by The Cowl Editor on February 7, 2019
Music
by Brigid Walshe ’19 A&E Staff
Now that the Super Bowl is over, it is time to look forward to the next big televised event: the Academy Awards, or the Oscars. As the biggest event of awards season in Hollywood, the best performances in film will be acknowledged at the ceremony on Feb. 27. Early frontrunners for the Oscars have started to emerge after the Golden Globes and more recently, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards, which took place on Jan. 27.
The SAG Awards are awards given out by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, a labor union that represents more than one hundred thousand actors, journalists, recording artists, and other media professionals, to the best performances by actors in both film and television. The SAG Awards have been an essential part of the awards season since its debut in 1995. This year marked the 25th SAG Awards, a major milestone for the organization and the show. There were some predicted and surprise winners in a very successful year for both film and television.
Now that both the Golden Globes and SAG Awards have passed, it is easy to identify some early Oscar favorites. To start, Rami Malek and Glenn Close won the SAG award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor/Female Actor in a Leading Role for their work in Bohemian Rhapsody and The Wife, respectively. The two actors also won Golden Globes for their performances in these films, and they have emerged as potential favorites for the Academy Awards this month. Mahershala Ali also won a SAG award for his performance in Green Book, a film directed by PC alumnus, Peter Farrelly ’79.
There were also some surprises. Emily Blunt won the award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role for her performance in A Quiet Place, a thriller that was directed by her husband, John Krasinski. Blunt was not nominated for an Academy Award for this role, but she was recognized by the SAG.
The cast of Black Panther also picked up the award for Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture, which is a huge win for the film since they did not win any awards at the Golden Globes. This may be a good omen for Black Panther as the Academy Awards draw near.
Turning to television, many performances highlighted at the Golden Globes received recognition at the SAG Awards. Sandra Oh, who was both a host and a winner at the Golden Globes, was recognized again for her work in Killing Eve, a British drama/thriller series that follows Oh’s character, Eve, as she tracks down the psychopathic assassin, Villanelle.
Darren Criss won Best Male Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie for his portrayal of Gionni Versace’s killer, Andrew Cunanan, in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, while Patricia Arquette won for Escape at Dannemora, a limited series that follows the 2015 Clinton Correctional Escape. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel also picked up multiple awards, and This is Us won for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble, Drama Series.
It will be interesting to see who comes out on top at the Oscars, and if there will be any more surprises in the coming weeks.