Except for 'Parasite,' SAG nominations snub Asian shows, actors

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American actress Awkwafina drew praise for her performance in 'The Farewell.'

The Screen Actors Guild overlooked the work of Asians and Asian Americans this year in its nominations for SAG Awards. The nominations for the awards were announced Thursday (Dec. 11) with the noticeable omission of some some strong performances by AAPI actors.

The Farewell's Awkwafina, who just a few days ago nabbed a nomination as an actress for the Golden Globes and was named one of the Entertainers of the Year by Entertainment Weekly, didn't even merit a mention by her acting peers.

It's hard to fathom what changed on Killing Eve from 2018 to 2019? Sandra Oh, who won last year as Best Actress for her role in Killing Eve, was omitted this year. However, her costar Jodie Comer, like in the Golden Globes, earned a nomination for Best Actress in a Drama Series.Was it the blonde's turn, or what?

BBC

Same role, same actor, same outstanding performance, but Sandra Oh was skipped over by the Screen Actors Guild.

I love The Walking Dead, but it's nomination in the Stunts or Action in a Television Series is puzzling. How can  clobbering zombies in the head compare to the outstanding Hong Kong-style martial arts, with its choreography of leaps and bounds that was the mainstay of Into the Badlands?

My personal favorite, Joel Dela Fuente's unstereotypical, nuanced portrayal of Kempeitai Chief Inspector Takeshi Kido in The Man in the High Castle was overlooked. Apparently, not enough voters caught the show on Hulu to appreciate the most complete, most-rounded Asian character on TV.

THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE

Joel dela Fuente didn't resort to stereotypes for his role in 'The Man in the High Castle.'

To be fair, the lack of any Asian or Asian American nominations speaks to the shortage of productions showcasing Asian and Asian American actors. In comparison to the hundreds of productions for white actors and the dozens of productions featuring black performers, productions featuring dramatic or comedic opportunities for Asian and Asian American actors can still be counted in one, maybe two, hands.

This year, there was no production to equal The Assassination of Gianni Versace -- in terms of exposure to the American public -- which earned Filipino American actor Darren Chris a bevy of awards last year for portraying the gay, delusional, flamboyant killer Filipino American Andrew Cunanan, a once-in-a-lifetime role.

Unlike the Oscars, which are influenced by PR contests between studios and sometimes dubbed a popularity contest, the SAG Awards are supposed to be given to acting performances as voted by other actors. Or, maybe, Hollywood voters, which make up most of SAG's membership, have an aversion films where you have to read subtitles.

Director Bong Joon-Ho, left, and the cast of 'Parasite' at the Cannes Film Festival.

Thank goodness for Bong Joon-Ho's movie, Parasite, or otherwise, Asian and Asian American actors would be completely shut out this year. Parasite's Korean cast was nominated for Best Ensemble Cast in A Dramatic Movie. 

Its hard to explain some of the nominations and why some worthy performances overlooked. Perhaps it tells more about the viewing habits of actors that lean in favor of English accents, histrionics over subtlety, familiar faces and the uncomplicated, tried and tested themes over something new and different, ie. the Asian or Asian American experience.

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Asian American actors await SAG awards this Sunday

Some of the cast members of 'Crazy Rich Asians.'

LEADING UP to the Oscars in February, the Screen Actor's Guild awards later today, Sunday, Jan. 27, with a host of Asian American thespians among the nominees.

If the results of the Golden Globes and Critics Choice awards are any indication, Sandra Oh and Darren Criss will most likely walk away with trophies.

Oh is nominated as Best Actress in a Drama Series for her work in BBC America's  detective thriller, Killing Eve, a category she captured for the Golden Globes and Critics Choice awards. Criss won those plaudits, along with an Emmy, for his portrayal of serial killer Andrew Cunanan in American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace that was shown on the FX network.

Darren Criss and Sandra Oh.

The big question is if the actors of Crazy Rich Asians get the nod for Outstanding Performance By A Cast In A Motion Picture.

If the Crazy Rich Asians cast wins the SAG award, it would have to be a upset considering the heavyweight competition in that category. 

CRA faces stiff competition from the ensemble casts of BlacKkKlansman, Black Panther, Bohemian Rhapsody and A Star Is Born. Crazy Rich Asians and Black Panther are the only nominated ensembles that didn’t receive an individual acting bid, which could end up hurting their chances. 

What might help the CRA actors is that unlike the Academy Awards, where none of the cast received any acting nominations, television actors vote for their favorites. Except for international star Michelle Yeoh, most of the CRA cast are more familiar for their work on the small screen. Constance Wu (Fresh Off the Boat), Gemma Chan (Humans), and Ken Jeong (Community, Dr. Ken), Harry Shum, Jr (Glee, Shadowhunters) are or have been television regulars. Even the legendary Yeoh has quickly gained a following for her recent work in Star Trek: Discovery.

In addition, the cast already picked up a notable win at the Critics’ Choice Awards for the Best Comedy Film but CRA's actors lost to the cast of The Favourite, for best ensemble. Crazy Rich Asians also reaped nominations for Best Comedy/Musical Film and Best Comedy Actress for Wu at the Golden Globe Awards and Yeoh was nominated as Best Supporting Actress.

Crazy Rich Asians cast members celebrate at the Critics Choice awards.

