Connect with us

Entertainment

SAG Awards 2025: 'Conclave' crashes the party

Published

on

SAG Awards 2025: 'Conclave' crashes the party

Do you want to be an actor? Listening to Screen Actors Guild Awards host Kristen Bell singing that question to the tune of “Do You Want to Build a Snowman,” it seemed like the only reasonable response was a hearty “hell yes,” even with all the talk of failure and embarrassment and the possibility that Colin Farrell might give you COVID if you win an award.

You know what would be more alarming than catching a contagious disease from a charming Irishman? “Conclave” winning best picture at the Academy Awards. And yet it’s a very real possibility after the crowd-pleasing papal potboiler won the SAG Awards’ ensemble prize Sunday night.

Oscar voting is closed, with the ceremony being just seven days away. So nothing that tonight’s movie winners said from the stage will have any impact on the 97th Oscars, nor will the playing of Diane Warren’s nominated power ballad “The Journey” during the in memoriam segment.

But the SAG Awards are, for the most part, a reliable precursor to the Academy Awards. How trustworthy will they be this year? Let’s take a look.

Advertisement

CAST IN A MOTION PICTURE
Winner: “Conclave”

The past: The winner of this award went on to take the best picture Oscar 15 of 29 years, making it easily the SAG Awards’ least trustworthy Oscar precursor. (The ensemble prize wasn’t awarded in 1994, the SAG Awards’ first year.) Perhaps worth noting: The past three winners — “CODA,” “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and “Oppenheimer” — have also won the Oscar.

Will history repeat itself? After taking this ensemble honor and the best picture prize last weekend at the British Academy Film Awards, “Conclave” is very much in the running for the best picture Oscar. It has long been held up as the movie that could prevail with the Oscars’ preferential ballot, a ranked choice vote that rewards movies that are well-liked — or at least, not disliked.

Still, it’s worth pointing out that “Anora” won the top prizes this year from the producers, directors and writers guilds. Only one film has won those three honors and lost best picture — “Brokeback Mountain.”

“Anora” remains the favorite.

Advertisement

FEMALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Winner: Demi Moore, “The Substance”

The past: SAG and the academy have matched 21 of 30 years. Notable recent exceptions: Frances McDormand winning her third Oscar for “Nomadland” after Viola Davis (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”) won SAG, Olivia Colman (“The Favourite”) denying 2019 SAG winner Glenn Close (“The Wife”) her first Oscar and, just last year, Emma Stone (“Poor Things”) winning her second Oscar over SAG winner Lily Gladstone (“Killers of the Flower Moon”).

Will history repeat itself? Did you see that standing ovation? Moore began her comeback narrative at the Golden Globes when she gave a speech — one that she had memorized — that was both gracious and inspiring. She wrapped it up, beaming, “I do belong.” But then Madison took the honors at the British Film Academy Awards and, yesterday, the Spirit Awards. And with “Anora” winning top prizes at the directors and producers guild awards, it was easy to believe that the momentum in this race had shifted to the film’s terrific lead. It’s still a toss-up. But Moore is genuinely loved in the industry. People are rooting for her. All season long, it’s been easy to see why.

MALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Winner: Timothée Chalamet, “A Complete Unknown”

The past: This category has been the most reliable indicator of Oscar victory, with SAG and the academy matching 24 of 30 times. There are exceptions, though, such as when Anthony Hopkins won the Oscar for “The Father,” prevailing over SAG winner Chadwick Boseman (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”).

Advertisement

Will history repeat itself: Chalamet won’t turn 30 until the end of the year. If he won the Oscar for “A Complete Unknown,” he’d be the youngest to take the lead actor trophy. Who currently holds that distinction? None other than Adrien Brody, nominated for “The Brutalist,” who won for “The Pianist” in 2003, 22 days before his 30th birthday.

One thing is certain: Chalamet now holds the record as being the youngest to win SAG’s lead actor prize, taking that badge from Nicolas Cage, who was 32 when he prevailed for “Leaving Las Vegas” in 1996.

The SAG Awards, voted on by a broad membership of 125,000 members, skew more populist than the Oscars, so I think Brody remains the favorite. But now it’s competitive. Brody’s film, “The Brutalist,” earned 10 nominations, while “A Complete Unknown” scored eight. Both have their camps. But as much as the Oscars love rewarding a good biopic turn, Brody delivers a serious, deeply emotional performance in a movie that feels weighty. And he’s old(er).

FEMALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Winner: Zoe Saldaña, “Emilia Pérez”

The past: The SAG award winner has gone on to take the Oscar 22 of 29 times, including last year, when Da’Vine Joy Randolph won for “The Holdovers,” one of countless prizes she won that season. (Kate Winslet took this category in 2009 for “The Reader” but was nominated for — and won — the Oscar for lead actress for that performance.)

Advertisement

Will history repeat itself? Let me answer by asking another question: Is there an award that Saldaña has not won this season? She’s so good in “Emilia Pérez” that none of the movie’s controversies, including the offensive social media posts of her nominated co-star Karla Sofía Gascón, can keep her from winning. “Why should she be penalized for something she had nothing to do with?” one Oscar voter told me last week. Obviously, it was a rhetorical question as Saldaña’s triumphs have continued unabated. She’ll add an Oscar to her haul next week.

MALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Winner: Kieran Culkin, “A Real Pain”

The past: The SAG winner has gone on to win the Oscar 21 times in 30 years, including the last 11, the longest streak of any category.

Will history repeat itself? This category has become a snooze since 2016, the year Idris Elba won for “Beasts of No Nation” after not being nominated at the Oscars. Mark Rylance ended up winning the Oscar for “Bridge of Spies,” beating sentimental choice Sylvester Stallone, nominated for the “Rocky” reboot “Creed.” We haven’t had a competitive race since then, with the likes of Brad Pitt (“Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood”), Ke Huy Quan (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) and Robert Downey Jr. (“Oppenheimer”) sweeping the season — just like Culkin this year.

Advertisement

Movie Reviews

‘Madhuvidhu’ movie review: A light-hearted film that squanders a promising conflict

Published

on

‘Madhuvidhu’ movie review: A light-hearted film that squanders a promising conflict

At the centre of Madhuvidhu directed by Vishnu Aravind is a house where only men reside, three generations of them living in harmony. Unlike the Anjooran household in Godfather, this is not a house where entry is banned to women, but just that women don’t choose to come here. For Amrithraj alias Ammu (Sharafudheen), the protagonist, 28 marriage proposals have already fallen through although he was not lacking in interest.

When a not-so-cordial first meeting with Sneha (Kalyani Panicker) inevitably turns into mutual attraction, things appear about to change. But some unexpected hiccups are waiting for them, their different religions being one of them. Writers Jai Vishnu and Bipin Mohan do not seem to have any major ambitions with Madhuvidhu, but they seem rather content to aim for the middle space of a feel-good entertainer. Only that they end up hitting further lower.

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Dataland, the world’s first museum of AI arts, sets opening date and first exhibition

Published

on

Dataland, the world’s first museum of AI arts, sets opening date and first exhibition

After more than two and a half years of research, planning and construction, Dataland, the world’s first museum of AI arts, will open June 20.

Co-founded by new media artists Refik Anadol and Efsun Erkılıç, the museum anchors the $1-billion Frank Gehry-designed Grand LA complex across the street from Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles. Its first exhibition, “Machine Dreams: Rainforest,” created by Refik Anadol Studio, was inspired by a trip to the Amazon and uses vast data sets to immerse visitors in a machine-generated sensory experience of the natural world.

The architecture of the space, which Anadol calls “a living museum,” is used to reflect distant rainforest ecosystems, including changing temperature, light, smell and visuals. Anadol refers to these large-scale, shimmering tableaus as “digital sculptures.”

“This is such an important technology, and represents such an important transformation of humanity,” Anadol said in an interview. “And we found it so meaningful and purposeful to be sure that there is a place to talk about it, to create with it.”

The 35,000-square-foot privately funded museum devotes 25,000 square feet to public space, with the remaining 10,000 square feet holding the in-house technology that makes the space run. Dataland contains five immersive galleries and a 30-foot ceiling. An escalator by the entrance will transport guests to the experiences below. The museum declined to say how much Dataland, designed by architecture firm Gensler, cost to build.

Advertisement

An isometric architectural rendering of Dataland. The 25,000-square-foot AI arts museum also contains an additional 10,000 square feet of non-public space that holds its operational technology.

