Following several significant victories at the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards, Everything Everywhere All At Once has solidified its position as the front-runner for the Oscars.
At the ceremony, the multiverse adventure was named best film cast, and several of its stars received individual honors.
In the end, Cate Blanchett lost to Michelle Yeoh for the title of best actress.
In her tearful acceptance speech, Yeoh said, "This is not just for me; it's for every little girl who looks like me.".
Her co-star Ke Huy Quan won the award for best supporting actor, making him the first Asian to do so, while Jamie Lee Curtis surprised everyone by winning the award for supporting actress.
Yeoh plays the owner of a laundromat who must access various versions of herself from the multiverse in order to save the world in Everything Everywhere All At Once.
The sci-fi adventure's win gives it a lot of momentum before the Oscars on March 12 and shows that it is a strong favorite to win best picture.
Brendan Fraser won the best actor award for his work in The Whale, making him the lone winner in the film acting categories who wasn't from Everything Everywhere All At Once.
Yeoh stated in her speech that "we're here because we love what we do, and we will never stop doing what we do" to the audience, which was primarily made up of other actors.
We all want to be heard and seen, and tonight you have shown us that it is possible, so thank you for giving me a seat at the table. She continued, "Thank you for giving me a seat at the table.
In the absence of a best picture category, the award for best film cast is regarded as the highest honor at the SAG Awards. During the ceremony, actors vote for the winners.
In a humorous acceptance speech as Everything Everywhere won the top honor, veteran actor James Hong, 94, who portrays Yeoh's father in the movie, promised to attend the award show again when he is 100 years old.
My first SAG card arrived 70 years ago. Those were the times. To applause from the audience, he said, "Producers said the Asians weren't good enough and they aren't box office. But look at us now.
The second significant honor the movie received this weekend was the top prize at the SAG Awards. It received the top honor at the Producers Guild of America (PGA) Awards on Saturday, which is a crucial sign of Academy Awards success.
"I love acting, I love the job we get to do, I love being a part of a crew, part of a cast, I love what we do with each other, it's such a beautiful job," Curtis said in her own acceptance speech. What a fantasy. ".
Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis' daughter Curtis made fun of the recent online "nepo baby" debate about celebrities who may have had an advantage in their careers because of their famous parents.
I understand why you might think, "Well, nepo baby, that's why she's there," when you look at me, Curtis said. However, the reality is that I'm 64 years old and think this is simply amazing. ".
Prior to the Oscars, her victory and Kerry Condon's at the Baftas last week cast serious doubt on the supporting actress category. The most likely winner was previously thought to be Angela Bassett of Wakanda Forever.
Ke Huy Quan, Curtis' co-star, made history by winning the award for best supporting actor and becoming the first Asian recipient of the honor.
I immediately understood that this moment no longer belonged to just me when I heard that. Quan said as he accepted his trophy, "It also belongs to everyone who has asked for change. "I'm going through a lot of emotions right now. ".
When he was older, Quan took a break from acting before making a comeback with Everything Everywhere All At Once. Quan first gained notoriety as a child star in movies like Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
He claimed that the reason he stopped acting was because there were so few opportunities. "And yet, here we are tonight; the surroundings are very different from what they were. All of you who helped make these changes are appreciated. " .
Austin Butler, the young actor who has won at several other precursor ceremonies for his performance as Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann's biopic, lost to Fraser in the category of best actor for his work in The Whale.
He said, clearly moved, "I will treasure this, but never more than what I used to keep in my wallet, which was my SAG card, that I earned in 1991.". "It gave me a sense of belonging. I wouldn't have believed you if you had told that guy back then that I would be standing here right now. ".
In his own words, playing the obese professor Charlie in The Whale was "the role of my life.".
The actor, who was a box office sensation at the turn of the millennium with movies like The Mummy and George of the Jungle, continued his wildly successful comeback with Fraser's victory.
The 54-year-old, however, spent some time out of the spotlight and in supporting roles as he tried to regain his prior success before being chosen to play the lead in Darren Aronofsky's movie.
All of the actors out there who have experienced it or are experiencing it, Fraser said, "I just want you to know, I know how you feel, but believe me, if you just stay in there and put one foot in front of the other, you'll get where you need to go.
Acting winners in the TV categories included Jessica Chastain (for George.
The White Lotus, a wealth satire, and Abbott Elementary, a school-based sitcom, respectively, took home the top two TV awards for best drama series and best comedy series.
Jennifer Coolidge, the star of the drama series The White Lotus, told the tale of how her normally law-abiding father allowed her to skip school so she could attend the Charlie Chaplin film festival during her acceptance speech for best actress in a drama series.
She claimed, "He got me out of first grade to do it, and having that experience of seeing Charlie Chaplin for the first time, my love of film, my love of actors, all of that came from first grade. ".
The lifetime achievement award was given to Sally Field by Andrew Garfield. She addressed the audience and said, "In all of these nearly 60 years, there is not a day that I don't feel quietly thrilled to call myself an actor. ".
The show's In Memoriam segment also included appearances by well-known people like Robbie Coltrane, Ray Liotta, James Caan, Dame Olivia Newton John, Irene Cara, Annie Wersching, and Dame Angela Lansbury.
Both the SAG Awards and the Bafta Film Awards are regarded as indicators of the Oscars; however, this year, none of the significant winners were shared. The Banshees of Inisherin and All Quiet on the Western Front, on the other hand, dominated the Baftas last week.
