The 23rd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards ceremony takes place Sunday night. Normally, those watching would be looking for signs of who might be in line for an Oscar — tonight, all eyes will be on this year’s acceptance speeches.
With so much attention on President Donald Trump’s travel ban this weekend, the expectation is that at least some award winners will utilize their moment in the spotlight to express their thoughts on the current state of our country.
Typically, the night is for Hollywood, voted on by Hollywood.
Sunday night, awards handicappers will be watching to see whether the musical “La La Land” continues its domination of awards season. Separately, legendary comedic actress and “Grace and Frankie” star Lily Tomlin will be presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Winners are determined by members of the Screen Actors Guild. The show has no host, so it’s not like other awards ceremonies where the tone is set by the monologue.
At this year’s Golden Globes, renowned actress Meryl Streep sparked days of conversation when she used the speech she gave while accepting the Cecil B. DeMille Award to express her concern over Trump’s election and actions.
“There was one performance this year that stunned me,” she said. “It sank its hooks in my heart. Not because it was good, there was nothing good about it, but it was effective and it did its job.”
It’s more likely now that someone will follow in Streep’s footsteps Sunday night due to the travel ban, and the way that it has already hit home for Hollywood.
Asghar Farhadi, the director of “The Salesman,” which has been nominated for the Oscar for best foreign-language film, has said he will not attend this year’s Academy Awards in protest against the ban. Farhadi is Iranian, and so would have been kept out of the U.S. due to the ban, but could possibly have requested an exception had he wanted to.
The SAG Awards air simultaneously January 29 at 8 p.m. ET on TNT and TBS. (Both networks are, like CNN, owned by Time Warner.)