We’ve had some fun the past couple of weeks looking at the Critics Choice Awards and the Golden Globes, but it’s time to get series. In terms of the Oscars, these awards mean nothing. There is no overlap in terms of voting branches. If you’re looking for groups that have a direct impact, look no further than the Screen Actors Guild Awards. What are those, you may be asking? The SAG Awards are the annual awards given out by the actors to the best acting of the year. This may not seem like a lot, but it has the largest overlap with the Academy, and the winner of the biggest SAG award (Best Ensemble) goes on to win the Oscar 50% of the time, and is nominated the other 48% of the time. So yeah, they have a lot of impact on the awards race. And this year, they are really ready to throw their hats into the ring.
Let’s start with the obvious, before we move onto the biggest shocks and snubs. Manchester by the Sea leads the race with four nominations. This makes sense, both because it is a very “actorly” movie (meaning the screenplay is designed to let actors shine) and because the weakest nominee (Lucas Hedges) is a child actor, which SAG loves to nominate. This puts it in great position alongside Moonlight, which came away with three nominations. Also having an excellent day is Fences, which came away with three nominations, for Best Actor (Denzel Washington), Best Supporting Actress (Viola Davis), and Best Ensemble. Again, this is a very “actorly” film, and it’s success here is unsurprising.
What is surprising is that the indie film Captain Fantastic walked away with two nominations, for Best Actor (Viggo Mortensen) and Best Ensemble. This was a film that was on very few people’s radar two weeks ago, and has really come on strong in recent days. They must have one hell of a publicist over at Bleeker Street (who also released Trumbo last year). That, or they have a whole lotta bribing money. The other big surprise of the day is the snub of Annette Bening, a supposed frontrunner for Best Actress, in favor of Emily Blunt for The Girl on the Train. I never got a chance to see it, but from general consensus, I gather that Blunt gives a fine performance in a mediocre film. This is certainly a shocking turn of events, but perhaps not as shocking as the biggest snub of the day.
Despite nominations for Best Actor and Best Actress, La La Land missed a nomination for Best Ensemble. This is surprising for numerous reasons. First, musicals almost always receive Guild nominations for the hard work an ensemble does making it work. Moulin Rouge was nominated, Chicago was nominated, Dreamgirls was nominated, Les Misérables was nominated…hell, Hairspray and Nine were nominated. This makes the snub fairly surprising. However, what’s perhaps most damning is the whole “frontrunner” thing. Since the award was first given out in 1995, the Best Picture winner has at least been nominated 20/21 times. The 21st time was the first year it was given out, when Braveheart did not receive a nomination before winning Best Picture. Statistics were made to be broken, but this is incredibly damning for La La Land’s Best Picture chances. Who benefits, though? Moonlight, the best ensemble of the year? Manchester by the Sea, which has the most nominations? Something else, like Silence (which the Guild did not see)?
Television wise, the love was spread about between weirder choices and the usual choices. Great ensembles expected to dominate had a great day, including Veep, The People v. O.J. Simpson, and black-ish. However, there were also a fair amount of surprises, too. I called the Thandie Newton and Winona Ryder nominations, but I don’t think anyone expected Millie Bobby Brown to be nominated for Best Actress in a Drama Series. Not that this is a bad thing-she’s great. And it’s interesting to see both Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin nominated for Best Actress in a Comedy. And the love for The Crown proves I need to begin watching this show.
The 23rd Screen Actors Guild Awards will be held on January 29, 2017, and air on TNT.
Film
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
- Casey Affleck-Manchester by the Sea
- Andrew Garfield-Hacksaw Ridge
- Ryan Gosling-La La Land
- Viggo Mortensen-Captain Fantastic
- Denzel Washington-Fences
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
- Amy Adams-Arrival
- Emily Blunt-The Girl on the Train
- Natalie Portman-Jackie
- Emma Stone-La La Land
- Meryl Streep-Florence Foster Jenkins
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
- Mahershala Ali-Moonlight
- Jeff Bridges-Hell or High Water
- Hugh Grant-Florence Foster Jenkins
- Lucas Hedges-Manchester by the Sea
- Dev Patel-Lion
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
- Viola Davis-Fences
- Naomie Harris-Moonlight
- Nicole Kidman-Lion
- Octavia Spencer-Hidden Figures
- Michelle Williams-Manchester by the Sea
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
- Captain Fantastic
- Fences
- Hidden Figures
- Manchester by the sea
- Moonlight
Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture
- Captain America: Civil War
- Doctor Strange
- Hacksaw Ridge
- Jason Bourne
- Nocturnal Animals
Television
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie
- Riz Ahmed-The Night Of
- Sterling K. Brown-The People v. O.J. Simpson
- Bryan Cranston-All The Way
- John Turturro-The Night Of
- Courtney B. Vance-The People v. O.J. Simpson
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie
- Bryce Dallas Howard-Black Mirror
- Felicity Huffman-American Crime
- Audra McDonald-Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grille
- Sarah Paulson-The People v. O.J. Simpson
- Kerry Washington-Confirmation
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
- Sterling K. Brown-This Is Us
- Peter Dinklage-Game of Thrones
- John Lithgow-The Crown
- Rami Malek-Mr. Robot
- Kevin Spacey-House of Cards
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
- Millie Bobby Brown-Stranger Things
- Claire Foy-The Crown
- Thandie Newton-Westworld
- Winona Ryder-Stranger Things
- Robin Wright-House of Cards
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
- Anthony Anderson-black-ish
- Tituss Burgess-Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
- Ty Burrell-Modern Family
- William H. Macy-Shameless
- Jeffrey Tambor-Transparent
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
- Uzo Aduba-Orange is the New Black
- Jane Fonda-Grace and Frankie
- Ellie Kemper-Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
- Julia Louis Dreyfus-Veep
- Lily Tomlin-Grace and Frankie
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
- The Crown
- Downton Abbey
- Game of Thrones
- Stranger Things
- Westworld
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
- The Big Bang Theory
- black-ish
- Modern Family
- Orange is the New Black
- Veep
Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series
- Game of Thrones
- Marvel’s Daredevil
- Marvel’s Luke Cage
- The Walking dead
- Westworld
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