Bong Joon-ho’s darkly funny thriller ‘Parasite’ made history at the Screen Actors Guild awards on Sunday in Los Angeles, taking the top prize for best cast in a motion picture. It’s the first time that award has gone to a film not in the English language, and an even more remarkable feat given that none of the movie’s individual actors were nominated.
Still, the industry’s passion for ‘Parasite’ was evident: When cast members came out earlier in the show to present their movie, they were greeted with a standing ovation. “I will never forget this beautiful night,” actor Song Kang-ho said.
Could ‘Parasite’ next go on to become the first foreign language film to win the best picture Oscar? Increasingly, it seems like the race will become a head-to-head matchup between Bong’s film and the war movie ‘1917,’ which took another big precursor trophy on Saturday night at the awards ceremony thrown by the Producers Guild of America.
Aside from that galvanising win, it was business as usual at the SAG Awards, as all four acting trophies went to the same quartet that has already prevailed at the Golden Globes and Critics’ Choice Awards.
The best actress trophy went to Renee Zellweger for ‘Judy,’ while best-actor winner Joaquin Phoenix (‘Joker’) praised his fellow nominees and gave a shout-out to the late performer who had also won awards for playing the same role: “Really, I’m standing here on the shoulders of my favourite actor, Heath Ledger.”
Laura Dern won the supporting-actress award for her role as a savvy divorce lawyer in ‘Marriage Story,’ while Brad Pitt collected yet another supporting-actor trophy for Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood,’ which he accepted with a stand-up comedian’s ease.
“I’ve got to add this to my Tinder profile,” Pitt said, before cracking jokes about the frequent close-up shots of feet in ‘Once Upon a Time’ — “Seriously, Quentin has separated more women from their shoes than the TSA” — and noting that his role as laid-back stuntman Cliff Booth was hardly a stretch, since he’s “a guy who gets high, takes his shirt off, and doesn’t get on with his wife.” (At that, the show cut to a reaction shot of Pitt’s ex Jennifer Aniston.)
Robert De Niro, denied a best-actor nomination for ‘The Irishman,’ was still given a lifetime-achievement award. He used his acceptance speech to take more swings at President Donald Trump, and insisted, “I have as much right as anybody — an actor, an athlete, a musician, anybody else — to voice my opinion. And if I have a bigger voice because of my situation, I’m going to use it when I see a blatant abuse of power.”
As for the TV categories, ‘The Crown’ prevailed in the drama-cast category and ‘The Marvelous Mrs Maisel’ took the best-comedy trophy, despite an earlier best-actress win for ‘Fleabag’ star Phoebe Waller-Bridge. The ‘Maisel’ cast seemed flummoxed taking the stage: “I voted for ‘Fleabag,’” said actress Alex Borstein.
Here is the complete list of winners:
MOVIES
- Outstanding cast: ‘Parasite’
- Best actor: Joaquin Phoenix, ‘Joker’
- Best actress: Renee Zellweger, ‘Judy’
- Best supporting actor: Brad Pitt, ‘Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood’
- Best supporting actress: Laura Dern, ‘Marriage Story’
- Outstanding stunt ensemble: ‘Avengers: Endgame’
TELEVISION
- Outstanding ensemble, drama series: ‘The Crown’
- Outstanding ensemble, comedy series: ‘The Marvelous Mrs Maisel’
- Best actor, drama series: Peter Dinklage ‘Game of Thrones’
- Best actor, comedy series: Tony Shalhoub, ‘The Marvelous Mrs Maisel’
- Best actress, drama series: Jennifer Aniston, ‘The Morning Show’
- Best actress, comedy series: Phoebe Waller-Bridge, ‘Fleabag’
- Best actor, TV movie or miniseries: Sam Rockwell, ‘Fosse/Verdon’
- Best actress, TV movie or miniseries: Michelle Williams, ‘Fosse/Verdon’
- Outstanding stunt ensemble: ‘Game of Thrones’
