Big upset tonight at the SAG Actors Awards.
“Sinners” beat “One Battle After Another” for Best Ensemble. The upset was over “One Battle After Another.”
This sets up some needed drama for the Oscars two weeks from tonight. Which one will win Best Picture? Or will the Academy give “Sinners” Best Picture and Paul Thomas Anderson Best Director.
Michael B. Jordan won Best Actor for “Sinners,” knocking out Timothee Chalamet from “Marty Supreme.”
The producers certainly knew “Sinners” and Jordan were going to win. That’s why they had Viola Davis present Best Actor, and Samuel L. Jackson give Best Picture.
Jessie Buckley deservedly won Best Actress for “Hamnet.”
Supporting actor wins went to Amy Madigan for “Weapons” and Sean Penn for “One Battle.”
So far Sean has not shown up for any awards shows. This could be his third Oscar if he wins over castmate Benicio del Toro.
The SAG union, which voted these awards, is the biggest voting bloc in the Academy. It’s always thought that whoever wins SAG will take the Oscars. But will they?
Catherine O’Hara, so beloved, received a posthumous award for the TV series, “The Studio.” Seth Rogen, who won Best Actor in a comedy that show, as well as Best Comedy Ensemble for TV, accepted the award on her behalf with an emotional speech.
Harrison Ford accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award with a lovely speech. He’d been introduced by Woody Harrelson, who had trouble getting jokes over but settled down with serious comments about Ford’s career and family.
The Oscar race is completely between “One Battle” and “Sinners,” each Warner Bros. movies. Plus Amy Madigan in “Weapons” is also from Warners. A year ago, every Hollywood insider newsletter predicted that Warners co-chiefs Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy were about to be fired. They got the last laugh.
Shout out to Suzanne Fritz, Warners PR on the West Coast, whom I’ve known for decades. She got a rare shout out from Delroy Lindo when “Sinners” won. Suzanne deserves the kudos.
A couple of notes: why is Madigan’s husband, actor Ed Harris, absent from all these events? And what happened to Chalamet’s “partner,” Kylie Jenner? He brought his mom. He also looked all night like he knew he’d lost. Ethan Hawke did, too, taking off his jacekt and having a real drink before Best Actor was called.
