by Nathaniel R
Alanna Ubach does a lot with very little screen time in "Bombshell" but she isn't part of the cast nomination
We'll keep doing these posts each year until the Screen Actors Guild does something about their most unfortunate awards rule. For those who are new to the awards game, please note: If you are a working actor lucky enough to wind up in a film nominated for "Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture," that doesn't mean you are included in the nomination; you have to have your own title card for that! What this means each year is that actors who aren't really famous yet, or don't have an aggressive agent, wind up left out of the official nomination even if they contributed immeasurably to the success of the film or were highly memorable in some small but defining way.
So who got the stealth snub in 2019, who otherwise had every reason to celebrate the nomination? Read on for the specific exclusions this year and the history of most embarrassing omissions from the past due this ruling...
Liv Hewsom and Brigette Lundy-Paine in "Bombshell"
BOMBSHELL
8 "cast" nominees: Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, Margot Robbie, John Lithgow, Allison Janney, Connie Britton, Malcolm McDowell, and Kate McKinnon.
who was excluded: It's a crowded movie so a lot of people are missing but none are quite as frustrating to be passed over as Alanna Ubach who is ferociously memorable in very little screen time as Jeanine Pirro and Mark DuPlass who is sympathetic in a decent sized role as Megyn Kelly's husband. Frankly, we're surprised he didn't get his own title card. Other people who missed that we want to give a shout out to are Brigette Lundy-Paine, Liv Hewson, Rob Delaney, Brooke Smith, D'Arcy Carden, Mark Moses, and Tricia Helfer. They're all among the mix of familiar talented faces in the media circus of this movie.
Louis Cancelmi and Jesse Plemons in "The Irishman"
THE IRISHMAN
8 "cast" nominees: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, Ray Romano, Bobby Cannavale, Anna Paquin, Stephen Graham, and Harvey Keitel
who was excluded: SO MANY as you might expect from a 3½ hour film. A full 12 people share title cards after the most famous cast members making this one arguably the most egregious about who gets left out of the honors. That includes every woman in the film (except Anna Paquin) like Welker White as Jo Hoffa and the perpetually smoking mobwives Stephanie Kurtzuba and Kathrine Narducci. In terms of fame or memorability other shared title card players include Jack Huston as RFK, Jesse Plemons as Chuckie O'Brien, Paul Herman as "Whispers", Domenick Lombardozzi as "Fat Tony," Luis Cancelmi as "Sally Bugs" and Sebastian Maniscalco as "Crazy Joe".
Not all of the memorable actors even get a shared title card! Daniel Jenkins who plays "Big Ears", and Orange is the New Black's Dasha Polanco as a nurse are just in the final credit scroll along with a slew of other actors including many of the second tier mobsters.
JOJO RABBIT
8 cast nominees: Roman Griffin Davis, Thomasin McKenzie, Taika Waititi, Rebel Wilson, Stephen Merchant, Alfie Allen... "with" Sam Rockwell "and" Scarlett Johansson.
who was excluded: Most of the non-extras cast is covered but fans of the film and even some of its detractors will agree that its terribly sad that Archie Yates's adorable Yorki ('I'm just a fat kid trapped in a fat kid's body') is left out of the honors for the film, since he gives one of the best performances. The other two actors who get some camera time and lines that aren't in the mix are Luke Brandon Field as "Christoph" and Sam Haygarth as "Hans", hateful trainers at the Nazi Youth summer camp; they even give the film its title.
ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD
14 cast nominees: Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Emile Hirsch, Margaret Qualley, Tim Olymphant, Julia Butters, Austin Butler, Dakota Fanning, Bruce Dern, Mike Moh, Luke Perry, Damian Lewis... "and" Al Pacino.
