Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1514720
S A G A F T R A .O R G S AG - A F T R A S PEC I A L IS S U E 2 0 24 70 Napier and myself. "During the 15 months we spent racing against the clock, we were haunted by questions. Award-worthy films came out in December, only going into wide release later. What if our nominating group, chosen randomly from across the country, hadn't seen these recent films and chose films that were a year old? What if all our nominees were white? Would our stars come to this new 'SAG Awards'? "From year one onward, our members never let us down. Our nominees were diverse and the stars came. "In year three, Kathy went on honorable withdrawal as a member, resigning her position as national recording secretary, and became the show's executive producer. She retired aer 28 shows. Toey moved on. Paul and Yale both passed away. Other committee members have come and gone: Kitty Swink, Joseph Ruskin, Karla Tamburelli, Shelley Fabares and Scott Bakula. Today's committee members are JoBeth Williams (chair), Woody Schultz, Jason George, Elizabeth McLaughlin and myself. Jon Brockett, who joined the show in year five as assistant to the producer, is now in his third year as executive producer. "Jerry Kramer passed away in September. One member of our new team began her career as Robert Dalrymple's assistant during our first shows. "Today, there are thousands of SAG-AFTRA members who have never known a union that didn't have an award show. Each year, I watch a hundred crew members put up our set and run our show, working at good union jobs with benefits. "And it all began with five actors meeting in a room between gigs, asking one another, 'How are we going to cover both film and TV in two hours, when every other show uses three?'" Jason George SAG Awards Committee Member "For me, the SAG Awards have always felt like being invited to the best dinner party imaginable and feeling completely at home because it's held in the actor's house. This 30th anniversary, I expect that usual "More than any other award, SAG-AFTRA's voting pool truly reflects the amazing diversity of the American Scene. Yes, diversity in terms of gender, age, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability and culture, but also diversity in terms of taste." — JASON GEORGE