Washington [US], March 4 (ANI): This year’s Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards are going to a bit different as the ceremony has undergone major changes owing to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Unlike the recent Golden Globes 2021 hybrid format, which featured some in-person and virtual appearances, the SAG Awards 2021 will be completely virtual and pre-taped.
As per Variety, the award show, airing on April 4, will also only run for one hour. The SAG Awards will not have a host, a red carpet, or even a set.
The ceremony will include the presentation of 13 awards and feature comedy bits as well as the traditional ‘I Am An Actor’ segments from nominees and other presenters. The event will also include an ‘In Memoriam’ segment.
Among performers who have already signed on to participate are Sterling K. Brown, Lily Collins, Daveed Diggs, Ted Danson, and Mary Steenburgen.
“We’re looking at trying to do a unique award ceremony in an hour and leave people saying, which they very rarely do with an awards show, ‘Man, I wish we had more,'” co-executive producer Todd Milliner told Variety.
The awards will be handed out in the days ahead of the air date in Zoom rooms for each category, where the nominees will gather and the winner will be announced. The winner will then get the chance to make an acceptance speech. This means spoilers are possible, but co-executive producer Kathy Connell hopes that won’t happen.
“We hope they respect the show enough and everybody does, and their fellow actors, that they don’t want to disappoint the audience at home by letting any surprises go,” Connell said of nominees who will know outcomes ahead of the show’s airdate.
Apart from Milliner and Connell, ‘Will and Grace’ actor Sean Hayes is also a part of the team of executive producers.
The much-awaited nominations for the 27th Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards were announced last month, with ‘Ma Rainey` Black Bottom,’ Da 5 Bloods’, ‘Minari,’ ‘One Night in Miami’ and ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ featuring prominently in the nomination list.
Late actor Chadwick Boseman received two posthumous nominations from the SAG Awards.
Originally, the award show was scheduled for January 24, before the pandemic forced a move to March 14. But when the Grammys shifted to that date, the SAG Awards moved again, to April 4. (ANI)

Washington [US], March 4 (ANI): Meghan Markle did not hold back her feelings toward Buckingham Palace and claimed that the royal family is “perpetuating falsehoods” about them in a new teaser for American talk show host Oprah Winfrey’s upcoming tell-all interview.
On Wednesday, CBS released yet another sneak peek of the Meghan and Prince Harry’s interview, in which the former ‘Suits’ actor accused the royal family of “perpetuating falsehoods” about the couple.
This accusation came to light when Oprah asked Meghan, “How do you feel about the Palace hearing you speak your truth today?” to which Meghan said that “there’s a lot that’s been lost already” in regards to her relationship with the royal family.
“I don’t know how they could expect that after all of this time, we would still just be silent if there is an active role that the firm is playing in perpetuating falsehoods about us,” the Duchess of Sussex said in the clip.
“And if that comes with the risk of losing things, I mean — there’s a lot that has been lost already,” she added.
As per Variety, Oprah’s interview with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex is set to air on Sunday on CBS and promises to dive into the couple’s experience with royal life, handling the public eye, and their future goals.
The CBS special will feature a wide-ranging interview between Oprah and Meghan on subjects spanning from “stepping into life as a royal, marriage, motherhood, philanthropic work to how she is handling life under intense public pressure.”
Harry will later join the women to discuss “their move to the United States and their future hopes and dreams for their expanding family.”
The special is produced by Harpo Productions. Terry Wood and Tara Montgomery will executive produce, along with co-executive producer Brian Piotrowicz.
Oprah is no stranger to the couple. She was a guest at their 2018 wedding in England. Apart from attending Meghan and Prince Harry’s wedding at Windsor Castle, Oprah is also one of the couple’s neighbours in their Montecito, California neighbourhood, where they moved last summer.
Oprah is also teaming up with the Duke of Sussex for a mental health docuseries for Apple TV+. In a 2019 interview with podcast host Bryony Gordon, Harry said the series, which will premiere this spring, will unveil examples of “human spirit fighting back from the darkest places.”
In early 2020, Meghan and Harry had announced that they were quitting royal duties and moving to North America, citing what they said were the unbearable intrusions and racist attitudes of the British media. They live in Santa Barbara, California, and are expecting their second child.
Apart from the upcoming interview, the pair struck a major multi-year deal with Netflix in September that will see them developing documentaries, feature films, scripted television shows, and children’s series.
They also recently launched a podcast on Spotify under their Archwell Audio production company, with the goal of building “community through shared experience, narratives, and values.”
Harry and Meghan, who tied the knot in 2018, welcomed their first child, Archie Harrison, in May 2019. (ANI)