FYC for SAG: "Outstanding Ensemble"
Wednesday, November 19, 2014 at 1:23PM 
SAG ballots go out today (and Globe and BFCA ballots in a week or two) so it's FYC season again. SAG's most unique categories are "Stunt Ensemble" -- may we adamantly remind them that the fight scenes in Captain America: Winter Soldier are better than the ones in Guardians of the Galaxy even if the latter film is more popular and beloved -- and the one we tend to obsess on "Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture""
Unfortunately, the older the SAG Awards become the less adventurous their nominations. Rarely do we see the surprise Off-Best Picture nominee as in years past like Hustle & Flow or The Birdcage or what not. We'd love it if their randomly selected nominating committee were not thinking about the Oscars when they went a-balloting. We know, for example, that Boyhood, Selma, Theory of Everything, Birdman, Foxcatcher and The Imitation Game have an advantage do their strong assumed place in the Best Picture race but if you really think about it (which you always should if you have a ballot) are half of those movies all that impressive in terms of group acting? They're impressive in other ways, don't misunderstand. But you can nominate individual performers for prizes so why waste an ensemble spot on the same people!?
The Film Experience would like to make 3 suggestions off the expected path for those voting this year. These are films with impressive large ensembles that are very in sync with each other as well as the film's tone
For SAG's consideration...
• DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES
Jason Clarke does a fantastic atypically peaceful hero job leading the fine human cast but though they're at odds with the apes, their performances mesh extraordinarily well. Keep in mind that they were acting with people dressed up in funny performance capture suits. And the performances those suits captured are special, too!
• GONE GIRL
Though this one is focused on a marriage like the more likely nominee Theory of Everything, the supporting cast has a lot to do and many of them really pop from the TV hosts (Sela Ward & Missi Pyle) to all the family members (Carrie Coon), cops (Kim Dickens) and lawyers (Tyler Perry). SAG could and probably will do a lot worse than selecting this film.
• PRIDE
A loveable underdog but in past years when they latched on to movies as small as The Station Agent, they knew how to throw an adorable indie curveball. And, like, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, this one basically has two opposing sets of actors, at odds, but mixing more superbly than you thought oil and water or, rather, coal miners and urban gays, ever could.
Films that derive their full strength from the symbiotic contributions or a large diverse talented cast list rather than an acting triump MVP or two (usually leads) ... aren't these the type of films that ought to be considered for "Outstanding Cast" honors?
Reader Comments (41)
My pick is for Best Ensemble is the cast of "Grand Budapest Hotel." I think it has a definite chance to make the final 5.
My pick of what I've seen this year would be "Obvious Child."
Birdman would be the best of the Oscar bunch for ensemble.
My ensemble mention would be Leviathan but that would never happen.
22 Jump Street and Neighbors would be fun too. Or even X-Men Days of Future Past.
Birdman would be the best of the Oscar bunch for ensemble.
My ensemble mention would be Leviathan but that would never happen.
22 Jump Street and Neighbors would be fun too. Or even X-Men Days of Future Past.
"OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A CAST IN A MOTION PICTURE"?
Well, so far, my nominees this year would be the casts of
A Most Violent Year
Pride
Selma
Le Week-end
Whiplash
However, I am basing these on the actual casts, not the eligible performers according to the SAG Awards rules. Expect at most one of these to be nominated.
INHERENT VICE
I would be over the moon if "Pride" got nominated for an ensemble award. Frankly, I'd be happy if it got a sound nomination.
I too miss the off the wall nominations and I'm a member. I've never been on the nominating committee so I don't know how that process works, just how it is described. I'ld love it if someone with experience could describe it.
Probably not eligible but FOR SURE: "Maps to the Stars"
Henry, I was on the Nominating Committee eight or nine years ago, and I don't recall much "process" to it. Just screenings, screeners and receptions (Food! Drinks! Stars!) and then a long list of names on a nominating ballot to choose from and submit. I can't even remember which films I selected, although I guess I could figure it out, because it was the Babel year (memorable reception at the Hammer).
Or did you mean something in particular?
