This was a surprise. Regina King was one of the biggest snubs when the Screen Actors Guild announced their nominations a few weeks ago and, since she was contending, most people thought it would go to Amy Adams. Instead it was Emily Blunt who ended up winning the SAG for Supporting Actress. She looked surprised too – especially since she was NOT nominated for an Oscar a few days ago.
But we’ve been telling you for months how popular Emily is among actors and her association with other popular actors. She and John Krasinski have been actively campaigning behind the scenes – and we’ve seen the long game of the work strategy in their partnership, as mentioned in the Emma Stone post just now, reveal itself this season. Clearly the goal was to get all the way to the formal end of the season, to the Oscars, but ending it in this fashion, with a SAG win, isn’t at all a setback. If anything, these two will take away some important lessons. Like, perhaps, the split focus didn’t end up working with both A Quiet Place and Mary Poppins Returns as contenders. I wonder if that was what made the difference in her getting left off the Oscar ballot: the actors branch voting on nominations couldn’t choose?
So what does it mean for the Oscars now that Emily took it over Amy Adams when Regina King wasn’t in the room? Some people still think that the SAG omission is Regina’s major vulnerability. But if even the SAGs didn’t give it to Amy, who’s strong enough to challenge Regina when she’s taken everything else so far? Or, rather, who’s stepping up to challenge Regina?
Now to Emily’s dress. People are calling it the “vagina dress” because, well, it looks like labia is framing her face. I’m not against fashion labia framing. But I am against that material in that colour on top of those pink sequins. This is where pink can get tricky. When it’s done well, it’s luxe and decadent (see Gemma Chan). When it’s not done well it looks real cheap. Emily’s Michael Kors does not look luxe or decadent. It looks cheap. It looks like something made in design school, nowhere near graduation. So I hope, I hope so hard, she’ll be invited to attend the Oscars (Mary Poppins Returns is nominated for 3 Oscars) because it would be great if we could end award season with a much better red carpet selection on Emily Blunt.
