My SAG-AFTRA card says I've been a member since 1986- thirty years this year. I should get an award for that. There were originally two unions: The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists which was for radio announcers and actors, and The Screen Actors Guild, which was for movie actors. With the advent of television, AFTRA took the daytime shows and the news announcers, and SAG took prime time. I joined AFTRA first, because you could pay to join without working, and SAG a year or two later, after I got a speaking part on General Hospital in 1987. SAG used to be hard to join. I did it legitimately, although it did not help me get an agent. The merger was controversial because you didn't have to work to join AFTRA, but it was ultimately necessary to fend off rapacious producers who would pit the two guilds against each other.
This is the 22nd year of the SAG Awards, acting-only awards for people who can't get into the more prestigious Academy. Theoretically, it is more democratic, because only actors vote for other actors. There is still quite a bit of hype and advertising, and many good performances are overlooked for big names and studios.
The studios send DVDs, called screeners, to SAG-AFTRA members, with instructions that they are strictly for awards season and not to be sold or given away. One is supposed to destroy them. I've held onto a few. Usually, DVDs are not yet available to the general public. Lately, studios have been sending codes to allow one to watch movies online. Netflix, which we didn't have at home, sent me a card with a code for three months of free watching. I watched the first episode this season of "House of Cards" and "Orange Is The New Black" over the last two days. Joe and I watched screeners for "Brooklyn," "Spotlight," "The Big Short," "The Danish Girl" and I saw part of "Beasts of No Nation." They sent screeners for "Steve Jobs" and "Room," which I didn't watch, and "Straight Outta Compton" which I saw in an otherwise empty theater here in Morgantown. I could have watched some of the other movies online, but I didn't. "Trumbo" and "Woman In Gold" I saw in theaters prior to the announcement of the awards.
I didn't vote in the stunt or most of the television categories, and I know I slighted some good work because I didn't take time to see it. And I have my prejudices.
I only saw two of the best actor nominees: Bryan Cranston in "Trumbo" and Eddie Redmayne in "The Danish Girl." A close call, but I picked Redmayne, because he was believable in a "stunt" kind of role, and didn't try to make his character likable.
For actress, I saw Saoirse Ronan in "Brooklyn" and Helen Mirren in "Woman In Gold." Ronan was heartbreaking, but Helen Mirren had a more powerful story to tell. I voted for Rachel McAdams in "Spotlight" over Alicia Vikander in "The Danish Girl." Both played young women believable in today's society, but Vikander was in a period piece. She and Redmayne seemed to be in different movies.
The only category where I saw every movie was "Best Ensemble Cast in a Movie." The nominees were "Beasts of No Nation" (which I did not watch to the end), "The Big Short," "Spotlight," "Straight Outta Compton,"and "Trumbo." All of these were great and I would recommend them. I voted for "Straight Outta Compton" because the actors are not well known, because the major parts (except for Paul Giamatti) are African-American, and The Academy didn't nominate any African-American actors. The actors in "Straight Outta Compton" are as talented as any of the big names in the other movies.
I voted for Jim Parsons in "The Big Bang Theory" for television comedy actor because he is actually gay ( although his character is not) and "Orange Is The New Black" for television ensemble cat because it is mostly women (who get short-shrift in the movie biz) and largely minority. People think African-Americans and Latin Americans playing thugs on television actually are thugs, but of course, they are trained actors who can put that on. I also like that the actors are different ages and shapes on that show. I'm all about diversity.
I understand that my choices are not entirely rational, but I also understand that none of the award choices at this time of year are rational. A script, a director, how one relates to a character or a theme, and just what one chooses to see or not see, make a big difference.
The SAGAFTRA Awards will be on TNT Saturday night, January 30.
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