By Jake Coyle
— AP
Oppenheimer
continued to make his way through the Hollywood awards season this Saturday, winning the top prize for best ensemble, in addition to garnering statuettes for actors Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr., at the 30th Screen Actors Guild Awards. of the Screen (SAG Awards).
As the Academy Awards approach, Christopher Nolan's blockbuster biopic, which has already won at the Golden Globes and BAFTAs, has increasingly been seen as a favorite.
The SAG Awards, one of the most accurate predictors for the Oscars, added to the momentum of
Oppenheimer
, the leading Academy Awards nominee, with 13 mentions.
The SAGs were broadcast live for the first time on Netflix
, marking the first major Hollywood awards show broadcast exclusively on a streaming service.
That did lead to some significant adjustments to the ancient traditions of such ceremonies.
There were no advertisements.
You could say rude things.
(“Don't say anything you wouldn't say in front of Oprah,” said Idris Elba.)
And the winners were interviewed backstage.
Although the SAGs do not always mean the success of the Oscars.
Two of the last five guild winners,
The Trial of the Chicago 7
and
Black Panther
, lost at the Academy Awards.
But over the past two years, the top five SAG awards — best ensemble and four film acting winners — have corresponded with eventual Oscar winners, including the casts of 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' and 'CODA '.
Voting for the Oscars ends on Tuesday.
That could mean that the SAGs offered a preview of the Oscars in two of the closest races: best actor and best actress.
The cast of the film 'Oppenheimer' receives their SAG award this Saturday, February 24, 2024 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.Chris Pizzello / AP
The most exciting win of the night went to Lily Gladstone as lead actress in Martin Scorsese's
Killers of the Flower Moon
.
No category has been more hotly contested, with analysts split evenly between Gladstone and Emma Stone for the film 'Poor Things'.
But Gladstone won this Saturday and the crowd erupted in applause.
Stone also stood up and applauded vigorously.
Gladstone's case has perhaps the most at stake compared to any other Oscar contender this year.
His victory would be the first for a Native American woman.
['Oppenheimer' triumphs in eight of its 13 nominations at the 2024 Critics Choice Awards]
“We bring empathy to a world that so desperately needs it,” Gladstone said.
“It's very easy to distance yourself.
It is very easy to close down, to stop feeling.
And all of us continue to feel bravely.
And that humanizes people.
That brings people out of the shadows.
It provides visibility.”
The Holdovers
' Cillian Murphy and Paul Giamattei
had considered themselves in neck and neck competition.
But Murphy has won at the SAGs, the BAFTAs and the Globes, suggesting she has a clear advantage heading into the Academy Awards.
Robert Downey Jr. and Da'Vine actress Joy Randolph won for their supporting performances, also cementing their status as Oscar favorites.
Lily Gladstone accepts the award for outstanding performance by an actress in a leading role for Killers of the Flower Moon.
Chris Pizzello / AP
Downey Jr., who received his first SAG for a film role for his performance in
Oppenheimer
, smiled as he accepted the trophy.
"Why me?
Because right now?
“Why do things seem to go my way?” said Downey Jr. “Unlike my fellow nominees, I will never get tired of the sound of my own voice.”
Randolph's performance in Alexander Payne's
The Holdovers
has been a breakthrough role for the 37-year-old actress.
Now, she appears to be on the verge of winning the Academy Award.
['The Snow Society' will compete for the Oscar for best international film. See the full list of nominees]
“To all the actors still waiting for their chance, let me tell you: your life can change in a day,” Randolph said.
“It's not a question of if, but when.
Keep going.”
After more than two decades airing on TNT and TBS to dwindling audiences, Netflix acquired the broadcast rights to the SAGs in early 2023. Netflix, which has been a major awards season force for years, turned out to be also host.
Chilean-American actor Pedro Pascal won the award for best actor in a drama series for The Last of Us.Chris Pizzello / AP
“I can't wait to get home and have Netflix recommend this show to me based on all the other things I see myself in,” joked Elba, who served as the de facto master of ceremonies.
The TV awards largely went to the same shows that have swept the Emmys and Golden Globes:
The Bear
(best comedy series ensemble, Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Edebiri);
Beef
(Ali Wong, Steven Yeun);
and the cast of
Succession
.
One exception was Chilean-American actor Pedro Pascal, who won best actor in a drama series for
The Last of Us
over a trio of
Succession
stars ,
becoming the first Latin American-born actor to be honored in the category.
['Oppenheimer', 'Poor Things' and 'Snow Society', some of the Oscar nominees]
“This is wrong for several reasons,” said Pascal, visibly surprised.
"I'm a little drunk.
“I thought I might get drunk.”
This year's SAG Awards follow a grueling, months-long strike in which the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) fought a bitter battle to improve conditions for its workers.
Much of the work stoppage was caused by changes in the film and television industry brought about by streaming, a radical change led by Netflix.
“Their solidarity energized workers around the world, triggering what will always be remembered as 'the hot summer of work,'” said Fran Drescher, president of the SAG-AFTRA union.
“This was a momentous moment in the history of our union.”
Lifetime Achievement Award to Barbra Streisand
For her part, Barbra Streisand kept the audience enthralled as she received the lifetime achievement award, presented by Jennifer Aniston and Bradley Cooper.
“I remember dreaming of being an actress as a teenager sitting on my bed in Brooklyn with a tub of iced coffee and a movie magazine,” said Streisand, who recalled being transfixed by “my first love,” Marlon Brando.
Streisand also took a moment to celebrate Jewish Hollywood pioneers.
“I now dream of a world in which such prejudices are a thing of the past
,” he said.
The ceremony was one of Netflix's most significant forays into live streaming events.
The streaming service has previously featured a Chris Rock live comedy special, a celebrity golf tournament, and a live
Love Is Blind
reunion episode , but the latter was marred by technical difficulties.
Now the platform is preparing for more: on March 3 it will broadcast a live tennis event.