The Screen Actors Guild will stand with women at its 24th annual awards ceremony. According to The Hollywood Reporter, women will present each statuette at the January 21 event. This gesture is SAG’s way of supporting women in the wake of the myriad sexual harassment and assault stories that have come out of Hollywood in the past couple months. “The Good Place’s” Kristen Bell will also serve as the SAG Awards’ first-ever host.
“Beginning with the Women’s March in January, it’s been the year of the woman,” SAG Awards EP Kathy Connell explained. “This is a unifying salute to women who have been very brave and speaking up.”
Of course, men will not be entirely absent from the ceremony. The male SAG winners will take the stage to accept their honors and it’s possible that men will introduce clips of the best cast and ensemble nominees.
But, as Connell stressed, this move isn’t about excluding men: it’s about celebrating women, who have been overlooked in the industry for far too long. “How many times has a woman walked into a room of predominately men?” she asked. “We thought, maybe for one night, it’ll be more than 50/50 [onstage].” Connell added, “It’s still an awards show and a celebration — we’re not here to preach to anybody. To me, just having some of these fabulous women onstage sends its own message.”
Like SAG, plenty of other organizations are taking steps to protect and support women in post-Weinstein Hollywood. The Academy of of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has revised its code of conduct. ICM and CAA have pledged to achieve 50–50 gender parity by 2020. Women In Film recently launched a hotline for survivors. 20th Century Fox VP Claire Schmidt announced her plans to head AllVoices, a startup designed to fight workplace harassment. “The Hunting Ground” filmmakers Amy Ziering and Kirby Dick are currently collecting research for their documentary about the widespread assault in show business. Los Angeles DA Jackie Lacey is forming a sexual assault task force. And the Swedish Film Institute is also developing a program to inform and educate filmmakers about sexual harassment.
All the female SAG Award nominees are below. List adapted from THR.
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
- Judi Dench / Queen Victoria, Victoria & Abdul (Focus Features)
- Sally Hawkins / Elisa Esposito, The Shape of Water (Fox Searchlight)
- Frances McDormand / Mildred, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (Fox Searchlight)
- Margot Robbie / Tonya Harding, I, Tonya (Neon)
- Saoirse Ronan / Lady Bird McPherson, Lady Bird (A24)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
- Mary J. Blige / Florence Jackson, Mudbound (Netflix)
- Hong Chau / Ngoc Lan Tran, Downsizing (Paramount Pictures)
- Holly Hunter / Beth, The Big Sick (Lionsgate/Amazon Studios)
- Allison Janney / LaVona Golden, I, Tonya (Neon)
- Laurie Metcalf / Marion McPherson, Lady Bird (A24)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
- Millie Bobby Brown / Eleven, Stranger Things (Netflix)
- Claire Foy / Queen Elizabeth II, The Crown (Netflix)
- Laura Linney / Wendy Byrde, Ozark (Netflix)
- Elisabeth Moss / Offred/June, The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)
- Robin Wright / Claire Underwood, House of Cards (Netflix)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
- Uzo Aduba / Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren, Orange is the New Black (Netflix)
- Alison Brie / Ruth Wilder, GLOW (Netflix)
- Jane Fonda / Grace Hanson, Grace and Frankie (Netflix)
- Julia Louis-Dreyfus / Selina Meyer, Veep (HBO)
- Lily Tomlin / Frankie Bergstein, Grace and Frankie (Netflix)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
- Laura Dern / Renata Klein, Big Little Lies (HBO)
- Nicole Kidman / Celeste Wright, Big Little Lies (HBO)
- Jessica Lange / Joan Crawford, Feud: Bette and Joan (FX Networks)
- Susan Sarandon / Bette Davis, Feud: Bette and Joan (FX Networks)
- Reese Witherspoon / Madeline MacKenzie, Big Little Lies (HBO)
