SAG Nominations - Movies

We'll have a separate post for the TV nominations a little later today but first, the MOVIE nominations. 

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS

• Jessica Chastain, The Eyes of Tammy Faye
• Olivia Colman, The Lost Daughter
• Lady Gaga, House of Gucci
• Jennifer Hudson, Respect
• Nicole Kidman, Being the Ricardos

Instant Impression: The morning's biggest shock -- no Kristen Stewart in Spencer. I'm okay with this but the internet won't be...

We did correctly predict Jennifer Hudson as the surprise inclusion but we definitely did not think that Stewart would be the one to miss. We don't think Gaga, Stewart, or Hudson are particularly worthy so we'll just be over hear shedding a tear for leading ladies like Tessa Thompson, Alana Haim, and Penelope Cruz, Reinate Reinsve, etcetera...

Stats: The winner of this prize often goes on to win the Oscar which puts Kristen Stewart at a disadvantage even if she receives the expected Oscar nomination. The only woman to ever win Best Actress without first scoring a SAG nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress is Kate Winslet in The Reader (2008) though she doesn't really count since she was presented to SAG as a supporting actress (clear Category Fraud) and won that category. So in short, Stewart would make history if she could still manage an Oscar win. 

OUTSTANDING ACTOR

• Javier Bardem, Being the Ricardos
• Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog
• Andrew Garfield, tick...tick... BOOM!
• Will Smith, King Richard
• Denzel Washington, The Tragedy of Macbeth

Instant Impression: We realllllly thought of "shock" predicting Javier Bardem here but decided against it last minute. Damn we would've looked so smart had we done that. We really thought that Peter Dinklage would make it in here given that SAG loves him. But as with other acting hopefuls that didn't really see release (like Clifton Collins Jr in Jockey), the voters have ignored it. We hope this is a reminder to studios that you really do need to release your movies. Even if its in a weird hybrid way. 

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• Caitríona Balfe, Belfast
• Cate Blanchett, Nightmare Alley
• Ariana DeBose, West Side Story
• Kirsten Dunst, The Power of the Dog
• Ruth Negga, Passing

Instant Impression Cate Blanchett was the surprise this year. We knew we'd get one but we didn't think it would be her. That said she is ridiculously entertaining in Nightmare Alley. It's a surprise to see Aunjanue Ellis (King Richard) get the boot since we thought her film would be well-loved but on the other hand this year's nominations show that they were really looking primarily at very famous stars. 

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR 

• Ben Affleck, The Tender Bar
• Bradley Cooper, Licorice Pizza
• Troy Kotsur, CODA
• Jared Leto, House of Gucci
• Kodi Smit-McPhee, Power of the Dog

Instant Impression : SAG wanted BIG performances from BIG stars this year is the lesson here. Both Affleck and Cooper made it in which is surprising though both happen to be excellent in their respective movies. This is a tough break for the Belfast dads though, Jamie Dornan and Ciaran Hinds, who were widely expected to place.

Stats: This is Jared Leto's second consecutive SAG nomination for a truly terrible Razzie level performance. The Little Things and now House of Gucci ??? What is it that his fellow actors are seeing in him? It would make more sense if he were a beloved Tom Hanks or Meryl Streep type that everyone went on an on about in how much they loved to work with them/revered them. But this is decidedly not the kind of thing you hear about Jared Leto so what gives...

STUNT ENSEMBLE IN A MOTION PICTURE

• Black Widow
• Dune
• The Matrix Resurrections
• No Time To Die
• Shang Chi

Instant Impression: Wow. SAG actually went with an all action movie slate this year instead of throwing in a drama or two that had an errant action scene as is their usual tactic. Well done. Five worthy choices here.

Stats: This is the 15th year of the stunt category. It started the year after Daniel Craig's debut as Bond in Casino Royale. They did not nominate Quantum of Solace or Spectre for this prize but Skyfall won. The high-water mark for Marvel Cinematic Universe in this category was 2018 when they had 3 of the five nominees: Black Panther (the winner), Ant-Man and the Wasp, and Avengers: Infinity War. This year they have 2 of the 5 nominees. 

OUTSTANDING CAST OF A MOTION PICTURE 
(please read our annual report on the lame rules in this category and which actors those rules punished this year)

• Belfast
• CODA
• Don't Look Up
• House of Gucci
• King Richard

Instant Impression : Very mainstream choices this time. We're not at all pleased about House of Gucci landing here given its extraordinarily uneven acting but it was a rare drama that people actually chose to see in theaters this year so it makes a kind of sense. Not that the acting in it makes any sense, This is a terrible break for the extraordinary performances of Mass. And it's a tough break for West Side Story too. One of these years awards campaign managers will realize that even with Steven Spielberg pictures, you have to get the movie to the voters in a timely fashion. You'll recall that The Post missed this nomination as well even though it should have been an easy get given what SAG voters like and now the same thing has happened to West Side Story. 

Stats: Though this is NOT a Best Picture prize, some years definitely give off the vibe that many SAG voters think it is. At any rate it's fun to compare it to Oscar's Best Picture race, though it was more fun to do so when they both had five nominations. 

Comments

[thevoid99]

Jared Leto again? Who does he have to blow to get these nominations? He's not even a real actor anymore.

[whunk (he/him)]

Actors know that what Kidman did in BTR was pretty incredible, creating 2 Lucy's for the price of 1. Stewart's performance was good, but one-note. She deserves a nod at the Oscars but not to win. Haven't seen Gucci yet but I remain pretty skeptical of Gaga as a dramatic actress. The only scene which really impressed me in A Star Is Born was the one where she sang/emoted, and she was completely out-acted by Cooper elsewhere.

[jules]

Thanks, brookesboy. Yes, House of Gucci is a lot of fun.

For what it's worth, I was incredibly dubious about Being the Ricardos (I posted about my doubts several times here). I still think the movie is really mediocre (something like The Eyes of Tammy Faye is both more entertaining and substantive) BUT Kidman nailed it. Her performance is way better than Zellweger's. As others have noted, she pulled off something of a dual role - Lucy Ricardo and Lucille Ball.

The Bradley Cooper nomination is great.

[Dan H]

@Working stiff. Why some of my best friends are SAG voters. ;)