Who was excluded? It's the largest ensemble nominated but it's also one of the most heavily populated movies of the year so there are several players, including very famous ones missing. Not included in the nomination are various Manson family members like Lena Dunham (Gypsy), Damon Herriman (Charles Manson), and all three women sent to kill on the infamous night: Madison Beaty (Lulu), Mikey Madison (Sadie) and Maya Hawke (Flowerchild). Among the movie industry people missing we have short performances from Kurt Russell as a wary stunt coordinator, smooth talking Nicholas Hammond who is terrific as director Sam Wanamaker, and Lorenza Izzo as Rick Dalton's pampered Italian bride.
The Park children, both wonderful, share a title card. But SAG apparently made an exception
PARASITE
10 cast nominees: Sang Kang Ho (Mr Kim), Lee Sun Kyun (Mr Park), Cho Yeo Jeong (Mrs Park), Choi Woo Sik (Ki Woo Kim), Park So Dam ("Jessica"), Lee Jung Eun (the cook), Chang Hyae Jin (Mrs Kim), and Park Myung Hoon (the cook's husband). BUT, miracle of miracles. We were prepared to proclaim TRAVESTY about Jung Ziso and Jung Hyeon Jun, who play the Park children, being excluded from the nomination since they share a title card (and that's the rule... unless the shared title card is first as with Brad & Leo in Once Upon a Time or Scarlett & Adam in Marriage Story). Perhaps NEON petitions for an exception?
who was excluded: Though their roles are much smaller the only three actors with real scenes who were excluded (given the exception made with the children) are Park Keun Rok and Park Seo Joon as the original driver and the original tutor and Jeong Esuz who plays the Pizza shop boss who argues with the family about the terrible quality of their work. They're all in the first act but they each only get one scene so it's less egregious than some of the misses earlier in this round-up.
Recent embarrassing omissions due to this ruling include but are not limited to...
2018 - Shangela & Willam in A Star is Born and Pierre Png in Crazy Rich Asians
2017 - Lil' Rel Howery and Betty Gabriel (both superb/crucial) to Get Out
2016 - Alex R Hibbert (so touching) as "Lil" in Moonlight
2015 - Dean O' Gorman's spot-on "Kirk Douglas" in Trumbo
2014 - Lindsay Duncan as the feared critic in Birdman
2013 - Yaya Alafia in The Butler and Colleen Camp in American Hustle
2012 - Gloria Reuben & Lee Pace in Lincoln,
2011 - Corey Stoll's career breakthrough as Ernest Hemingway in Midnight in Paris.
2010 - Rooney Mara in The Social Network
2004 -- is when we first noticed the problem when Matt Ross, who we loved in The Aviator and who had a lot of screentime was left out while Gwen Stefani (with only a cameo) was included.
P.S. BONUS ENTRY
MARRIAGE STORY WAS NOT NOMINATED FOR "OUTSTANDING CAST" THOUGH IT WAS WIDELY EXPECTED TO BE. SO WE HAD ALREADY PREPPED THIS BIT. YOU CAN PRETEND TO BE ENRAGED IF YOU SO WISH...
Martha Kelly, sublimely hilarious as the court-ordered Evaluator in "Marriage Story" would have been left out of the ensemble nomination
MARRIAGE STORY
Had it been nominated there would have been 8 "cast" nominees: Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, Laura Dern, Alan Alda, Ray Liotta, Julie Hagerty, Merrit Wever, and Azhy Robertson (who plays the couple's son). In short the feuding couple, their lawyers, the in-laws, and the couple's young son.
Who would have been excluded? Wallace Shawn (who plays the chattering braggart actor in Charlie's troupe), Martha Kelly who is plays the Evaluator" visiting Charlie and son, and Mark O'Brien as Carter Mitchum. They share a "with" title.
A lot of people in smaller roles that were only in the final scroll include everyone in Charlie's theater troupe or on Nicole's TV show, all the legal people (other than Laura, Alan, and Ray) and the mediator who opens the movie (played by the writer Robert Smigel) and is promptly given the crass boot by Nicole.
I think I'm gonna go if you two are just going to sit around and suck each other's dicks!