SAG Award Nominations: Emily Blunt Leads; Regina King Is Snubbed
Emily Blunt in “A Quiet Place.”CreditParamount Pictures
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Emily Blunt in “A Quiet Place.”CreditCreditParamount Pictures
If Wednesday’s Screen Actors Guild nominations serve as a traditional Oscar bellwether, there’s good news for an academy worried about falling ratings for the Oscars: Each movie nominated for the top SAG Award was a big box-office hit, and many major stars will be in the mix.But where there’s good news, there’s also bad news for a handful of performers and movies — including some presumed award-season front-runners — hoping to make a strong showing at the SAG Awards to indicate positive Oscar momentum. Unlike many of the other awards organizations to weigh in this season, SAG is full of actors, who also make up the largest voting body of the Academy. Where they go, Oscar often will, too. Let’s take a look at the five film categories and analyze their surprises and snubs.
Best Supporting ActressAmy Adams, “Vice”
Emily Blunt, “A Quiet Place”
Margot Robbie, “Mary Queen of Scots”
Emma Stone, “The Favourite”
Rachel Weisz, “The Favourite” Why not begin with the most prediction-defying category? Many pundits favor Regina King to take the Oscar for her warm performance as the mother in “If Beale Street Could Talk,” but the fact that she didn’t even receive a SAG nomination probably scuttles that notion and could suggest that Amy Adams will finally take home her first Oscar. Instead of King or the “First Man” actress Claire Foy in this category, SAG voters gave us the category-frauded Emily Blunt for “A Quiet Place” and Margot Robbie in “Mary Queen of Scots,” two movies that had not bagged significant acting nominations until now.
Best Supporting ActorMahershala Ali, “Green Book”
Timothée Chalamet, “Beautiful Boy”
Adam Driver, “BlacKkKlansman”
Sam Elliott, “A Star Is Born”
Richard E. Grant, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” On the other hand, the supporting-actor category went relatively according to plan, and after a startling snub by the Golden Globes, Sam Elliott found himself back in the race. That meant no purchase for the Globe-nominated Sam Rockwell in “Vice,” nor for two memorable villains: Michael B. Jordan in “Black Panther” and Daniel Kaluuya in Steve McQueen’s heist thriller “Widows.” The latter film was shut out by SAG entirely, as it was by the Globes. At this point, even a single Oscar nomination for “Widows” would surprise.
Best ActressEmily Blunt, “Mary Poppins Returns”
Glenn Close, “The Wife”
Olivia Colman, “The Favourite”
Lady Gaga, “A Star Is Born”
Melissa McCarthy, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” Could this very well be our final five for Oscar? I’m tempted to think so. The only slight surprise here is double SAG nominee Blunt, but she’s very strong in “Mary Poppins Returns” and will only get stronger as the movie is released. Had the “Roma” star Yalitza Aparicio shown up here, that would have been a boon to the overall Oscar chances for Alfonso Cuarón’s acclaimed black-and-white film, but SAG voters didn’t give a single one of their movie nominations to Netflix.
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Best Actor
John David Washington in a scene from “BlacKkKlansman.”CreditDavid Lee/Focus Features, via Associated Press
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John David Washington in a scene from “BlacKkKlansman.”CreditDavid Lee/Focus Features, via Associated Press
Christian Bale, “Vice”
Bradley Cooper, “A Star Is Born”
Rami Malek, “Bohemian Rhapsody”
Viggo Mortensen, “Green Book”
John David Washington, “BlacKkKlansman”
The nomination is a big win for Washington, who joins four well-established stars in the category. After Wednesday, the “First Reformed” actor Ethan Hawke has got to be considered the dark horse for inclusion: Though he’s picked up plaudits from critics’ groups, neither SAG nor the Globes gave him a nomination. At least we know the academy likes him, because he’s received four Oscar nominations so far (two for acting, and two for screenwriting).
Best Cast“A Star Is Born”
“Black Panther”
“BlacKkKlansman”
“Bohemian Rhapsody”
“Crazy Rich Asians” Last year, three of the films nominated by SAG in this category went on to earn an Oscar nomination for best picture, and I’d expect the same this year for “A Star Is Born,” “Black Panther,” and “BlacKkKlansman.” The cast nod for “Bohemian Rhapsody” here is surprising, given that it’s essentially the Rami Malek show, but I spoke to many members of the SAG nominating committee who loved the film. “Crazy Rich Asians” has the sort of success-vetted ensemble that SAG likes to recognize, but without a supporting-actress nomination for Michelle Yeoh, I don’t expect it to make an Oscar dent. I’m surprised “The Favourite” didn’t make it into this category, since its three actresses were all nominated and SAG clearly liked the movie. “A Star Is Born” did earn that nod, despite an even more intimate focus, so we can assume it’s sitting pretty for Oscar. Still, there’s a sliver of hope out there for “The Favourite,” as well as movies like “Vice” and “Green Book”: While it’s incredibly rare for a film to win best picture without a SAG nomination for its ensemble, the second time that ever happened was just last year, with “The Shape of Water.”
Correction: December 12, 2018An earlier version of this article misstated the third SAG-nominated film likely to get an Oscar best picture nomination. Along with “A Star Is Born” and “Black Panther,” “BlacKkKlansman” may get an Oscar nomination, not “Crazy Rich Asians.”
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Post time 11-12-2018 12:30 PM
