KOREAN MOVIE ‘PARASITE’ SCORES HISTORIC UPSET AT SAG AWARDS

LOS ANGELES: South Korean thriller Parasite was the upset winner at the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) awards on Sunday, while Joaquin Phoenix and Renee Zellweger were named best actors, cementing their roles as front-runners at the Oscars next month.

Parasite, the Korean language social satire about the wealth gap in South Korea, was the first film in a foreign language to win the top prize of best cast ensemble in the 26 year-history of the SAG awards.

Despite an unknown cast, it beat home-grown Hollywood movies The Irishman and Once Upon A Time in Hollywood which both have A-list stars.

The SAG awards, which focus entirely on performances, are closely watched as an indicator of Oscar success because actors form the largest voting group in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Parasite director Bong Joon Ho said backstage that no-one could predict what might happen at the Oscars on February 9.

Speaking through an interpreter he added; “It is true that the momentum is building and we are a part of the awards race and campaign. But... what’s truly important, is that these actors were acknowledged”.

Phoenix’s terrifying performance as a loner who finds fame through violence in Joker has swept awards season.

Zellweger, likewise, has picked up most of the prizes so far for her performance as a desperate, aging Judy Garland in biopic Judy.

Brad Pitt picked up another trophy for his supporting role for Once Upon A Time in Hollywood while Laura Dern won best supporting actress for Marriage Story.