Awards season is the longest season ever, five months longer than baseball and six months longer than football. It never ends.
Think about this. “Sinners,” which won the Sunday Night Actors Award (formerly SAG) for Best Ensemble, was released last April.
That’s why I condone the two-hour acting award, which is the final destination on the road to the Oscars. Praise does not droop.
Luckily, the Netflix show was about 90 minutes shorter than the Oscars, even though Three-Pete host Kristen Bell’s sense of humor was completely baffling and all of her gags (Ted Danson and Jackie Torn’s ping-pong game, right?) fell flat.
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What did that night foreshadow for the Academy Awards on March 15th? Some possible shakeups.
Finally, the vampire movie “Sinners” showed its fangs, taking home the season’s first top award from a major industry association: Best Ensemble, the SAG equivalent of Best Picture. Could it be an upset for “One Battle After Another”? Probably not.
Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle” nabbed the far more important Producers Guild Award on Saturday and virtually everything else this winter. It would be a huge shock if they lost the final battle.
However, there are some optimistic statistics regarding “sinners.”
Two other films in the past 25 years have managed to make it all the way by winning at SAG and receiving nominations and losses at Critics Choice, Golden Globe, Producers Guild, and BAFTAs — Crash and Parasite, the latter of which won Best Foreign Language Film along the way.
Meanwhile, the only time Moonlight won a Globe was when it surprisingly beat out La La Land.
“Million Dollar Baby” failed to address any of the above to the point where “Sideways” and “The Aviator” failed. Clint Eastwood wins the Directors Guild Award.
I’m still betting on “Battle”, but if anything were to topple it, it would be “Sinners”.
For Timothée Chalamet, Sunday’s loss will be even more stressful than his hot-headed character in “Marty Supreme.”
After losing to non-Oscar nominee Robert Aramayo at last week’s BAFTAs, poor Timmy lost yet again at SAG to “The Sinners” star Michael B. Jordan. oh yeah. But Paul Atreides is not condemned – sorry, doomed – yet.
It should be noted that SAG historically likes to spread the love.
No one has ever won Best Actor twice in a row, but last year Chalamet won Best Actor for his role as Bob Dylan in Complete Unknown. SAG also has a large populist voting body.
Then, you may remember, Timmy lost the Academy Award to Adrien Brody for the dark, smoldering indie film The Brutalist.
Despite Chalamet’s dominance, this is the most widely contested Best Actor race in more than 20 years. Jordan has a great chance to win gold again in two weeks. Or maybe Brazil’s Wagner Moura from “The Secret Agent” makes a sneaky appearance at the end.
Even Leonardo DiCaprio, who has lost so far, has a chance to win an Oscar on his own for playing Denzel Washington in Training Day. Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon) is circling.
So it’s not inconceivable that Timmy would win an Oscar and go home empty-handed for the third time. “Call me by name,” he whispers. “Please call me by my name.”
More easygoing and refreshing is Jesse Buckley, who will win it all in 2026.
She was nominated for Best Actress for her outstanding performance in Hamnet. The Irish sensation has yet to lose a single major award and that will continue when she wins her first Oscar.
A week after winning a BAFTA, no-show Sean Penn won the Best Supporting Actor award on Sunday for his role as Colonel Lockjaw in One Battle After Another. “Lockjaw” isn’t a lock yet, but it’s likely Penn will win his third Academy Award.
Amy Madigan won the Best Supporting Actress award for her role as the creepy Aunt Gladys in Weapons. It was widely expected. She is much loved by the members of the union. Madigan currently has more red-haired support than rivals Teyana Taylor (One Battle) and Wunmi Mosaku (Sinners), but Taylor and Mosaku could also bring momentum to the bottom line with the success of their films.
What about TV? “The Studio” won in the comedy series ensemble category, and “The Pit” won in the drama category. Of course.
The standout moment of the night wasn’t the acceptance speech.
That was when Harrison Ford, Han Solo, Indiana Jones, and the world’s biggest movie star, received a well-deserved SAG Lifetime Achievement Award. His moving speech was an example of grace, humility, and raw star power. The audience was moved to tears.
“A lot of actors come here to win awards for their great work,” he said. “I’ve come to get my reward for being alive.”
Ford’s shocking scene was one of the best five minutes at an awards show in years.
And the night’s most emotional moment came when Catherine O’Hara, who died in January at the age of 71, won Best Actress in a Comedy Series for her hilarious work on “The Studio.” This comedic genius received a standing ovation.
“Studio” star and creator Seth Rogen accepted the award and said, “We are lucky to live in a world where she so generously shares her talents with us.”
Two weeks left until the Oscars.
