All of the presenters at January’s Screen Actors Guild Awards will be women, it was revealed on Thursday.
As sexual misconduct allegations against men in Hollywood continue to rock Hollywood, the SAG Awards announced that all 13 of the acting awards, as well as two stunt awards, will be presented by women.
Women have taken the spotlight at the awards show, with Kristen Bell hosting, and Olivia Munn and Niecy Nash announcing the nominations on Wednesday.
As sexual misconduct allegations against men in Hollywood continue to rock Hollywood, the SAG Awards announced that all 13 of the acting awards, as well as two stunt awards, will be presented by women
Famous actor stories that open the show will be all-female as well, Page Six reported.
‘I feel pretty strongly about the women’s movement,’ Kathy Connell, the executive producer of the show, told The New York Times. ‘Women stepped forward in such a huge way in this last year.’
She added: ‘I want to salute women who are coming forward to speak at a very difficult time about very difficult subjects at great risk to themselves.’
Kristen Bell said that the fact that she has been chosen to be the show’s first host means ‘genitals become irrelevant’.
‘Culturally there’s always been a conversation about equality,’ Bell told the Times. ‘Now there’s some mega-spotlights on this conversation and, dare I say, some pyrotechnics in the background.’
There is one exception to the all-female roster at the awards show: The award for outstanding performance by a cast will be introduced by men and women. The award itself, however, will be presented by a woman.
Women have taken the spotlight at the awards show, with Kristen Bell being the event’s first-ever host
Niecy Nash (left) and Olivia Munn (right) announced the show’s nominations in Hollywood on Wednesday
Martin McDonagh’s black comedy crime story Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri scored the most nominations for the SAG Awards, seen as a major bellwether for the Oscars.
The movie received four nods in three categories — best ensemble cast, best lead actress (Frances McDormand), and best supporting actor (Woody Harrelson and Sam Rockwell).
Joining Three Billboards in the running for best cast – the SAG’s top award – are romantic comedy The Big Sick, racial satire Get Out, offbeat dramedy Lady Bird and civil rights drama Mudbound.
On the television side, three series were tied at the top with four nominations each: HBO drama Big Little Lies and – including the stunt team nominations – Netflix sci-fi thriller Stranger Things and wrestling comedy Glow.
The SAG nominations are the second major announcement in Tinseltown’s glittering awards season, which climaxes with the Academy Awards in March.
From left, SAG Awards executive producer Kathy Connell, SAG Awards Committee Member Elizabeth McLaughlin, SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris, actors Niecy Nash, Olivia Munn, and SAG Awards Committee Chair & SAG-AFTRA Foundation President JoBeth Williams pose during the 24th Annual SAG Awards Nominations Announcement
Although less high-profile than the Golden Globes, the SAG awards are seen as more of an indicator of Oscars glory, since members represent some 1,200 of the roughly 6,000 voters for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
The awards were being closely watched this year as they come with Hollywood engulfed in the worst sexual misconduct scandal in its history.
Allegations from harassment to rape have sparked the downfall of numerous powerful industry players, from movie mogul Harvey Weinstein to actors Kevin Spacey, Jeffrey Tambor and Louis C.K. to filmmaker Brett Ratner.
None of the Hollywood figures directly involved in the scandal were rewarded by SAG, although Spacey’s House of Cards co-star Robin Wright was nominated.
Gabrielle Carteris, president of the SAG-AFTRA actors’ union, said the flood of accusations showed that victims were feeling empowered at last to speak out.
‘And if we continue to allow and to hear those voices, and then start to change… the way that we do certain things, we can actually shift our culture,’ she said.
The winners of the 24th annual SAG awards will be announced on January 21 in Los Angeles, in a ceremony broadcast live on TNT and TBS.