(Refik Anadol Studio for Dataland)

Dataland will collect and preserve artificial intelligence art and is powered by an open-access AI model created by Anadol’s studio called the Large Nature Model. The model, which does not source without permission, culls mountains of data about the natural world from partners including the Smithsonian, London’s Natural History Museum and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. This data, including up to half a billion images of nature, will form the basis for the creation of a variety of AI artworks, including “Machine Dreams.”

“AI art is a part of digital art, meaning a lineage that uses software, data and computers to create a form of art,” Anadol explained. “I know that many artists don’t want to disclose their technologies, but for me, AI means possibilities. And possibilities come with responsibilities. We have to disclose exactly where our data comes from.”

Advertisement

Sustainability is another responsibility that Anadol takes seriously. For more than a decade, Anadol has devoted much thought to the massive carbon footprint associated with AI models. The Large Nature Model is hosted on Google Cloud servers in Oregon that use 87% carbon-free, renewable energy. Anadol says the energy used to support an individual visit to the museum is equivalent to what it takes to charge a single smartphone.

Anadol believes AI can form a powerful bridge to nature — serving as a means to access and preserve it — and that the swiftly evolving technology can be harnessed to illuminate essential truths about humanity’s relationship to an interconnected planet. During a time of great anxiety about the power of AI to disrupt lives and livelihoods, Anadol maintains it can be a revolutionary tool in service of a never-before-seen form of art.

“The works generate an emergent, living reality, a machine’s dream shaped by continuous streams of environmental and biological data. Within this evolving system, moments of recognition and interpretation emerge across different forms of knowledge,” a news release about the museum explains. “At the same time, the exhibition registers loss as part of this expanded field of perception, most notably in the Infinity Room, where visitors encounter the 1987 recording of the last known Kauaʻi ʻŌʻō, a now-extinct bird whose unanswered call becomes part of the work.”

“It’s very exciting to say that AI art is not image only,” Anadol said. “It’s a very multisensory, multimedium experience — meaning sound, image, video, text, smell, taste and touch. They are all together in conversation.”

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Movie Reviews

Michael Jackson documentary set to release after massive re-write

Published

on

Michael Jackson documentary set to release after massive re-write
  • Fans reignite Drake vs Kendrick feud after album announcement

    03:35

  • Now Playing

    Michael Jackson documentary set to release after massive re-write

    02:57

  • UP NEXT

    Patrick Brammall on How He Got His Role in ‘Devil Wears Prada 2’

    05:43

  • Henry Winkler on ‘Hazardous History’ S2, Zip lining With Grandkids

    07:38

  • Did Harry Styles and Zoë Kravitz Get Engaged?

    04:05

  • Ana Gasteyer on Role in ‘Schmigadoon!’ Musical: ‘I’m Very Mean’

    06:03

  • Laufey Talks Children’s Book ‘Mei Mei the Bunny,’ Coachella, More

    05:15

  • Shania Twain to Host the 2026 Academy of Country Music Awards

    00:26

  • Colman Domingo and Nia Long Talk New Michael Jackson Biopic

    04:50

  • Charlize Theron Talks Intense Training for New Thriller, ‘Apex’

    06:30

  • Jimmy Kimmel Shares Photo of His Son to Mark His 9th Birthday

    00:39

  • Could Rocky Score an Oscar for ‘Project Hail Mary’ Movie?

    01:36

  • ‘The Pitt’ Season 2 Finale Sees Huge Surge in Streams

    01:23

  • ‘Top Gun’ Movies Are Returning to Theaters for 40th Anniversary

    01:24

  • Chicago collectible store is latest target in Pokemon card crime spree

    01:59

  • Victoria Beckham Shares Hot Takes on Chores, Nicknames, More

    07:34

  • John Legend Talks New Book, ‘The Voice’ Finale, Marriage, More

    06:37

  • Victoria Beckham Talks Family, Marriage, Navigating Tough Times

    07:58

  • Steve Schirripa Joins TODAY With Dog WillieBoy to Talk New Book

    04:32

  • Stars of ‘Running Point’ Discuss What to Expect From Season 2

    06:34

Top Story

‘Michael’ — a new movie about the King of Pop – is drumming up big buzz. The film was produced in-part by the co-executors of the late singer’s estate, and has some critics questioning whether it is too focused on sanitizing the singer’s troubled image.

Hallie Jackson NOW

Stay Tuned NOW

Top Story

Top Story

Nightly News Netcast

Play All

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending