There is no need to panic about a few of the details today at the SAG award nominations. For instance, many thought Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy might have done better — but it will do very very well at the BAFTAs, which will push it from thence towards Oscar. I also think Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo were late entries and wouldn’t show up at SAG — they probably weren’t seen by enough members, I’m guessing. I don’t think Tinker, Tailor was seen much either. But I should probably research a bit before making sweeping statements like that.
When people say things like Shailene Woodley was left off – well, she wasn’t left off because she got an ensemble nod. So technically it wasn’t an out and out snub. Albert Brooks, though, did get a snub — however, he has many more friends in the Academy than in SAG, so I’m expecting he’ll still make it in the Oscar race. Gary Oldman, Woody Harrelson, and of course, Michael Fassbender were all left off the Best Actor list. But Demian Bichir’s nomination is a cause for celebration. It was a “little” movie but what a great performance. His has stuck with me through the months – partly because of the character he plays but also his restrained performance is so moving.
The Help and The Artist get the biggest bump, naturally. The Help, of course, is the force to be reckoned with for the ensemble win. Given all of these things I think the SAG award win for Best Actress is going to be a showdown between Viola Davis and Glenn Close, who has never yet won a SAG and has respect from the actors. Although with a membership as big as 100,000 (2100 did the nominating) it’s hard to know. Meryl Streep could win with those kinds of numbers. The most likable character, though, is Davis’. And if there is that much love for The Help with actors — and Davis is so well known and beloved within the actors community — well, it follows logic that she could at last win. Davis heads up the ensemble for The Help and is the standout performer, along with Octavia Spencer.
We’re not quite yet to the point where we can stop counting the times a black actress has won the SAG but we’re not there yet. So the SAG is way ahead of Oscar as in its short history, Halle Berry already won for Monster’s Ball. For Oscar, 84 years and one black actress has taken the prize.
The real puzzler for me is why Kevin Spacey was ignored for his work in Margin Call — it being one of the best performances of the year, lead or supporting, male or female. There is no way these actors didn’t see Margin Call, but it’s possible that they’re not as into the slow burn of the Wall Street meltdown, in one of the best and most intricate screenplays of the year. They seem to like the more showy performances all the way around. Subtle doesn’t appear to register much.
However, it’s great that Melissa McCarthy was recognized for Bridesmaids. Comedy is harder than it looks — McCarthy, like Jonah Hill, are deceptively funny – they’re a lot more versatile than their work would have you believe. Though it’s always harder to break from the mold of comedy — as funny actors have long lamented — but they shouldn’t have to always be serious to be recognized as good actors. It’s great to see the SAG have considered comedy of value in the film awards.
Oscar won’t match this completely. BAFTA makes a hell of an impact in the acting awards and tomorrow’s Globe announcements will confirm or deny a few of these. Sometimes we have Oscar years when everything matches up throughout – and sometimes they are all over the place. This year, there are only a few things we can count on. We’ll know better as the weeks wear on.
I truly believe Bridesmaids will be nominated at the Oscars this year. It may not be brillant or edgy but it pulls off exactly what it’s supposed to do. I hope Melissa McCarthy is nominated too but honestly Rose Byrne had the best performance in the film in my opinion. It would be wonderful if the four best comedies of this year( Bridesmaids, Young Adult, 50/50, and Midnight in Paris) would be recognized. Bridesmaids should be nominated to make up for the fact that they nominated The Blind Side in 2009, seriously that was ridiculous.
Not to beat a dead horse, but just saw this interesting post re: SAG rules, which explains some (but certainly not all) of the oversights:
http://news.yahoo.com/sag-ensemble-rule-rewards-stars-shortchanges-key-actors-004746573.html
If Theron will not be nominated at the oscars i would be devestated and sad, cause it’s so unfair, her performance was so brave so courageous, all the critics poted out her terrific performance, after 3 years she came back with such a tour de force performance, she deserves all the raving reviews , hopefully she will be recognized with a nods at the Oscars.
