Awards season was out in these Hollywood streets in full force this weekend — and it is pretty much the only news that film and TV people are paying attention to these days and right now the hottest gal on the awards season strip is Everything Everywhere All At Once.
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert‘s maximalist multiverse family epic fever dream that goes by the initials EEAAO was that girl for the past couple of weeks. The Daniels won the top prize at the Directors Guild of America Awards. This past weekend the A24 film added a Producers Guild of America Award trophy to its mantle. At the Screen Actors Guild Awards, EEAAO blew the girls away, winning four of the five film categories (Brendan Fraser won Lead Male Actor for The Whale) with Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan making history as the first winners of Asian descent in the Lead Female Actress and Supporting Male Actor. The legendary Jamie Lee Curtis also walked away with a trophy for Supporting Female Actress. The cherry on top of this Everything bagel was that the cast won the SAG Award for Best Ensemble — an ensemble that also includes Stephanie Hsu, Harry Shum Jr., Jenny Slate, Tallie Medel, Brian Le, Andy Le, and the iconic James Hong, who, after nearly 70 years and 700 acting credits has finally gotten the awards season shine he deserves.
One indicator that has often been used as a barometer for Best Picture winner at the Oscars has been the Best Picture victor at the PGA Awards The guild has predicted 102 of 116 (88%) Best Picture nominees over the past 13 years and guild has predicted 22 of the 32 winners. Last year, CODA won the PGA Award for Best Film and then went on to win the Oscar. It was the same story for Nomadland. The year before that? The PGA Award for Best Film went to 1917 but the Oscar ended up going to Parasite. Although there is a pattern with all of this, that pertain isn’t always a surefire win –and this award season has been filled with surprises (remember how white the BAFTAs were?).
I’ve been chatting around with various awards season reporters, pundits and your general journalist with a strong opinion and there seems to be a consensus that there really isn’t a frontrunner this year as there has been in years past. It’s still anyone’s game. EEAAO is just in the lead right now for Best Picture. I personally hope it stays in the lead, but The Banshees of Inisherin and All Quiet on the Western Front are not far behind and Top Gun: Maverick could shock us all and win.
One more SAG Awards shout out to Quinta Brunson, Tyler James Williams, Janelle James, Lisa Ann Walter, Chris Perfetti, Sheryl Lee Ralph, and William Stanford Davis of Abbott Elementary for deservedly winning the Best TV Comedy Ensemble. The ABC sitcom, which has pumped new life into network won for outstanding comedy series at the NAACP Image Awards. Brunson, Williams and James also took home individual Image Awards for their roles on the show.
ADG Awards, MPSE Awards, Annie Awards and by the time I am done with this post the CDG Awards will have concluded. But one other major moment that will be remembered in the annals of Hollywood awards season is, of course the moment Ariana DeBose stepped out on that stage at the BAFTAs and fearlessly did what she needed to do and had a good-ass time while doing it. Sure, it may have been a little awkward and weird to watch but how many times have people (mainly white men) done awkward and weird musical numbers at awards shows that just didn’t land exactly the way they wanted? DeBose is just doing it at a time when everyone loves hearing their own opinion about something and sharing it with the world.
Nonetheless, DeBose’s “Angela Bassett did the thing” has become an earworm since she shook her hips to those lyrics. At the NAACP Image Awards, it evolved to this:
Bassett repeating the meme-able phrase was almost like a thank you to DeBose because her rap did all but amplify the Oscar nominee’s name in the awards season race, making her win almost certain. Bassett was the queen of the Image Awards, winning Entertainer of the Year as well as a trophy for her role in 9-1-1.
Bassett also took home Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which was one of 10 Image Awards the MCU film won. Wakanda Forever won Outstanding Motion Picture Tenoch Huerta for, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture, and Outstanding Ensemble Cast. Ryan Coogler and Joe Robert Cole took home an Image Award for Outstanding Writing. In addition, Camille Friend won for Outstanding Hairstyling; Ruth E. Carter for Outstanding Costume Design; Rihanna for Outstanding Music Video/Visual Album – “Lift Me Up”; Ryan Coogler, Ludwig Göransson, Archie Davis and Dave Jordan (Hollywood Records) for Outstanding Soundtrack/Compilation Album; and Tems for Outstanding International Song – “No Woman No Cry”.
Other winners at the Image Awards included Viola Davis won for The Woman King — a role which did not earn her an Oscar nom. P-Valley won for Outstanding Drama Series while the show’s stars Nicco Annan and Loretta Devine took home acting trophies. There are tons of winners, so you can read all of them here.
One of the main highlights of the evening was when Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade took the stage to accept the President’s Award and made this speech:
