams will be the winners... though conventional wisdom will not solve the case of "who wins Outstanding Cast?" since the arguable Best Picture frontrunner Green Book and two most Oscar-nominated pictures Roma and The Favourite are not nominated in that category. With three heavy-hitters out, and Black Panther, Crazy Rich Asians, Bohemian Rhapsody, A Star is Born, and BlacKkKlansman as the nominees, that prize is something of a mystery...

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Podcast Special: Lots and Lots of Reader Questions Answered

Nathaniel R and Murtada Elfadl answer your questions this week

On this special edition of the podcast we ONLY answer reader questions. As many as we could get to in an hour. We had soooo much fun doing this one so we hope you enjoy, and thank you for the diversion.

Index (60 minutes)
00:01 Who will win SAG's Supporting Actress + fixing category fraud?
06:50 Original screenplay nominations + buying DVDs
12:00 Characters wardrobe, female directors, and films that define 2018
22:30 "Shallow" + "If you saw this... than why?" + replacing Oscar lists
31:35 Nominee presentations + Oscar Hosting 
35:45 Ben is Back and Roma questions
41:40 Nomination balloting procedures + Fav scenes of the year
52:00 Mandatory Best Actress diversion
57:00 Changing opinions on previous top 10 lists?

Further Reading / References
• Nadine Labaki (Capernaum) interview
• Smackdown of 1943
• Oscar Charts
• Kyle Buchanan on the hostless Oscars article

You can listen to the podcast here at the bottom of the post or download from iTunes. Continue the conversations in the comments, won't you? 

Special Episode: Reader Questions!