There must be some mistake. Surely these are the Golden Globe nominations.
Although it’s an appalling Best Actor field, the Best Actress field is quite interesting in that it shatters the age barrier people always moan about when it comes to women in Hollywood.
Despite all the buzzed about young contenders like Rooney Mara or Elizabeth Olsen, the nominees are 46-year-old Viola Davis, 51-year-old Tilda Swinton, 62-year-old Meryl Streep, and 64-year-old Glenn Close. Only the relatively young Michelle Williams breaks the pattern here.
Someone said that Glen Close already has a SAG award for Lion In Winter. The Lion In Winter from the sixties? The film with Hepburn and O’Toole? No. You must be thinking of some other film.
Inception is good, but with repeated viewings, I still have the same reaction as when I walked out of the theater the first time, “eh..it wasn’t as good as The Dark Knight.” It was original, nonetheless.
I liked Moneyball. I just don’t see why it is getting all these accolades, particularly for Pitt’s acting. I liked his character, but he has done better than this role. I feel like he is getting attention for the wrong role, quite similar to DiCaprio in 2006 with Blood Diamond (how the hell was he not nominated for The Departed). It is just frustrating when this stuff occurs.
Agree on The Social Network. I loved Toy Story 3, Blue Valentine, and Winter’s Bone.
127 Hours was great but could’ve been better.
True Grit and Black Swan are two films I don’t understand the overwhelming praise for. I would certainly watch Black Swan multiple times but True Grit was good but felt like three hours. The Coens have done better.
At least you didn’t put Inception in there. I feel the same way about that as I do True Grit.
Reading the comments here is genuinely more depressing than the actual nominations. What a bunch of little children, carping and whining about “their” pet actors not getting in and attacking others for making the cut. That’s fairly ridiculous. Who can put one performance up against another one and say which one is really, I mean “REALLY”, better. That’s why any of these awards are always a little insane. It’s always about you more than the actors, isn’t it?
@ m1
“What competition do you speak of?”
– Let me count the ways….
127 Hours
Black Swan
Blue Valentine
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter’s Bone
Those films, for me, were all better than The King’s Speech. But you also liked Moneyball, so that doesn’t surprise me either.
“It reminds me of the following for The King’s Speech last year. Good film, but compared to its competition, not even close in terms of merit.”
What competition do you speak of?
Most of these nominations bore me to tears (then again, awards are supposed to be more about craft than excitement) but I nearly jumped from my seat when I saw that Jonah Hill nomination. Yay! I thought he was fantastic in Moneyball. The snubs for Woodley and Brooks are the most surprising.
I like J.Edgar but Leo DiCaprio over Michael Fassbender??? Armie Hammer over Albert Brooks??? Really SAG??!!! Above all else… Jonah HILLL!!!!???? And where is Ryan Gosling and Gary Oldman?
Why why why people are saying all those terribile things about Albert Nobbs? It’s a good movie, not perfect – okey – but honest, moving and subtle as the title character played with majestic depth by Close. I think the subject is just too weird and unconventional.
If this is any indication of how the Oscars may play out, then I’m already not interested. The fact that they snubbed Gosling & Brooks (DRIVE) and Fassbender & Mulligan (SHAME) is a complete travesty. I will say right now that Brad Pitt should be removed from BEST ACTOR and transferred to BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR for The Tree of Life. Moneyball was just not that great. It was average. And Jonah Hill…come on now. What a waste of a nomination. I just don’t get all this love for Miller’s film. It reminds me of the following for The King’s Speech last year. Good film, but compared to its competition, not even close in terms of merit.
@steve50. I laughed out loud reading your comment. I could imagine a SAG voter looking at the screener for Coriolanus and going “ugh, Shakespeare. Not into that”…
…I’m still thinking (hoping) Redgrave can pull off an Oscar nomination. I would hope that the Academy Acting branch will be a little more discerning in filling out their Oscar ballots and will show respect and recognition for someone like Redgrave. You know her performance will appeal to voters like Meryl Streep, Laura Linney, Peter O’Toole, etc…actors who gravitate toward Shakespearean/classical material.
This year is a mess, but it’s kind of awesome how much deserving talent there is in a year that felt awfully comic-booky until a couple months ago!
Oh and Dunst! Who was incredible in Melancholia. The supporting actress field too! So many performances deserve it.
Hm. I am much more interested in Best Actress this year than Best Actor. There are only a handful of great male performances, actually in both lead and supporting, while there is a plethora of female ones. Looking at the list of best actresses I can’t see one who is undeserving yet there are so many performances left out! Mara, Olsen, Coleman, Theron, Knightley. As for the actors though some of these can be replaced (like DiCaprio and Dujardin who I think is quite overrated in the film) there aren’t many more to switch them out with except for Fassbender (haven’t seen TTSS yet). I actually would love to see Antonio Banderas nominated for “The Skin I Live In.” He was fantastic in the film but he is nowhere near the radar.
My Melancholia ensemble wish didn’t come true, but I expected as much.
Then again, aaron, its metacritic value is at 75 after 8 reviews, and Gleiberman and Denby are the only ones who are really into it…two out of eight is hardly impressive. But of course, 8 reviews are not a lot to go by. Still room for a change in the coming days (or weeks)…
Stephen Holt (not the most trust-worthy source around here…) insists that Stoll is indeed in for MIP (he just wasn’t mentioned in the initial list). Can somebody confirm this?
Even if Kevin Spacey didn’t get an individual nomination (and he would have deserved one), “Margin Call” certainly deserved an Ensemble nomination. I thought it was pretty much tied with “The Help” for the best Ensemble of the year.
@steve50 Hahaha….but sadly, probably true. With 100,000 members, SAG Awards are moving towards People’s Choice.
Owen Gleiberman of EW just gave The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo an A. I’m thinking many are underestimating this film (or at least Rooney Mara).
@Daveylow
Of course they didn’t. Too much work, all that weird language ‘n stuff.
What does SAG have against Vanessa Redgrave? I bet they didn’t watch Coriolanus.
“Comedy is harder then it looks” Sasha you’re an actor? I didn’t know!
Yes, comedy is harder then it looks….but, this is not one of those My Cousin Vinny, Philadelphia Story, Raising Arizona type comedies. The role was practically sketch comedy and I can’t believe you would pull for this nom over Carey Mulligan, or Shailene Woodley for that matter! No one has even mentioned Sarah Paulson in MMMM and I could go on.
I am an actress. Comedy is also much funner then it looks….and usually the days are much easier, the hours shorter, and you don’t have to expose much. There is a reason that they are not usually Oscar’s cup of tea.
I will now piss everyone off….if McCarthy was not an over weight character actress, she would not be getting this much attention….she would have been admired in the same way as Zach Galifanakis was and is. That would suit me fine.
@PaddyM
You took the words right out of my mouth (or off my fingers). When the “omigod” omissions list is longer than the “wow-they remembered” surprise inclusions list, there is a serious disconnect somewhere.
@ wisconsinkel, LMAO. I also agree.
But still, I’m not square with the SAG’s choices. Snubbing Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan, and snubbing Corey Stoll in Midnight in Paris’ Ensemble Cast nomination, but rewarding Carla Bruni, are shit choices. They’re just shit. I want to slap every single person who voted for Leonardo DiCaprio and not Michael Fassbender.
Douglas – I agree, Thomas Horn was amazing
this year is such a mess.
Demian Bichir is magnificent in A Better Life. Just off-the-charts. It is a supremely moving performance for the viewer, but more importantly one can tell that it was for him, as well. What a commendable and valiant character he is, working himself to the bone for nothing, going on a herculean quest to find his stolen truck, sacrificing everything for the good of his alienated teen. And still getting screwed in the end. The scene in the detention center is a master class in restraint and barely suppressed emotion.
If you haven’t seen this movie, you must.
