Iran hostage crisis drama Argo won the best film drama prize at the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) awards on Sunday, in yet another boost for its prospects at next month’s all-important Oscars.
Steven Spielberg’s top-tipped presidential drama Lincoln also scored successes with best actor for Daniel Day-Lewis in the title role and supporting actor Tommy Lee Jones.
Hunger Games star Jennifer Lawrence took the best actress SAG award for her role in romcom Silver Linings Playbook, while Anne Hathaway took best supporting actress for her singing performance in musical Les Miserables.
On the small screen, Downton Abbey and Modern Family were the big winners in the drama and comedy categories respectively, while television-themed hit comedy series 30 Rock — about to end its last season — won two top awards.
For Ben Affleck, who directed and starred in Argo, it was the second top prize in as many days after his film won the Producers Guild of America award, a key bellwether for Oscars glory, on Saturday night.
Argo caused a surprise by winning best picture and best director for Affleck at this month’s Golden Globes and is nominated in seven categories for the Oscars on Feb. 24.
It tells the story of a daring CIA mission to rescue six US diplomats who took refuge at the Canadian embassy in Tehran during the 1979 hostage crisis, bringing them out disguised as crewmembers for a Hollywood science-fiction film.
Day-Lewis’ SAG success will only increase his already strong chances of winning the best actor category at the Oscars, while Lawrence’s success adds a dimension to her star status from worldwide blockbuster Hunger Games.
The British-Irish actor, who won the best actor Globe for his role as the US’ 16th president, joked about having hesitated before accepting the role of such a political icon.
“It occurred to me it was an actor that murdered Abraham Lincoln ... and therefore it’s only fitting that every now and then, an actor tries to bring him back to life again,” he said, to laughter from his fellow acting professionals.
Asked backstage about his hopes for winning an Oscar this year — in what would be a record third best actor Academy Award for one person — he joked: “Members of the Academy [of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences] love surprises.”
Affleck took to the stage shortly after Day-Lewis accepted his award at the end of the two-hour SAG show.
“I can’t believe I’m standing in the place where Daniel Day-Lewis just was. I feel like maybe I’ll be a better actor, just from the radiation,” he joked.
On the small screen, multiple Emmy-winning British historical drama Downton Abbey won best drama series cast, while Modern Family took the cast prize in the comedy category. Best TV drama actor went to Bryan Cranston for Breaking Bad, while Claire Danes won best drama actress for spy series Homeland.
Best TV comedy series actor and actress prizes went to the stars of 30 Rock, Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey, whose show is about to finish after seven successful seasons.
A fire caused by a burst gas pipe yesterday spread to several homes and sent a fireball soaring into the sky outside Malaysia’s largest city, injuring more than 100 people. The towering inferno near a gas station in Putra Heights outside Kuala Lumpur was visible for kilometers and lasted for several hours. It happened during a public holiday as Muslims, who are the majority in Malaysia, celebrate the second day of Eid al-Fitr. National oil company Petronas said the fire started at one of its gas pipelines at 8:10am and the affected pipeline was later isolated. Disaster management officials said shutting the
DITCH TACTICS: Kenyan officers were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch suspected to have been deliberately dug by Haitian gang members A Kenyan policeman deployed in Haiti has gone missing after violent gangs attacked a group of officers on a rescue mission, a UN-backed multinational security mission said in a statement yesterday. The Kenyan officers on Tuesday were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch “suspected to have been deliberately dug by gangs,” the statement said, adding that “specialized teams have been deployed” to search for the missing officer. Local media outlets in Haiti reported that the officer had been killed and videos of a lifeless man clothed in Kenyan uniform were shared on social media. Gang violence has left
US Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday accused Denmark of not having done enough to protect Greenland, when he visited the strategically placed and resource-rich Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump. Vance made his comment during a trip to the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation. “Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Vance told a news conference. “You have under-invested in the people of Greenland, and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this
Japan unveiled a plan on Thursday to evacuate around 120,000 residents and tourists from its southern islets near Taiwan within six days in the event of an “emergency”. The plan was put together as “the security situation surrounding our nation grows severe” and with an “emergency” in mind, the government’s crisis management office said. Exactly what that emergency might be was left unspecified in the plan but it envisages the evacuation of around 120,000 people in five Japanese islets close to Taiwan. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has stepped up military pressure in recent years, including