SAG 2023 gives Michelle Yeoh top honors as lead actress

SAG gives both the film and actress the top honors while ‘Abott Elementary’ and ‘The White Lotus’ were recognized as top TV shows.

An article by The New York Times reports that The Screen Actors Guild handed its top award for outstanding cast on Sunday night to “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” the hit sci-fi comedy that recently dominated the Directors and Producers Guild Awards and now appears to be a strong best picture front-runner at the Oscars. Three of the four individual acting trophies went to “Everything Everywhere” cast members, too.

In related news, Reuters reports: Dimension-hopping adventure “Everything Everywhere All at Once” grabbed the top movie honor at the Screen Actors Guild awards on Sunday, cementing its status as the front-runner for the prestigious best picture prize at next month’s Oscars.

READ ALSO: Oscar Bellwether: PGA Awards Tom Cruise And ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’

“The only televised awards ceremony to exclusively honor actors, the SAG Awards® presents 13 awards in TV and film. Voted on by SAG-AFTRA’s robust and diverse membership of 130,000+ performers–the SAG Awards has the largest voting body on the awards circuit. Beloved for its style, simplicity, and genuine warmth, the show has become an industry favorite and one of awards season’s most prized honors since its debut in 1995,” according to the SAG website.

An article by Variety elaborates: But SAG highlights the small screen, as well as the big. “Abbott Elementary,” a sitcom about teachers in an underfunded public school, won the best TV comedy ensemble statue, while “The White Lotus,” a trenchant look at the over-privileged guests at an Italian resort, took home the best TV drama ensemble honor. 

“Everything Everywhere All at Once,” one of the few recent indies to break out in a big way at the box office, dominated the evening with four wins, followed by “The White Lotus” with two victories. “Everything Everywhere All at Once” has continued to build momentum during a marathon awards season, racking up top prizes as it barrels toward the Oscars in two weeks. This weekend, it nabbed the Producers Guild Award and last weekend it picked up the Directors Guild Award for Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, the filmmaking duo behind the absurdist story of a laundromat owner whose life intersects with parallel universes.

In the same article, Variety writes that an emotional Michelle Yeoh was named best actress for “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” and took her time at the podium to note what her victory meant for other Asian movie fans. “This is not just for me,” she said. “This is for every little girl who looks like me.” Yeoh went on to say that performers of color and actors from underrepresented communities want a “seat at the table.” “So many of us need this,” she said. “We want to be seen. We want to be heard.”

Banner photo via Instagram @michelleyeoh_official.

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