The SAG Awards have long been one of the most important events on the kudocast calendar, but this year’s edition at the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall Feb. 24 is especially significant. Not only does it mark the 30th year of the awards, it also comes on the heels of the longest strike in the history of the actors union, which represents some 160,000 performers across the U.S.
“This is the first time that many of them have gathered together like this at a show after being on the picket line,” says Jon Brockett, SAG-AFTRA executive producer and liaison to the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, who is executive producing the show with Baz Halpin, Mark Bracco and Linda Gierahn of Silent House Prods. “I think the energy, the camaraderie and the pride will translate into their speeches and the feeling in the room.”
The show has always had a reputation for being a relatively relaxed affair, and now that it’s being carried live globally on Netflix as part of a new multi-year agreement between the union and the streamer, the atmosphere looks to be even looser.
It won’t be the first time the SAG Awards have been presented without commercials or prohibition against profanity. After being broadcast by TNT and TBS for most of their history, they were live-streamed on Netflix’s YouTube channel last year. But it will be a new experience for first-time SAG Awards producers on the Silent House team, who are looking for interesting ways to maintain traditional awards telecast rhythms, sans ad breaks.
“We’ve been brainstorming a lot of really great ideas for some creative elements and interstitials that sort of take us away from the main stage at different times,” says Bracco.
Being on a streamer means there’s no strict time limit for the awards. “We don’t have to feel like we’re rushing to get to the 11 o’clock news on time,” points out Bracco. But the producers are still hoping to keep show’s length close to two hours. That said, they’re not going to worry if the acceptance speeches run a little long.
“We kind of give them a general time [limit] ahead of time, but if we really feel like a speech is engaging and compelling, then we’ll let it go on as long as it needs to,” says Brockett.
The policy worked well at last year’s awards, where one of the highlights was a heartfelt and funny acceptance speech by 94-year-old “Everything Everywhere All at Once” co-star James Hong that ran more than four minutes.
The producers can’t reveal any surprises they have planned for this year’s awards, but they can talk about how they secured Barbra Streisand as the SAG Life Achievement Award honoree. After Streisand was chosen as the recipient by a SAG-AFTRA committee, it was up to union president Fran Drescher to personally make the ask. It wasn’t a given that the multi-hyphenate, who recently penned her autobiography, would accept. As a rule, Streisand is reluctant to make public appearances, and this award requires that recipients sit down for a Q&A with the SAG-AFTRA president, as well as show up at the ceremonies to receive the honor.
“I think that the timing is good because not only does she deserve it, but she’s got this fabulous book out,” says Drescher, whose character on her sitcom “The Nanny” was famously obsessed with Streisand. “We had a very extensive conversation that lasted almost an hour. She took a few days to think about it, then I got the call that she’s going to do it. So now I’m gathering my interview questions for her.”
TIPSHEET
WHAT: The Screen Actors Guild Awards
WHEN: Feb. 24, 5 p.m.
WHERE: The Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles and streaming on Netflix
WEB: sagawards.org