We also have to take into account the current climate in Hollywood that seems to be opening up opportunities for Asian American actors and Asian-centric projects that have been bolstered by the success of Crazy Rich Asians and follow-up acclaim and popularity for John Cho's work in the feature, Searching, and Lana Condor in the Netflix favorite, For All the Boys I've Ever Loved.

The Crazy Rich Asians cast is the first all-Asian cast to lead a Hollywood film in 25 years so an ensemble win would make a powerful statement to the motion picture and TV industry, especially since historically, actors of Asian descent have been under-appreciated or even overlooked entirely. 

One other factor that may work in CRA's  favor, aside from its cultural impact, the cast may benefit from being in a feel-good, crowd-pleasing movie that many people are in need of right now, given the current political climate in the country; it’s a movie that resonates with a wide range of people beyond Asian American movie-goers, one of the most loyal film audiences according to a recent Nielsen survey.

The Screen Actors Guild Awards airs live on Sunday, Jan. 27, at 8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT on TBS and TNT.
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TGIF Feature: SAG nominations cite Crazy Rich Asians cast, Darren Criss, Sandra Oh

The cast of 'Crazy Rich Asians' was nominated for the SAG awards.

DARREN CRISS continued to reap accolades for his performance as Andrew Cunanan in the Assassination of Gianni Versace.
He was nominated by the Screen Actors Guild in the Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries.

Awkwafina and Laverne Cox announced the nominees Thursday.

The actors of Crazy Rich Asians were also nominated in the category of Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.

Sandra Oh, who last week was nominated in the Golden Globes as Best Acress in a Television Drama, rwas nominated by SAG in the same category.

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Will Aziz Ansari show up at the SAG awards?

The cast and creative team of The Big Sick.

THE BIGGEST question for the Screen Actors Guild Awards Sunday night is: Will Aziz Ansari attend?

Fresh off his Golden Globe award, Ansari has a good chance of winning a SAG award for Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series. Ansair plays an Indian/American comedian trying to have a successful career in New York City.

He is also still licking his wounds for accusations from a woman who described what she alleges is a form of sexual assault at the end of dinner date with Ansari.

Her date, as published in Babe.net, allegedly resulted in her performing oral sex on Ansari after fending off his repeated sexual advances physically and verbally.

Ansari's conduct during the date is not on the level of a Harvey Weinstein, Matt Lauer or Donald Trump.  The accusations by "Grace" has sparked a debate among the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements about a question of degrees of sexual misconduct. The argument asks: At what point does unwanted flirtation turn into bad, and even gross behavior, or turn into a sexual assault by use of the power dynamics by powerful men?

Ansari has released an apology that he made public but he now faces the dilemma. 
How will he be received by his peers? He has his supporters and sympathizers among the SAG members, but he also might hear jeers and boos if he should win in his category. The Guild, riding the theme that began at the Golden Globes when everkybody wore black, will have all women presenters as its statement on the topic.

Another actor in a similar situation, James Franco, has announced that he will be at the SAG awards regardless of the women accusing him of sexual misconduct.

Among the other nominees, are a small handful of potential Asian/American winners, including:

The cast of The Big Sick is a nominee for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. The movie was written by Kumail Nanjiani and his wife, Emily V. Gordon based on their courtship. If they win against some stiff competition, expect  Nanjiani to be joined by more Indian/Americans up on the stage, including Adeel Akhtar, Anupam Kher, and Zenobia Shroff.

In the category of Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role, Hong Chau was nominated for her role in the movie Downsizing. Her competition is almost the same group that she faced in the Golden Globes where Allison Janney won for her role in I, Tonya.

As a winner in the Golden Globes, Ansari is expected to repeat for the SAG awards. The Guild members voted before the Babe.net article came out last week so most likely, that issue won't affect the outcome. It will be interesting to see how the audience reacts.

The SAG Awards air Sunday, Jan. 21, at 8 p.m. ET on TNT/TBS. 

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SAG shows some love for Asian/American actors, 'The Big Sick' cast, Hong Chau and Aziz Ansari

Camel Nanjian's "family" in The Big Sick.'

Asian/American actors got a little bit of love from their acting peers when the 2018 Screen Actors Guild Awards nominees were announced Wednesday (Dec. 13).

Vietnamese/American Hong Chau was nominated for her supporting role in the Matt Damon science fiction flick Downsizing. This follows her nomination by the Golden Globes in the same category.

RELATED: Asian Americans nominated for Golden Globe awards

The Big Sick, a movie based on Kumail Nanjiani’s true-life romance with his wife, took a cast ensemble nomination. Besides Nanjiani, the cast included Holly Hunter, Ray Romano, Zoe Kazan and Indian actor Anupam Kher.

"We are so lucky to have been graced with the enormous talents of every single member of our cast," said Nanjiani, who co-wrote the script with his wife Emily Gordon. "They each put a piece of themselves into our story and we are thrilled at being recognized."

Hunter, who plays Nanjiani's future mother-n-law in the movie, also was nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role.

“Recognition from your peers is a particular kind of humbling thing." said Hunter to SFGate. Actors know in a way that no one else knows. They are on the inside track so when I have in my career gotten honors from people who do what I do, it resonates a different way for me.”

Aziz Ansari, who writes and stars in Netflix's Master of None,  got the nod for Best Actor in a Comedy television series.

For the complete 2018 list of SAG nominees, click here. The awards show will air Jan. 21 on CBS.
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