20th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards

The Screen Actors Guild Awards strive to honor actors who have showcased extraordinary talent in film and television during the past year. The SAG Awards are the only televised awards to exclusively honor performers.  The show consists of 13 awards for acting in film and  television during a two hour show aired live on TNT and TBS.  They are considered one of the industry's highest and most prized honors as it is a peer voted honor.

This year the show honored some of the year's biggest and brightest stars.  A complete winner's list can be found here.

Some of the night's biggest winners were: Lupita Nyong'o in the Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role category for her role in 12 Years a Slave. Jared Leto won Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role for his role in Dallas Buyer's Club, giving the distinct impression that he is a shoo-in for the Oscar.  Matthew McConaughey also won Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in Leading Role for his role in the film.  Modern Family won for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series for the fourth consecutive year and Ty Burrell took home the actor for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series.  Bryan Cranston took home the actor for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series for his role as Walter White in Breaking Bad. The series also won for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series to mark its first win and third consecutive nomination.  Maggie Smith won Outstanding Performance by a Female Actress in a Drama Series beating out Anna Gunn in what I consider to be an upset, but SAG-AFTRA members do have a great love for Downton Abbey. Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in Leading Role was awarded to  Cate Blanchett for her role in Blue Jasmine.  Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture was awarded to the cast of American Hustle.

Rita Moreno was rightfully and deservedly honored with the Screen Actors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award which was presented to her by Morgan Freeman. She gave an endearing speech that included an f-bomb, true sentiments of gratitude and ended with a serenade.

Given these results, it is likely, but in no way guaranteed, that Leto and Blanchett will take home Oscars come March 2nd.  It is also likely that McConaughey could take home an Oscar and 12 Years a Slave remains the top contender for Best Motion Picture.

Other Guild awards are held as followed but are not televised:
25th Annual Producers Guild Awards - January 19, 2014
66th Annual Directors Guild Awards - January 25, 2014
66th Annual Writers Guild Awards - February 1, 2014
2014 Ace Eddie Awards (Film Editors) - February 7, 2014
18th Art Directors Guild Awards - February 8, 2014
61st MPSE Golden Reel Awards (Sound Editors) - February 16, 2014
16th Annual Costume Designers Guild Awards - February 22, 2014

Red Carpet Fashion

Amy Adams looked stunning in a one-shouldered gown by Antonio Berardi.  The gorgeous bright blue, along with her fabulous up-do and make-up gave her an old-Hollywood look that was to die for, and worked much better for her than her Golden Globes dress.

  Anna Gun looked spectacular in a stunning midnight blue gown by Monique Lhuillier.  She carried a purse adorned with the Breaking Bad logo by Edie Parker. Even had she not won a SAG at the awards, she still would have gone home a winner in this dress.

Cate Blanchett walked the carpet in a gorgeous gown by Givenchy.  The Blue Jasmine star was pretty in pink and became one of the major talking points of the live red carpet feeds.

 Lupita Nyong'o has gained a reputation for being fashion forward and savvy and this red carpet look was no exception.  She looked gorgeous from head to toe in this gorgeous blue/turquoise dress by Gucci.

Michelle Dockery has a stunning sense of style that has remained present during this awards season.  The Downton Abbey star showed a lot of skin in this plunging number from J. Mendel that was a hit on the carpet. 

Photo Source

Oscar Nominations and the Critic's Choice Movie Awards

Oscar Nominations

Watch the nominee announcement here or read the list of nominees here.
The nominees for the night's biggest category are:

This past year was a difficult year to be an excellent movie because there were so many amazing films that many were lost in the shuffle and did not receive the recognition that they deserved, but it is important to remember that accolades do not singularly determine a film's worth, and many great films have gone, and will go, unrecognized. Many wonderful and amazing films were made and many of them were well represented and garnered already this awards season.

Everyone's first question when nominees for anything are announced is "who is missing?"  This year, as is the case every year, some films are snubbed because there just aren't enough spots for every great film.  Tom Hanks, or Tam Honks if you prefer, did not receive nominations for either of his major roles this year as Captain Phillips in Captain Phillips and his role as Walt Disney in Saving Mr. Banks.   Emma Thompson was also left off the list for her role in the latter. Lee Daniels' The Butler was also left out of all major categories, most notably lacking nominations for Oprah Winfrey in the Best Supporting Actress category and Lee Daniels for Best Director.  All is Lost was all but shut out of the race, receiving only one nomination for sound editing.  Ron Howard's film Rush was completely shut out of the nominations,however, due to it's poor overall box office performance it is not an incredible shock.  Her received five (well deserved) nominations, but did not earn a nomination for the film's star Joaquin Phoenix.  Blue is the Warmest Color was shut out of the race entirely (although it was not eligible for Best Foreign Film, it was eligible for other categories).  Enough Said  was shut out, which registers on a different level of hurt given that it was James Gandolfini's final performance and Julia Louis-Dreyfus' first major role in years.  Inside Llewyn Davis was completely shut out as well which is particularly surprising given that it was thought to be one of the best films of the year by many.  This is by no means all of the snubs (and a more complete list can be found here) but the aforementioned problem of the sheer volume of amazing films made this year has made it an equally big year for snubs.  Leonardo DiCaprio, however, DID receive a nomination and if he wins for Wolf of Wall Street it will be his first Academy Award, because of this and many other deserving nominations, one should keep in mind that snubs do not take away from deserving nominations.

Another interesting aspect of the Oscars will be the award show itself.  This year they, the executive producers, have decided on a superhero/movie hero theme for the show.  It will be interesting to see exactly what this entails and whether it adds to or takes away from the show itself.  Another interesting aspect will be Ellen DeGeneres as host of the show.

Watch the Oscar race conclude on Sunday, March 2nd.

19th Annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards

FULL LIST OF WINNERS

The Critics' Choice Movie Awards have more specific categories than many of the other award shows, such as the Academy Awards or the Golden Globes.  The awards therefore lend themselves to honoring stars who may otherwise miss out in more general categories. One example of this is Mark Walberg's win for Best Actor in an Action Movie for Lone Survivor.  At one of the larger awards shows he would likely have been lost in the shuffle of bigger films that have had larger numbers at the box office, bigger stars, or more well-known stories, but the Critics' Choice Awards gives him a chance to be recognized.  They also recognize younger talent with the Young Actor or Actress Category which this year saw a win for Adèle Exarchopoulos for her role in  Blue is the Warmest Color.

The cast of American Hustle won Best Ensemble of the night, an award many hoped would go to the cast of The Butler given that it was shut out of the Oscar nominations.  Best Supporting Actress went to Lupita Nyong'o, a very deserving and talented actress who played such a great part in 12 Years a Slave.  Best Director was given to Alfonso Cuarón  for Gravity.  Many other wonderful talents were also awarded with well deserved awards at the show (a full list can be found above).

One of the wonderful things about this award show is giving filmmakers, actors and other people responsible for aspects of filmmaking to be honored.  It takes so much  work to make a movie and so many people give up their time and temporary sanity to make films something worth watching.  Even with all of the talent and effort in the world, it is difficult to make a film that will do well at the box office, resonate with viewers, AND be met with critical acclaim.  When a team is able to make a film that meets all of these criterion it deserves, more than anything else, to be recognized for its achievement.