How SAG Award winners used the platform to comment on Trump's executive order barring refugees from select Muslim-majority countries; one L.A.-based concert promoter had to cancel shows with Iranian musicians planning to play in the U.S.; and the filmmaker of "Cries from Syria" says he wants to generate understanding and empathy for Syrian refugees with his new documentary that will air on HBO in March.
Actors let fly on political issues at Screen Actors Guild awards
You could say the main discussion at the 2017 Screen Actors Guild Awards was summed up by this tweet:
.
's message to those who think actors shouldn't get involved in politics
— Variety (@Variety)
.@kerrywashington's message to those who think actors shouldn't get involved in politics https://t.co/qsszTH6ht8 pic.twitter.com/uCHPqOWGm4
— Variety (@Variety) January 30, 2017
That's Kerry Washington doing what a lot of actors did at the ceremony — taking the opportunity to comment on the current political climate. Many of the actors used the event as a platform to criticize President Trump’s executive order that temporarily limits visits from seven Muslim-majority countries.
Kyle Buchanan is a senior writer for New York Magazine’s Vulture.com and co-hosts The Awards Show Show podcast with John Horn. When Buchanan spoke today on The Frame with guest host Priska Neely, he addressed what all this politicking does for Hollywood’s reputation in the rest of the country.
Interview Highlights:
On whether expressing political opinions by celebrities helps or hurts the cause:
Certainly it is an old conservative canard that actors ought to stick to what they do and not speak out — that they should just be celebrities and not worry about politics. But now that we've elected a celebrity, I'm not sure that those rules still apply.
On this kind of political climate at awards shows from previous years:
I don't think it's been this pointed. But things feel a lot more serious right now. I mean, this is all leading up to the Oscars and we just learned this past week that, because of Trump's travel ban, filmmaker Asghar Farhadi, who made the foreign language-nominated film, "Salesman," is not able to even come to the U.S. to take part in the Oscars. I think it is irrevocably changing every part of our society and Hollywood is no different. They just have a bigger platform from which to speak.
On whether #OscarsSoWhite will take a backseat to broader issues this year:
I think both are extremely relevant and both might have something to do with one another. Representation — in art, in pop culture, in movies — does affect the way we see ourselves and each other. And I think that when you don't have that sort of representation, it becomes very easy to partition certain parts of society or to sow seeds of discord.
On whether or not #OscarsSoWhite had any effect on this year's SAG awards:
If #OscarsSoWhite affected this at all, I think it affected it in a great way, which is it probably spurred a lot of film studios to green light and rush these movies into production. That's important. These awards bodies can only work with what they're given by Hollywood itself. So when there's more better, differentiated products, I think we'll see more better, differentiated nominations and wins.
Iranian-American concert promoter forced to cancel shows
An Iranian-American concert promoter in Los Angeles had to make some difficult calls in the wake of the executive order issued by President Trump on Friday.
When people from seven, majority-Muslim countries were temporarily barred from entering the United States, that meant Shari Rezai had to cancel a number of concerts she’d organized with Iranian musicians. She often helps these musicians obtain their performance visas, a process that she says can take several months.
KPCC reporter Priska Neely connected with Rezai to hear about the effects the travel ban has had on her business and the Iranian musicians she works with.
Conversation Highlights
On working to obtain performance visas for Iranian musicians:
It [usually takes] six months, but you can do an expedited one for about four months. So we usually have to start these processes in advance. We just had signed up two bands to bring here, and we had to cancel it because of this ban.
On the reaction of the Iranian musicians she works with:
Very disappointed. They were really looking forward to this tour. So it affects their income. It affects their mood, obviously. It affects their livelihood.
They understand that we have no choice and we do tell them, Let's wait and see what happens. And we're not giving up. This is so, in my view, unconstitutional. And there are lots of lawsuits against it, so hopefully it will get resolved and we can all get back to business. And the artists can create and come and heal our souls.
On her concerns for the future of her business:
When it first came out, I said, Wow ... is this going to be my last show? Am I closing down business? And who am I going to work with? But there are a lot of Iranians in L.A. that I reached out to, and we can work together and hopefully do a multi-artist tour and call it "The Immigrant Tour."
On her first concert after the travel ban:
I was worried nobody's going to show up [last night]. Everybody's worried about [the travel ban]. They have families that are stuck in the airports or can't come in. But the concert was so beautiful. There was so much effort [that] goes into doing their CDs, doing their music, getting together, practicing, rehearsing — so much effort and love goes into putting on these concerts. I thought, If only 10 people show up, it's worth it. Because it's such an incredible job that these people are doing.
We weren't sold out, but it was a great audience. They were there for the music. They were there to support us. And [performer] Fared Shafinury, he did a Bruce Springsteen cover last night. A mixture of traditional music with rock and it was unbelievable.