Eight must-know moments from the SAG Awards
Trophies and accolades were given out Sunday night at the star-studded Screen Actors Guild Awards show. The buzziest bits of the night, from the red-carpet repartee to the acceptance speeches:
'Birdman' beats them all
Fresh off a win Saturday night at the Producers Guild of America Awards, Birdman snagged the top trophy — for outstanding cast in a motion picture — at the SAGs. The win is sure to boost Birdman's Oscar chances for the best-picture prize. Star Michael Keaton told the roomful of actors: "It's the ultimate team sport, but we do it for a living. ... I'm proud to be part of this group."
'Orange Is the New Black' cast: Color them winners
"I really truly do not know what to say," said a shaking Uzo Aduba, who won outstanding female actor in a comedy for her role as "Crazy Eyes" in TV's Orange Is the New Black. It was her first career nomination.
In her acceptance speech, Aduba tearfully thanked her castmates, "without whom this is not possible. I love you guys so desperately, so much. ... The day I got this job was the day I started acting."
Soon after her win, the Netflix series won outstanding cast in a comedy, ending Modern Family's long streak.
No laughing matter?
You know every winner gets big applause at these awards shows, but at one moment, the applause seemed to start before the award. Before Reese Witherspoon announced the best film actor in a supporting role (it went to Whiplash's J.K. Simmons), there was a bit of fake-sounding applause. It was obvious enough that Witherspoon said, "What was that noise? It wasn't me." Eileen Quast, public relations director for TNT and TBS, told Paste BN, "What we believe happened is that the audio of a film package that was being readied to be cued up was erroneously fed for a few seconds."
A lifetime of funny memories
Actress Carrie Fisher presented her mother, Debbie Reynolds, with the life achievement award in a funny and warm speech, and Reynolds cracked the crowd up with a story: "My favorite movie was Singin' in the Rain. ... I had a wonderful hairdo in that picture. I had a bun at the back of my head. An ugly bun.
"So I warned my daughter Carrie, who had just gotten the role of Princess Leia in Star Wars, I said, 'Carrie, be careful of any weird hairdo.' So luckily George (Lucas) gave her two buns."
Football rules the red-carpet chatter
Terry Crews, who plays Sgt. Terry Jeffords on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, used to play football and deflated the "Deflategate" talk. "If you deflate the football, it makes it easier to catch — but it also makes it easier to intercept," he said. "Life is not fair."
Jackie Cruz of Orange Is the New Black, offered: "I don't know anything. I just watch because they're cute with tights on."
And Lenny Kravitz sort of talked about football with E!'s Maria Menounos. He teased his upcoming gig with Katy Perry at the Super Bowl halftime show. Is he planning any surprises? "You might not expect this — the song choice," he said.
Jennifer Aniston steals the show
The actress was among the last to arrive, showing up on the SAGs red carpet with fiancé Justin Theroux and looking hotter than ever in a plunging vintage Galliano gown.
She also earned applause at the show's start, when actors introduce themselves. "When I was a little girl growing up in New York City, all I ever wanted to be was Scarlett O'Hara," she said. "Oh, well. I'm Jennifer Aniston, and I'm an actor."
From 'Boyhood' to men
Boyhood's Ethan Hawke and Ellar Coltrane were together on the carpet, as they have been for most of the film's promotion. What will the two actors do after awards season? "We're going to have separation anxiety when this is over," Hawke said.
Girls will be girls: Reese and Sofia
Sofia Vergara crashed Reese Witherspoon's E! red carpet pre-show interview, and the two stars hugged, smiled and snuggled. Vergara even gave Witherspoon a pat on the rear, giggling and saying, "I just had to touch her bum, it looked so great!"
Replied Witherspoon: "There are so many things I want to grab on her; I have to control myself."
Cracked Vergara: "She's grabbed everything already."
The two have a movie, Hot Pursuit, out in May, about a police officer (Witherspoon) and a prisoner (Vergara) on the run.
"We were handcuffed to each other," Vergara said. Added Witherspoon: "She gets to see my underwear, I get to see her underwear."
Contributing: Bryan Alexander, Bill Keveney and Andrea Mandell in Los Angeles