January 31, 2011 – Award season continued last night with the presentation of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards.
The SAGs, a surprising acronym that spells a word that’s taboo in Hollywood, tend to predict the Oscars with about 75 percent accuracy. The Golden Globe Awards, which aired two weeks ago, have about a 69 percent accuracy rate in determining Oscar winners.
Relatively new in the award show arena, SAGs have only been presented for the last 17 years. The nominees are voted on by the membership of the Screen Actors Guild. Like the Golden Globes, which is voted on by the Hollywood Foreign Press, the SAG awards focus on both movies and television.
Hollywood loves to shine the spotlight on their community, which is really the main reason to add another awards show into the mix. It’s also good for the gratuitous union plug, which several actors mentioned last night. But mainly, it fills the month and a half month void between the Golden Globes and the granddaddy of all awards, the Oscars, giving the season a true trifecta.
There weren’t any surprises last night, as the winners in the movie categories matched those of the Golden Globes.
Both the Globe and SAG award went to Melissa Leo for best supporting actress in The Fighter, while Christian Bale took home both best supporting actor awards for the same film.
Natalie Portman won the Globe and SAG for best actress in The Black Swan, and Colin Firth took home both for best actor in The King’s Speech.
SAGs are not awarded for best picture, but rather ensemble acting in a motion picture, which went to the cast of The King’s Speech. Odds are it will also be named best picture on Feb. 27.
So, there you go. There’s no need to watch the Academy Awards now. But if you’re a movie lover like me, who also can’t get enough of awards shows, you’ll suffer through it.