‘Three Billboards’ leads movie honors
LOS ANGELES — The Western-inspired revenge tale “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” led the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday with wins for best ensemble, best actress for Frances McDormand and best supporting actor for Sam Rockwell.
It was almost an exact repeat of the major Golden Globe Awards wins, with Gary Oldman also winning best actor for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in “Darkest Hour” and Allison Janney taking supporting actress for playing Olympic skater Tonya Harding’s mother in “I, Tonya.”
As with many of the awards shows this season, it was the treatment of women in Hollywood that stayed at the forefront of the show, which featured a roster of nearly all female presenters and Kristen Bell as its inaugural host.
“We are living in a watershed moment,” Bell said in her opening monologue, which stayed light and mostly clear of politics. “Let’s make sure that we’re leading the charge with empathy and diligence.”
With many prominent men in Hollywood facing accusations of sexual misconduct, virtually every aspect of awards season has been impacted by the scandal — from questions on the red carpet to anxiety over who might win.
Both James Franco and Aziz Ansari won Golden Globe Awards two weeks ago while wearing Time’s Up pins before being accused of sexual misconduct — in Ansari’s case, aggressive sexual behavior by an anonymous accuser. Both were nominated Sunday and lost, Franco to Oldman and Ansari to William H. Macy for “Shameless.”
Rockwell, who beat out co-star Woody Harrelson for the award, took his moment on stage to give a shout-out to McDormand.
“Frances, you’re a powerhouse,” Rockwell said. “I stand shoulder to shoulder with you and all the incredible women in this room who are trying to make things better. It’s long overdue.”
Big television winners included NBC’s “This Is Us,” which took the ensemble award for drama and won Sterling K. Brown the outstanding actor award, and HBO’s “Veep,” which got outstanding comedy ensemble and a best actress win for Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
HBO’s “Big Little Lies” picked up best actor in a miniseries wins for both Alexander Skarsgard and Nicole Kidman.
Life Achievement Award recipient Morgan Freeman kept his remarks brief after a moving highlight reel of his expansive career and an introduction by Rita Moreno. The Oscar-winner for “Million Dollar Baby” and four-time nominee has over 80 films to his name.
“I’m gonna tell you what’s wrong with this statue,” he said as he wrapped up. “From the back it works, from the front it’s gender specific. Maybe I started something.”
Lindsey Bahr is an Associated Press writer.