With SAG Award, Sean Penn's Oscar Odds Increase
Sean Penn took home the Screen Actors Guild award last night for Milk. It was the sole award for Milk as Slumdog Millionaire took "Best Ensemble" and the late Heath Ledger won "Best Supporting Actor" for The Dark Knight.
He started out his speech with a message for a certain FOX News ranter: "Thank you and good evening, comrades. That was for O'Reilly"...
Penn continued, "Something happened to me during the making of this movie. I noticed it tonight that the statues have rather healthy packages."
Putting the unnecessary gay=sex joke aside*, he continued, "As actors we don't play gay, straight ...we play human beings. [I'm] so appreciative of this acknowledgment. This is a story of equal rights for all human beings. Thanks Gus Van Sant, Lance Black, the counsel of Cleve Jones and the great Harvey Milk."
*To be fair, Laura Linney also made a joke about trying not to fondle her statue.
Full list of honorees, AFTER THE JUMP...
ACTOR
Richard Jenkins - The Visitor
Frank Langella - Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn - Milk*
Brad Pitt - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler
ACTRESS
Anne Hathaway - Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie - Changeling
Melissa Leo - Frozen River
Meryl Streep - Doubt*
Kate Winslet - Revolutionary Road
SUPPORTING ACTOR
Josh Brolin - Milk
Robert Downey Jr. - Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Doubt
Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight*
Dev Patel - Slumdog Millionaire
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams - Doubt
Penelope Cruz - Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis - Doubt
Taraji P. Henson - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Kate Winslet - The Reader*
ENSEMBLE CAST
Doubt
Frost/Nixon
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire*
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
ENSEMBLE STUNTS
The Dark Knight*
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Iron Man
Wanted
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
James Earl Jones
Posted Jan. 26,2009 at 7:51 AM EST by Andy Towle in Gus van Sant, Harvey Milk, News, Sean Penn | Permalink
Oh, come on, that was funny coming from him! I'm optimistic about the Oscars. I think the pro-gay feeling right now in post-prop 8 LA could lead to Milk getting the awards it deserves, including best picture. It's also a chance for Academy voters to redeem themselves for snubbing Brokeback Mountain. (So how's Crash holding up as a classic?)
Posted by: wisebear | Jan 26, 2009 8:46:02 AM
and it was true. I am a gay man and i totally noticed the packages on the statues! (and their sick abs)
Posted by: Dan B | Jan 26, 2009 9:06:20 AM
"Milk" was not a great film. It was good but not great. It's like "Brokeback Mountain" or "Crash," an OK film from a big studio that has a moving topic and dedicated fan base.
There were much better films in 2008.
Posted by: noah | Jan 26, 2009 9:56:08 AM
Go, Penn! I so want him to win!
Posted by: Alex | Jan 26, 2009 9:57:34 AM
I am surprised by the folks who say Milk was not a great film.
I just read The Mayor of Castro Street and I was very impressed with how Milk was able to succinctly tell not only Harvey Milk's story, but the story of the turning point of gay rights activism in the 70s.
I felt they handled the material beautifully and made some very smart choices in terms of storytelling--the Scott Smith/Harvey Milk relationship, the way Milk mentors Cleve Jones, the use of archival footage, the way they kept Milk's sense of humor and joie de vivre front and center, the way the sex scenes were executed (I found they were done with poetic grace).
It was my favorite film last year.
Posted by: Alex | Jan 26, 2009 10:31:20 AM
I agree with you NOAH, but the SAG awards do not go out to the film, their directors, writers, etc. only to actors. Sean Penn was fantastic in MILK.
Posted by: Dan B | Jan 26, 2009 10:33:20 AM
I agree with you, Alex. I just read The Mayor of Castro Street, too, and was incredibly impressed with how the film honored the realities yet had its own poetic joy and sadness on screen. Gus made it look a lot more effortless than it was. I haven't seen all the other best pic nominees, so I'm not sure if it's my favorite, but I can't imagine a better Milk movie, and Penn certainly deserves the honor (saying this as someone who isn't always a fan of his work).
Posted by: Ernie | Jan 26, 2009 10:44:16 AM
Ernie, I've seen Slumdog and Benjamin Button (I've yet to see The Reader) and I did not love either of them. Too forumlaic.
I really didn't love much this year. After Milk, I also loved
Wall-E
The Visitor
Vicky Christina Barcelona
Savage Grace
Man on Wire (a documentary)
Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell (a documentary)
Happy Go Lucky
other than that I've been pretty meh about most everything else I've seen this year.
Posted by: Alex | Jan 26, 2009 11:22:25 AM
ALEX did you see Doubt? Great job, though the play had more effect. Was surprised that Streep got the award, since she has so many and it was a tight field. Great cast all around.
Posted by: patrick nyc | Jan 26, 2009 12:59:12 PM
Does he still get awards for being friends with and supporting Dictators who murder gay people in their own countries? I would like Penn a lot more if he owned up to that and said something to the effect of being a "diplomatic ambassador" to some of these leaders but making it clear to them, publically, that he condemns their countries' treatment of homosexuals. Come on guys, don't forget the photo ops of him smiling with Chavez or his support of Ahmadinejad. I'm all for Hollywood support of our rights, but at least be consistent. Just because he plays this role does not necessairly make him a true friend of our community.
Posted by: BC | Jan 26, 2009 1:01:50 PM
"I'm all for Hollywood support of our rights, but at least be consistent. Just because he plays this role does not necessairly make him a true friend of our community."
His performance is separate from his political ties and debate over whether or not he's a friend to the gay community. Saying that he gave a terrific, heartwarming performance as Milk doesn't necessarily imply that we want to invite him over for dinner or accompany him to Venezuela. He simply did his job well and deserves acting honors for it.
Posted by: Ernie | Jan 26, 2009 4:36:21 PM