Several Projects Involving Columbia Alumni Honored at the 2023 SAG Awards; 'Hacks' Takes Home Award

Update: March 1, 2023

The 29th Screen Actors Guild Awards took place on Sunday, February 26th, and Actress Jean Smart, one of the leading ladies of Hacks, took home the prize for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series. The hit series was co-created by Lucia Aniello (CC ’04), and Aniello also serves as a producer, writer, and director on the show.

Hacks follows the complicated mentorship of Deborah Vance, an aging Las Vegas comedian played by Smart, and a young comedy writer (Hannah Einbinder). As stated by Variety, “the beauty of Hacks has always been its ability to thread even its darkest material with self-assured jokes that cut right through.”

Watch the full awards ceremony here.

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Original: February 15, 2023

2023 marks the 29th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, and several projects featuring work by Columbia filmmakers are among the nominees. 

Actors Steve Martin and Martin Short are both nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series for their work on Only Murders in the Building. The second season of this original series from Hulu picks up with the arrest of the three heroes, denizens of a New York apartment building who have built an audience—and made a few enemies—with their true-crime podcast. Now, the three podcasters find themselves neck-deep in yet another murder. Alumnus Chris Teague '06 has served as Director of Photography on 16 episodes of the acclaimed series and directed two episodes from the second season (“Flipping the Pieces” and “Hello Darkness”). Cherien Dabis '04 has directed four episodes of the series, including “The Tell” and “Performance Review” from season two. Jamie Babbit (BC ’93) and Ben Philippe (CC '11) have served as director and writer respectively on the hit comedy series as well.

Actress Jean Smart, one of the leading ladies of Hacks by Lucia Aniello (CC ’04), is nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series. In addition to being the series’ co-creator, Aniello also serves as a producer, writer, and director on the hit series that follows the complicated mentorship of an aging Las Vegas comedian and a young comedy writer. Hacks is also nominated alongside Only Murders in the Building for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.

Actor Paul Dano is nominated in the category of Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role for his work in The Fabelmans, Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical ode to filmmaking. Tony Kushner (CC '78) co-wrote the script alongside Spielberg in addition to his role as a producer. The film is also nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. The Fabelmans won Best Motion Picture (Drama) at the 80th annual Golden Globe Awards, where Spielberg took home the Golden Globe for Best Director of a Motion Picture for his work on the film, and also scored an incredible seven Academy Award nominations.

Nominated alongside The Fabelmans for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture is Women Talking, produced by Dede Gardner (CC '06). The film follows the women of an isolated religious community in 2010 as they attempt to reconcile a brutal reality with their faith. Together they must decide if they will do nothing, stay and fight, or leave. Gardner produced the film alongside Frances McDormand and Jeremy Kleiner. Its stellar cast includes Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Frances McDormand, and several other rising stars.

The 2023 SAG Awards will take place on February 26, 2023 at 8 pm ET on the official Netflix YouTube channel.