I second Gone Girl. It's the type of movie this award was made for (and I still wish Tyker Perry had a shot at an Oscar nod).
Paul Outlaw--Thanks. I suspected it was something like that, but had never actually heard. Are there a lot of names on the ballot that you never got any contact with? Screeners, screenings etc.?
Can you imagine how different the landscape would be if no awards group was allowed to announce their nominations before any other? Like there was one particular day when all nominations were announced and no one could be influenced by anyone else. The mind boggles.
Henry, the ballot was endless. Just imagine the list of names of every performance by an actor in a leading role eligible for submission in a given year. I see between 70 and 100 films a year whether or not I'm not on the committee, and that's obviously just a drop in the bucket.
Cast of Into the Woods will be nominated... Probably lose to Birdman
I haven't seen Pride, but I like several of the suggestions in the comments - Obvious Child, Neighbors, Grand Budapest Hotel - quite a lot for this kind of award. I'd also throw Snowpiercer into the mix.
Paul, I am struggling to see how those WHIPLASH and LE WEEK-END selections fit. They both have two central actors that bounce off of one another, but other than that they're thin.
As for GONE GIRL, I'd love to see it nominated, but I worry the names actually included in the so-called ensemble aren't the ones we want. I'm trying to remember if the likes of Coon and Dickens were even single single-screen credits (and hence nominated). Ward, Pyle, Fugit and so certainly won't be listed.
I'd love a PRIDE nomination. Remember when WAKING NED DIVINE was nominated? Very random. That same year as HUSTLE & FLOW they also nominated 3:10 TO YUMA and HAIRSPRAY. Absolutely bonkers and I loved it.
This year I'd be happy to see BIRDMAN, PRIDE, GONE GIRL, HAPPY CHRISTMAS (obviously won't happen), OBVIOUS CHILD (ditto), HIDE YOUR SMILING FACES (especially ditto) and WE ARE THE BEST (why do I even bother?). At least from what I have seen so far.
I think Boyhood would make a lot of sense here actually, regardless of Best Picture status. Grand Budapest Hotel would be great!
The Immigrant! The ensemble is to die for. Amazing chemistry among the actors, even the ones with tiny roles.
Glenn, people always forget that the word "ensemble" is not mentioned in the name of the category. It's Outstanding Performance by a Cast, and a cast can be anywhere from 2 actors to 200 (although SAG notoriously limits that to actors billed on separate cards in the main titles, i.e., stars). It's not supposed to be about how well an "ensemble" plays off one another, but how good a "cast" on the whole is considered. Previous nominees Million Dollar Baby had only three cast members, Doubt and Hotel Rwanda four, The Hurt Locker five, for example. I like the supporting players in both Whiplash and Le Week-end, even if they aren't stars or always showy. The two films wouldn't work as well without them.
That said, it seems clear that many on the nominating committees and in the general membership treat this as a Best Picture category anyway...
My ballot would have to include Two Days, One Night. There is an understandable focus on the great star turn at its center but it's also a real ensemble piece with no weak links.
Glenn, WAKING NED DEVINE wasn't random. Weinstein was pushing it hard that year for a Best Picture nod. The PGA nominated it, for example.
I believe the only Gone Girl nominees would be Affleck, Pike, Coon, Dickens, and Perry. To be honest I've started paying attention to who actually gets individual title cards in movies these days because this site always (rightfully) points out how many glaring omissions the SAG rules cause.
Boyhood, Grand Budapest Hotel, Gone Girl, Birdman, and Mockingjay (even though I haven't seen it yet, but the cast of Catching Fire was terrific, esp addition of Jena Malone and Jeffrey Wright, and now Julianne Moore). I would also add Snowpiercer; not one of my favs of the year, but the cast was excellent.
For duos: Ida, Le Week-End, Begin Again (even though this has a lot more supporting players than the first two),
ATM, I'd nominate Gone Girl, Blood Ties, Neighbors, The Grand Budapest Hotel and Begin Again. Granted, I haven't seen many of the heavy hitters yet, but based solely on ensemble work, these are all top notch.
