1. NOMINATIONS REVEALED FOR ACADEMY AWARDS’ BIGGEST PREDICTOR—THE SAG AWARDS: The most significant forecaster of the Academy Awards now has weighed in. Nominees for the Screen Actors Guild Awards, which will be handed down on January 19 at the Shrine Auditorium, were revealed Wednesday. Four nominations each went to Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman, Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and Bombshell, a drama about the sexual harassment scandal at Fox News. Marriage Story, a drama focused on a divorcing New York couple, also fared well, scoring three SAG award nominations. On the television front, Amazon Prime Video’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel led the field with four nominations, while three nominations each went to Amazon’s Fleabag, Apple TV Plus’ The Morning Show, HBO’s Game of Thrones, and three from Netflix: The Crown, The Kominsky Method, and Stranger Things. Variety: “The SAG Awards choose to combine lead and supporting performers into gender-specific acting categories, and that was greatly reflected again this year, especially on the television side of the ballot, where once again The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’s female performers Alex Borstein and Rachel Brosnahan are nominated alongside each other, as are The Crown’s Helena Bonham Carter and Olivia Colman in the female TV drama actress race. The Morning Show’s Steve Carell and Billy Crudup both got into the the male TV drama actor category."
2. SOUTH AFRICA’S MISS UNIVERSE WIN CAPS A HISTORIC YEAR FOR BLACK WOMEN IN PAGEANTS: Sunday’s win at Miss Universe by Miss South Africa, Zozibini Tunzi, capped off a triumphant year for black women on the pageant circuit. The 2019 Miss America, Miss USA, Miss Teen USA and, as of Sunday, Miss Universe contests for the first time all crowned a black woman. Tunzi is the first black woman to win Miss Universe since Leila Lopes in 2011. Yahoo: “Tunzi’s crowning win is notable for many reasons. For one, she chose to flaunt her natural hair—a chic, cropped, textured cut not uncommon to black women everywhere, but definitely uncommon within the pageant world—taking a stand against antiquated beauty standards for black women. ‘I grew up in a world where a woman who looks like me—with my kind of skin and my kind of hair—was never considered to be beautiful,’ Tunzi said during her closing address. ‘I think it is time that stops today.’”
3. CYNDI LAUPER RECEIVES UNITED NATIONS’ FIRST HIGH NOTE GLOBAL PRIZE: Cyndi Lauper was honored Tuesday for her consistent support of the LGBTQ+ community, as well as her message of tolerance, inspiring people to be true to themselves. Presented by pop star Kesha, the United Nations’ High Note Global Prize is awarded to musicians who use their art to promote social justice that aims to prevent and end homelessness among LGBTQ+ youth. Good Morning America: “‘[This global award] is given to a remarkable person who uses their musical gifts to promote human rights and to speak truth to power,’ Kesha said. Lauper is the first recipient of the inaugural award from The High Note Global Initiative, which is a global partner with United Nations Human Rights. The award will be displayed at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles.”