Looks like ‘Parasite’ vs. ‘1917’
“Parasite” has officially infected Hollywood’s awards season. Bong Joon Ho’s Korean class satire became the first foreign language film to take top honors from the Screen Actors Guild on Sunday, setting itself up as a legitimate best picture contender to the front-runner “1917” at next month’s Academy Awards.
The best ensemble win for “Parasite” came over the starry epics “Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood” and “The Irishman.” It was a surprise but only to a degree. “Parasite,” up for six Oscars, including best picture, has emerged as perhaps the stiffest competition for Sam Mendes’ “1917,” which won at the highly predictive Producers Guild Awards on Saturday.
But “Parasite” was the clear crowd favorite Sunday at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, where even the cast’s appearance introducing the film drew a standing ovation. Yet until the SAG Awards, the many honors for “Parasite” have seldom included awards for its actors, none of whom were nominated for an Oscar.
“Although the title is ‘Parasite,’ I think the story is about coexistence and how we can all live together,” said Song Kang Ho, one of the film’s stars, through a translator.
Because actors make up the largest percentage of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, their picks are closely watched as an Academy Awards harbinger.
But the last two years, the SAG ensemble winner has not gone on to win best picture: “Black Panther” last year and “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” in 2018. And this year’s front-runner, “1917,” more acclaimed for its technical acumen, wasn’t nominated by the screen actors.
If “Parasite” can pull off the upset at the Feb. 9 Oscars, it would be the first foreign language film to do so.
As expected, all the Oscar favorites kept their momentum: Joaquin Phoenix for best actor (“Joker”), Renee Zellweger for best actress (“Judy”), and Brad Pitt for supporting actor (“Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood”) and Laura Dern for supporting actress (“Marriage Story”).
At Saturday night’s Producers Guild Awards, many in the crowd seemed stunned after Reese Witherspoon announced “1917” as the winner of the Darryl F. Zanuck Award, which has gone on to win the best picture Oscar 21 out of 30 times — including the past two years, with “Green Book” and “The Shape of Water.”
“This film was inspired by my grandfather, Alfred Mendes, and my hope was to honor his experience,” said Mendes, who co-produced and directed the project. He also said it was his first time attending the awards, and thanked the guild for recognizing his film.
“This was best experience of my professional life,” he added.
Released late last month, “1917” has made a splash during awards season, including another surprise victory in the best drama picture category at the Golden Globes.
At the PGA awards, the war film bested other contenders like “Ford v Ferrari,” “The Irishman,” “Jojo Rabbit,” “Joker,” “Knives Out,” “Little Women,” “Marriage Story,” “Parasite” and “Once Upon a Time in … Hollywood.” “1917” has now built strong momentum heading into the Academy Awards on Feb. 9.