The starry cast of Aaron Sorkin鈥檚 1960s courtroom drama 鈥淭he Trial of the Chicago 7鈥� took the top prize Sunday at a virtual Screen Actors Guild Awards where actors of
The 27th SAG Awards, presented by the Hollywood actors鈥� guild SAG-Aftra, were a muted affair 鈥� and not just because the red carpet-less ceremony was condensed to a pre-recorded, Zoom-heavy, one-hour broadcast on TBS and TNT. The perceived Academy Awards frontrunner 鈥� Chlo茅 Zhao鈥檚 鈥淣omadland鈥� 鈥� wasn鈥檛 nominated for best ensemble, making this year鈥檚 postponed SAG Awards less of an Oscar preview than it is most years.
Still, the win for Netflix's 鈥淭he Trial of the Chicago 7鈥� marked the first time a film from any streaming service won the guild鈥檚 ensemble award. Written and directed by Sorkin, 鈥淭he Trial of the Chicago 7鈥� had been set for theatrical release by Paramount Pictures before the pandemic hit, leading to its sale to Netflix. The streamer is still after its first best-picture win at the Oscars.
Frank Langella, who plays the judge who presided over the 1969 prosecution of activists arrested during the 1968 Democratic National Convention, drew parallels between that era鈥檚 unrest and today鈥檚 while accepting the award on behalf of the cast.
鈥溾�楪od give us leaders,鈥� said the Rev. Martin Luther King before he was shot down in cold blood on this very date in 1968 鈥� a profound injustice,鈥� said Langella, citing events leading up to those dramatized in "The Trial of the Chicago 7. 鈥淭he Rev. King was right. We need leaders to guide us toward hating each other less.鈥�
The win came over two other Netflix releases 鈥� 鈥淢a Rainey鈥檚 Black Bottom鈥� and 鈥淒a 5 Bloods鈥� 鈥� as well as Amazon鈥檚 鈥淥ne Night in Miami鈥� and A24鈥檚 鈥淢inari.鈥� Had Lee Isaac Chung鈥檚 Korean-American family drama 鈥淢inari鈥� won, it would have been the second straight year a film largely not in English won SAG鈥檚 top award. Last year, the cast of 鈥淧arasite鈥� triumphed, becoming the first cast from a non-English language film to do so.
The SAG Awards are a closely watched Oscar harbinger. Actors make up the largest branch of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, and SAG winners often line up with Oscar ones. Last year, 鈥淧arasite鈥� went on to win best picture at the Academy Awards, and all of the individual SAG winners 鈥� Ren茅e Zellweger, Brad Pitt, Laura Dern, Joaquin Phoenix 鈥� won at the Oscars, too.
Those awards this year went to a group entirely of actors of
Of those, Davis' win was the most surprising in a category that has often belonged to Carey Mulligan ("Promising Young Woman") or Frances McDormand ("Nomadland"). It's Davis' fifth individual SAG award.
鈥淭hank you, August, for leaving a legacy for actors of
As it has throughout the awards season, best male actor again belonged to Boseman for his final performance. Boseman, who died last August at age 43, had already set a record for most SAG film nominations 鈥� four 鈥� in a single year. He was also posthumously nominated for his supporting role in 鈥淒a 5 Bloods鈥� and shared in the ensemble nominations for both Spike Lee鈥檚 film and 鈥淢a Rainey鈥檚 Black Bottom.鈥�
It was the SAG Awards where Boseman gave one of his most memorable speeches. At the guild鈥檚 2019 awards, Boseman spoke on behalf of the 鈥淏lack Panther鈥� cast when the film won the top award. 鈥淲e all know what it鈥檚 like to be told that there is not a place for you to be featured,鈥� Boseman said then. 鈥淵et you are young, gifted and Black.鈥�
The Academy Awards frontrunner, 鈥淣omadland鈥� missed out on a best-ensemble nomination possibly because its cast is composed of largely non-professional actors. Zhao's film previously won at the highly predictive Producers Guild Awards, as well as at the Golden Globes. 鈥淭he Trial of the Chicago 7,鈥� up for best picture at the Oscars and four other awards, could pose a challenge to the frontrunner.
In an interview following the pre-taping of the award for 鈥淭he Trial of the Chicago 7,鈥� Langella called the virtual experience much more civilized. 鈥淚鈥檓 in my bedroom slippers,鈥� he said from New York鈥檚 Hudson Valley. 鈥淚 have no pants on,鈥� added his co-star Michael Keaton.
Eddie Redmayne, who plays Tom Hayden in the film, credited Sorkin and casting director Francine Maisler for assembling such a disparate group of actors 鈥� including Sacha Baron Cohen, Mark Rylance, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Jeremy Strong 鈥� into an ensemble.
鈥淚t was like a clash of different types of music, whether it was jazz or rock or classical -- but all of that coming together under Aaron. He was the conductor, almost,鈥� said Redmayne. 鈥淚t was a joy day and day out to watch these great and different and varied actors slugging it out.鈥�
In television categories, the ensembles of 鈥淪chitt鈥檚 Creek鈥� (for comedy series) and 鈥淭he Crown" (for drama series) added to their string of awards. Other winners included Anya Taylor-Joy (鈥淭he Queen鈥檚 Gambit鈥�), Gillian Anderson (鈥淭he Crown"), Jason Sudeikis (鈥淭ed Lasso鈥�), Jason Bateman ("Ozark") and Mark Ruffalo (鈥淚 Know This Much Is True鈥�).
The awards are typically the highest profile event for the Screen Actors Guild, though the union鈥檚 faceoff earlier this year with former President Donald Trump may have drawn more headlines. After the guild prepared to expel Trump (credits include 鈥淭he Apprentice,鈥� 鈥淗ome Alone 2鈥�) for his role in the Capitol riot, Trump resigned from SAG-Aftra.
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Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP
Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
