Helen Mirren | Black Chick Media®

…And how! With all the flurry and buzz of award shows lately, I’ve been negligent in my posting, and for that, I apologize. But I hope you’ve been live tweeting with BCM during the ceremonies! Personally, we think that’s more entertaining than the actual show…

Last week were the Globes, of the Golden variety, followed by the SAG-AFTRA awards last night (Congrats to Rita Moreno on her Lifetime Achievement Award! Her acceptance speech made me cry). Truth be told, the SAG’s are my favorite–there’s something about being nominated by your peers that just feels…Right. It’s not as hoity-toity as the Oscar’s and not as relaxed as the Globes. It feels less stuffy than the Critics’ Choice, and definitely more important than the People’s Choice (no but really, does anyone watch those?). While I would like nothing more than to enter into some rant and rave and endless diatribe about who should have won (Chiwetel Ejiofor & Lupita Nyong’o should have won every nomination. Come to that, we are SO happy Lupita won the Critics’ Choice & SAG, but yes, she should have grabbed that Globe), who was robbed (Judi Dench, ALWAYS. Philomena was undoubtedly the best film this season. And no one, not one person, can act better than the Dench, as far I’m concerned. Well, unless you throw in Meryl, whom we also adore and would love to see win. And then Idris Elba of course.), whose win perhaps should have been questioned (Jennifer Lawrence & American Hustle for numerous reasons…), and so on and so forth. The list is endless. While everyone can’t be a winner all of the time, most people we root for are never winners, any of the time. But, then again, as Oprah said (and you all know we have to live by what Oprah says), “We don’t do movies to win awards, we do movies to move people.”

While there are very important issues to discuss RE awards season (SEE: the lack of diversity and representation of people of color [I hate that term, I think it’s so problematic], (dis)ability and women–both in general and the notion of ageism), I’m not going into that today. Not this post. Not right now. Because what I’d really like to talk about is the FASHION! (I know, not where you thought I was going with this) With the (for the most part) quite sad, drab and dull looks at the Globes, I was happy to see Hollywood et al stepped it up in a gigantic way for the SAG’s.

For me, there was a three-way tie for best dressed: Lupita Nyong’o in Gucci, Phyllis Logan in Libby Lulu & Helen Mirren in Escada.

Our second runners up were Cate Blanchett in a pretty pink Givenchy number, and a very preggers Kerry Washington in Prada.

Honorable mentions include Amy Adams, Camila Alves and Emma Thompson because she wore flats (and that rocks).

On the men’s side, Matt Damon was rather scrumptious (Did I really just?…) in a Dolce&Gabbana tux, and Christian Louboutin shoes. And Chiwetel Ejiofor in menswear label Rake and Prada shoes.

(OK so, I’m sorry we only have HALF of his body here. His girlfriend, Sari Mercer, was hanging all over him, all locked up in a tight grip as if someone was going to spirit him away…We had to cut her out…)

Best rock-star vibe and acceptance speech goes to Rita Moreno because, she’s Rita Moreno and RESPECT, but also because she sang twice, which brought tears to my eyes.

Also in this category is Lupita Nyong’o because her speech was heartfelt and true, “…Thank you for taking a flashlight & shining it underneath the floor boards of this nation and reminding us what it is we stand on.”

And because I like a good time as much as the next person (basically I just want to party with these two), best photobomb of the night goes to both Emma Thompson & Phyllis Logan.

Awards seasons always fascinate me (in a good & bad way). 2014 has been rather disappointing so far, award & fashion wise (No win for Downton Abbey? I’m not so upset about the show, just that Phyllis was unable to give an acceptance speech, and as we saw from last year, she gives the BEST acceptance speeches #ShuttheFrenchWindows. And wait, WHAT?! Did I just hear correctly? She doesn’t have a SAG card?! Someone rectify this STAT. I suppose she should be my next film…I’m just saying), but let’s see what the Oscar’s give us, shall we?

Love

BCM

Juliet Stevenson: Give middle-aged actresses a chance

By Rhiannon Williams

The actress, 56, will play Oracle in BBC fantasy drama Atlantis, which starts next week. She has condemned the decision of TV producers and commissioning editors’ to limit the opportunities available to older women, adding: “We need to let them get beyond 50”.

“I am very lucky but there are thousands of others between the ages of 45 and 65 who are not working because there is nothing left for them to do.

“At the same time the roles for women of a certain age are very rarely leads. They are nice roles but often they are not carrying the weight of the story or the narrative. They are someone’s wife, someone’s mother or someone’s grandmother.”

In the interview with the Mail on Sunday, Stevenson said she’d conducted a great deal of research before undertaking her role as Oracle. The character is a celebrated and revered figure who is able to see into the future.

“The producers didn’t want a lot of gyrating and craziness so I had to find a way of keeping her still while giving the sense of going in and out of a trance, she said.

“I joined the Royal Anthropological Institute where they keep amazing documentary films about people who are shamans or who have been possessed by gods.”

Stevenson was nominated for a BAFTA in 2011 for her role in Accused, and has also starred in Bend It Like Beckham, Law and Order and Nicholas Nickleby.

The series also stars Jack Donnely as protagonist Jason, and Mark Addy and Robert Emms as his companions Hercules and Pythagoras.

(Via The Telegraph)