Thoughts from the SAG Awards
Okay, I predicted the SAG Award winners pretty well, though I don't know if anyone saw Jean Dujardin coming. Besting the odds-on favorite George Clooney, "The Artist" star walked off with the award for Outstanding Performance By A Male Actor In A Leading Role. Which raises the question: Could Dujardin pull a Robert Begnini and walk away with the Oscar? In 1999, the Italian actor bested the likes of Tom Hanks, Ian McKellen, Nick Nolte, and Edward Norton to win the prize for his work in "Life is Beautiful." (Something that didn't please Nolte, if you read the last paragraph from our recent SAG Roundtable here.)
I'm hoping this means the race is still wide open, and Brad Pitt or even Gary Oldman might be able to pull off a win. I'm a little sad, as it feels like "The Descendants" has gone from front-runner to forgotten. It looks like the screenplay award will go to "Moneyball" and director Alexander Payne will lose to DGA winner Michel Hazanavicius for "The Artist." For some reason, I feel like voters never completely connected with the film--how else to explain the lack of a SAG or Oscar nom for Shailene Woodley?
And while Dujardin won in his category, "The Artist" did not win Best Ensemble, which instead went to "The Help." Does this mean "The Help" could take Best Picture at the Oscars? Well, yes, but probably not. Best Ensemble is very different from Best Picture, and I think it's still "The Artist" for the win. It's just hard to argue with "The Help" cast--so many great actors at play, with not a single weak spot in the entire ensemble.
Some other questions from last night: Did anyone see Malcolm McDowell seemingly yelling at his date when they cut to him? Could Jessica Chastain be any more gorgeous? Did you know Amanda Plummer was Christopher Plummer's daughter? And don't you think Steve Buscemi deserved his dual wins for Actor and Ensemble of "Boardwalk Empire" just for his "Coach Bert" sketch on SNL?
Full list of winners from last night here.
--Jenelle Riley
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