Best Actress is calcifying. Rooney Mara or Felicity Jones need to get onto some of these lists quick, or it’s out of reach.
Boo on the Michael Fassbender snub. Just. Freakin’. BOO!!! If I could STEAL a damn Oscar and put his name on it I would.
Jonah Hill could very well be this year’s Mila Kunis. Minus the hot babeness.
Very disappointed that “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” was overlooked. I saw it yesterday at a SAG screening in NYC, and it is brilliant! Everyone is excellent…most especially Thomas Horn, on whose small, mega-talented shoulders the film rests.
As for Glenn Close vs. Viola Davis…I beg to differ. It will be Viola vs. Meryl. I also saw “The Iron Lady” this week. A towering performance in a so-so film.
Actually I agree that Glenn Close doesn’t deserve to win for the film. The performance is simply dull. Janet McTeer – on the other hand – deserves it far more. I believe Close will get Globe & SAG nods and that’s all. Critics aren’t enthusiastic and as I said in the previous post (but posted it too soon), Close is a bit of a personality the SAG and the Academy usually don’t go for in movie categories. I believe the SAG is up to Meryl and Viola Davis, with Williams having a shot as well. Close is probably fifth.
You know SAG nomination is a joke when you learned both Fassbender and Brooks were not on the list. I hope Academy voters are not as moronic as these actors.
Was Corey Stoll not included among the ensemble for Midnight in Paris, or is that just some sort of mistake? I’m trying to rationalize why his name isn’t mentioned on SAG’s official site. Was it because he’s not a SAG actor? Did they just forget to include him, as well as a few other actors, from the film? Adrien Brody made it for one scene. Stoll makes more of an impact.
I’m not sure why this is more unsettling for me than Fassbender’s and Brooks’ snub or Hill’s inclusion.
Close has no buzz. She is a SAG nominee, but far from a contender for the win. She’s not that type.
The SAG’s this year are a sham. Brooks not getting in, is the biggest snuff in awhile…but we all know he will be there come Oscar time.
I think Theron might stand a better chance with the BAFTAs. The Brits like dark comedy. I think they have more of an appetite for the anti-heroines; the hard, brittleness of life. And Theron did it perfectly.
as much as i dislike these nominations i have to admire the fact that this year’s race is anything but predictable. There is no single film or actor that is completely shutting out the rest. Yes The Artist is in the lead but other films are being recognized by the critics (Tree of Life, Descendants) and the Best Actor race is all over the place it seems.
I really hope the Globes are very different from these, even if none of my favorites again make the cut. just for the sake of keeping it interesting.
WHERE IS THERON?!!!!!!!! WTF!
I would put my bet on Streep winning SAG with her brillant showcase role as Thatcher. SAG eats this kind of performance up. Also, note on Gold Derby Streep is predicted to win both SAG and GG – Drama.
“I don’t really think the nominators equate the Best Ensemble prize with Best Picture.”
Really? it always seemed to me like the highest honor for SAG, same with BP- highest honor.
I think Rudin’s strategy of waiting till the last minute to screen ‘Extremely Loud’ and ‘Dragon Tattoo’ and imploring embargoes until mid-December is backfiring. The later will probably do just fine at the boxoffice, but neither is building the quality buzz it could be, which is also a disservice to its performers.
It’s amazing that even in Chicago, we still haven’t gotten Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy or We Need to Talk About Kevin…MUST SEE!
Well in a small town like Chicago, what do you expect? lol This drives me nuts. I think I’m seeing TTSS this weekend in Boston. Think.
Gary Oldman has no lobby in Hollywood, as I worried before. And Fassbenders role is obviously a pretty provoking one, even though I don´t write him off for at least a nomination at the Oscars.
Talking about “Dragon Tattoo”…hell, I don´t know. It´s probably not the major force I hoped it would turn out to be. Quite honestly, spaeking about the main contenders for the win, it looks like a race between “The Descendants” and “The Artist”. In a year with no typical frontrunner it´s probably not such a fatal handicap to be a b/w silent movie. This would be great! But I´m still not sure about it.
