Oscars 2015 Predictions: ‘Spotlight’ Wins SAG; Back in Front-Runner Position?

At a time when the upcoming Academy Awards aka the Oscars have rolled out nominations that are so lacking in diversity that the tag #OscarsSoWhite feels appropriate, the Screen Actors Guild Awards have given Hollywood a lot to think about by recognizing and rewarding diversity across the board. She beat out Cate Blanchett, Helen Mirren, Saoirse Ronan and Sarah Silverman for the awards and is now in line to win her first Oscar.

Aduba, accepting her second straight SAG Award for best actress in a comedy in “Orange Is the New Black“, praised creator Jenji Kohan for making “a show that reflects and represents so many people”. The win assures a competitive and unpredictable Oscars finale, with “The Martian”, “The Revenant” and “Mad Max: Fury Road” also in the mix.

Unlike the Academy Awards, the SAG Awards includes television nominees and focuses exclusively on acting.

Accepting award on behalf of the cast, actor Michael Keaton said: “This is for the powerless, this is for the powerful who took advantage of the powerless.you can hang me for that I don’t really care that’s why I’m proud to be part of it”.

Amy quipped: “Let’s all calm down about Leonardo DiCaprio and how hard it was to shoot The Revenant”.

“Diversity is not a trending topic”, she said.

British actor Idris Elba won best supporting actor for Netflix’s “Beasts Of No Nation” and United States actress Queen Latifah scooped best actress for HBO’s TV miniseries “Bessie“.

Dascha Polanco, Emma Myles, Uzo Aduba and Elizabeth Rodriguez posing backstage with the award for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a comedy series for Orange is the New Black. Davis said these actors of colour will always work.

After giving an impassioned speech about diversity at last year’s Emmys when she won for playing lawyer Annalise Keating in ABC’s “How To Get Away With Murder“, Viola Davis won the Actor for the role as well.

And the list of SAG Awards winners was a great step in the right direction after what felt like a major step backwards in the Oscar nominations this year.

Instead, it was “House of Cards” star Kevin Spacey who won, for the second year in a row.

“Moreover, Jeffrey Tambor won best comedy series actor for playing Maura Pfefferman, an ageing wealthy transgender woman in Amazon’s Transparent“. Along with being the very first male to take home two SAG trophies in one night, the 43-year-old actor is the first black person to do so, reports E!