According to Fox's official FYC site (https://www.foxscreenings.com/goneGirl/fyc.php), Affleck, Pike, Harris, Perry, Dickens, Fugit, and Coon, as well as David Clennon and Lisa Banes (the parents), are being campaigned for Ensemble.
When was the last time there was a huge difference between SAG Ensemble and Best Picture? Had to be 2007, right? 3:10 to Yuma, American Gangster, Hairspray, Into the Wild and No Country for Old Men, with only the latter getting nominated at the Oscars. I mean, I know Into the Wild has a huge push, but I feel like by the time SAG noms came out, most people had already written off 3:10 and Gangster.
And for me, the only answer for Best Ensemble this year is PRIDE. I mean, so far -- I'm a week behind on new releases.
I can't believe we aren't unanimously agreeing that the best possible nomination would be for the cast of Love is Strange!
Conrado, I still need to see Love Is Strange, Snowpiercer, Gone Girl, Birdman, Obvious Child, Mockingjay and of course Into the Woods, Still Alice and Unbroken.
Great suggestions.
For the "Stunt Ensemble" category, "John Wick" gives a beautiful example of the craft, skill, and possibilities of the category.
I don't think anyone in the Union votes solely on the names that are presented as the ensemble. A cast is a cast.
My picks would be Mr. Turner, Inherent Vice and The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby (the "Them" version, which actually feels the most ensemble-driven).
Michael C. - Such a good call!
I bet they will nominate Budapest Hotel. They love starry casts, although I personally don't think that ingredient makes a movie memorable.
I would also love to see Pride getting recognized as well as fantastic new TV shows such as The Knick and Getting On. They're so refractory to new work.
Interestingly, the SAG Awards honor the "cast" of a motion picture and the "ensembles" of television series. Wonder what's behind that. In any case, my TV series picks would be
DRAMA: The Americans, Boardwalk Empire, Game of Thrones, The Good Wife, Mad Men
COMEDY: Blackish, Looking, Parks and Recreation, Transparent, Veep
"Are half of those movies all that impressive in terms of group acting?'
Half of those movies haven't been seen by anyone yet but bloggers and critics.
I remember specifically in looking at Gone Girl's credits that after the principal 5 (Pike, Affleck, Harris, Perry, and Coon) that it decided to pair off credits. If I am understanding that correctly, it would mean no Kim Dickens for SAG, one of the best in show of the film. I actually nearly said, 'God dammit', realizing that in my theater.
Jase, they've also been seen by studio people, AMPAS members and various guild members. A lot of eyes. And as I noted above, it's not necessarily an award for group acting at all.
CMG - Yes, Dickens was paired with Fugit. Does this mean she's out? Shame because she was on FIRE and deserve some recognition. Pyle and Ward were not in opening credits at all which I think it's odd as their names are recognizable and the roles are substantial to the story.
I think you are all putting way, WAY, too much importance on the names listed as the "official" ensemble. The billing is decided by the producers (and managers, agents etc.) and the official ensemble is based on that. EVERYONE who appears in the film is considered part of the cast. No one is excluded and I don't know a single SAG member who votes for a cast based only on the names listed on the ballot. All credited members of the cast get a certificate while the official ensemble get to go on stage and get a statue. Unfair? Perhaps. Earth shattering and career destroying......no.
Let this argument of who is and isn't in the ensemble go. It's a waste of bytes.
I disagree, Henry. It's a matter of respect and recognition. It's one thing to look at it from the voters' perspective (and you're partly right there, although I do know SAG members who vote based on names) and quite another from the nominees'/winners' perspective.
Paul Outlaw. Then we can agree to disagree. I understand your point of respect and recognition. But isn't it disrespectful to punish the work of an actor you admire by not voting for their film, their work, because their name isn't in the order you feel it should be on an awards ballot?
Of course it is. I don't think many voters do that, but you'd be surprised by the number of people who reference the names of the actors expressly nominated during the voting period when talking about the nominated films ("the Hanks movie," "the one with Streep and Hoffman"). Personally, I vote for the film whose cast I think did the best work both individually and collectively, and it never matters to me (as a voter) who is listed or how many names are listed. As an artist I am pissed off by the unfairness though.
Maybe Snowpiercer?