The only category I feel safe to predict a winner (since I saw that respective film a couple of weeks ago)is best supporting actor: Christopher Plummer of cours, and totally justified!
I am all for the McCarthy train. Fassbender missing is egregious, but I see him winning BAFTA (has it been released there?) and that taking him to the Oscar nom. It’s amazing that even in Chicago, we still haven’t gotten Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy or We Need to Talk About Kevin…MUST SEE!
Sasha, Glenn Close has a SAG award. She won for The Lion in Winter, so it’s not like she hasn’t been rewarded by the guild.
I don’t think she stands a chance in hell at winning this. Davis, maybe, but I will give the edge to Streep since The Iron Lady seems to be an acting showcase that the voting members shouldn’t be able to resist (although I haven’t personally seen the film yet). I also don’t know why people are counting out Michelle Williams, who stands a good chance as well (and she’s deserving).
I predicted all five nominees for Best Ensemble, so I’m not at all surprised. Although Hugo and War Horse both have large casts, I didn’t think they would get the nomination simply because both are not considered “ensemble” films and are mostly acclaimed for their technical achievements. I didn’t think Extremely Loud and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo would get in either since they JUST started screening for critics, so how would the actors have time to screen it in less than a week?
Anyways, I have a feeling that the SAG awards will not be as indicative for the Oscars as they have in the past. Everything is all over the place and I think films like Extremely Loud, GWTDT, War Horse, Young Adult, Tinker Tailor could gain some steam over the next month since all of them have been late releases. It will be interesting to see what the Globes pick tomorrow morning. I have a feeling Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close will do very well there.
For what its worth, I’ve actually been a nominator for SAG Awards before and I don’t really think the nominators equate the Best Ensemble prize with Best Picture. If that were the case, its pretty unlikely they would have nominated BRIDESMAIDS this year.
I think its a bigger blow for a film like HUGO not to receive an ensemble nomination here. That is a starry, critically acclaimed ensemble based film heading into the race as a frontrunner that is already in movie theatres.
Murtaza, again we don’t know yet to what degree things like DRAGON TATTOO and/or EXTREMELY LOUD are actually contenders or not as its been confirmed that they were not very readily made available to SAG nominators.
The Golden Globes will help clear up some of the race tomorrow. I expect EXTREMELY LOUD and Mara Rooney (they love up and comers) to both show up on their list.
I am still hoping for Glenn Close to sweep the major awards.
I think she’s just brilliant in the film.
Sad though that Theron was snubbed. (I prefer her over Streep actually)
So glad to see Jessica Lange nominated for best actress drama on television. She is doing some brilliant acting on American Horror Story. So deserving
and what about michael fassbender? did they not also see shame?
dragon tattoo is being kicked out, be prepared to accept that and as for EL & IC, for what was it exactly to be nominated at SAG? it’s potential will be confirmed tomorrow at globes after BFCA.
dimian bichir gave a stirring performance but still not after snubbing fassbender, he should’ve been left out as many every year because this means fassbender even if gets nominated at oscars, he won’t win.
I’m sure Fassbender and Oldman both will be nominated at the BAFTAs. So will both be nominated for the Oscar, or only one of them? So far, the Brits have given more love to Fassy. Sasha, are you sure TTSS did not have enough screenings for the SAG? ‘Cos Gary Oldman did attend many SAG screenings for TTSS (or, at least, that is what I used to read on Twitter).
“WAR HORSE isn’t a performance movie so I really wouldn’t have expected it to appear here.”
I didn’t expect single nominations for that reason, but an ensemble nomination would have been important for the movie. It’s like calling it “Best Picture” (Same with Hugo, it’s an ensemble piece).
Considering that Michelle Williams has been relegated to the Comedy category by the HFPA, it’ll be interesting who will get the “up for grabs” spot(s) in the Drama. Assuming Glenn Close, Viola Davis, Meryl Streep, and Tilda Swinton are all nominated, the fifth spot should logically go to Elizabeth Olsen or Rooney Mara. But who knows?
Last year logic dictated that Hilary Swank would get in for Conviction, and then the HFPA nominated Halle Berry for Frankie and Alice, a movie still not yet out on DVD.
glad for Tilda, she totally deserves it!!! Sasha, what do you think about shannon chances? Saw Take Shelter and found his performance outstanding (better than Pitt and Di Caprio for sure). He´s doing well with the critics awards, but will he have enough support from the industry? Thought the whole film was brillant but is it too small to make the cut?
WAR HORSE isn’t a performance movie so I really wouldn’t have expected it to appear here. And it sounds like (from word on one of the other boards) EXTREMELY LOUD screeners were sent less than a week before ballots were due and DRAGON TATTOO wasn’t screened for SAG nominators at all.
I think it remains to be seen whether the general public has any interest in THE ARTIST. It is easy to see why the group would score well with critics, but if it doesn’t catch on with the general public over the next couple of weeks, I think we will see some major shifts happen in the race.
LOL, looking back at my thoughts on last year’s race the SAG’s were pretty B.S. too-
“The Kids Are All Right for Best Ensemble?! You gotta be kidding me…over The Town, Inception, or Shutter Island? No way…TKAAR just has a few great performances; it’s not a whole cast effort. If Up in the Air didn’t get nominated last year there’s no way in hell this should have. And I’m shocked at the Andrew Garfield snub for supporting actor! Easily the best I’ve seen this year and definitely better then Ruffalo
There’s much more I could complain about, but I’ll leave it that for now…”
Does anyone know roughly how many of the 2100 nominating commitee are AMPAS members? I know all of them are in SAG, but that’s in the wider membership only, I’d guess only a sampling show up here and as such wouldn’t put TOO much stock in these just yet.
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo were not nominated just because they didnt get enough votes. That’s the truth. So, no excuses there.
Great for Bridesmaids and Albert Nobbs. They did incredibly well. It has to be noticed that HP got a stunt nom so you can think they kind of liked it.
Carla Bruni, first lady of France, is a nominee. Curious isn’t it ?
I think the SAG did great. Hope the Golden Globes get it. By the way, if some low lying films do not get BAFTA or GG noms, i think they will be out of contention.
*nominated
If correct, then it’s a relief for me about EL&IC. But what about Hugo and War Horse?
Sasha, I know you’re a champion of Glenn Close in Albert Nobbs but I (and many people) cannot get on board with this. It’s not a good film– it hasn’t been critically praised like MMMM or Young Adult and the performances are mediocre. I’m quite devastated that Elizabeth Olsen and Charlize Theron weren’t nomination. More so for Theron because she had a better shot than Olsen. Such BS.
I prefer the quattuor of actors (Oldman/Harrelson/Fassbender/Shannon) who got left off than the actual list of actors’ nominees, save for Bichir. They’re actually too good to even call it a ‘snub’.
The Artist and not The Help will win ensemble I think.
its looking like the artist is the only film that can win, please dont be such an obvious year 2011!
Am I alone in thinking that BRIDESMAIDS actually has a great shot at winning the ensemble prize?
At the very least I don’t think we will see this year a scenario in which the SAG ensemble win matches Best Picture. I really don’t think THE ARTIST is going to take that win (I actually really don’t believe THE ARTIST will take the Oscar for Best Picture either, but I know at this point in the race, I’m in the minority view on that.
I was so worried for Tilda Swinton, considering the subject matter and darkness of the tiny film. It’s really heartening to see her recognized by her peers considering, though, if she can get in here then she can certainly get in anywhere else too. I would have been melancholic myself to keep seeing Kirsten Dunst get kudos over her for her significantly less mature turn that trumped Tilda at Cannes.
I have to say I am happy that this year on the nominations morning I’m going to be a nerve wreck as I don’t know who is getting nommed in a lot of categories, but jesus Brooks snub just pissed me off also Fassbender’s I really hope the oscars aren’t that dumb