Paramount Pictures
Hollywood! They just love giving out awards, don’t they? And, in a stunningly lucid move from the moviemaking behemoth, most of those awards are happily and haphazardly doled out during the end of any given calendar year (we’re still confused about the timing of the Oscars, but what can you do). The Screen Actors Guild Awards will not be tossed out to packs of hungry actors until early in the new year, but this morning, SAG did everyone a solid and let a bunch of them know if they should bother to show up for the actual ceremony.
That’s right, the SAG noms (sag-noms?) are here, and they are a bizarre combination of the head-slappingly obvious and the deeply, deeply weird. Awards season may drag, and it’s occasionally bafflingly picks (and snubs) like this that keep the whole thing ticking right along. Let’s take a look at the biggest surprises from this morning’s nominations:
First off, let’s take a gander at the full list of nominees. What stands out to you?
THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURES
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
STEVE CARELL / John du Pont – “FOXCATCHER” (Sony Pictures Classics)
BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH / Alan Turing – “THE IMITATION GAME” (The Weinstein Company)
JAKE GYLLENHAAL / Louis Bloom – “NIGHTCRAWLER” (Open Road Films)
MICHAEL KEATON / Riggan – “BIRDMAN” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
EDDIE REDMAYNE / Stephen Hawking – “THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING” (Focus Features)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
JENNIFER ANISTON / Claire Bennett – “CAKE” (Cinelou Films)
FELICITY JONES / Jane Hawking – “THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING” (Focus Features)
JULIANNE MOORE / Alice Howland-Jones – “STILL ALICE” (Sony Pictures Classics)
ROSAMUND PIKE / Amy Dunne – “GONE GIRL” (20th Century Fox)
REESE WITHERSPOON / Cheryl Strayed – “WILD” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
ROBERT DUVALL / Joseph Palmer – “THE JUDGE” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
ETHAN HAWKE / Mason, Sr. – “BOYHOOD” (IFC Films)
EDWARD NORTON / Mike – “BIRDMAN” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
MARK RUFFALO / Dave Schultz – “FOXCATCHER” (Sony Pictures Classics)
J.K. SIMMONS / Fletcher – “WHIPLASH” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
PATRICIA ARQUETTE / Olivia – “BOYHOOD” (IFC Films)
KEIRA KNIGHTLEY / Joan Clarke – “THE IMITATION GAME” (The Weinstein Company)
EMMA STONE / Sam – “BIRDMAN” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
MERYL STREEP / The Witch – “INTO THE WOODS” (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
NAOMI WATTS / Daka – “ST. VINCENT” (The Weinstein Company)
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
BIRDMAN (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
ZACH GALIFIANAKIS / Jake
MICHAEL KEATON / Riggan
EDWARD NORTON / Mike
ANDREA RISEBOROUGH / Laura
AMY RYAN / Sylvia
EMMA STONE / Sam
NAOMI WATTS / Lesley
BOYHOOD (IFC Films)
PATRICIA ARQUETTE / Olivia
ELLAR COLTRANE / Mason
ETHAN HAWKE / Mason, Sr.
LORELEI LINKLATER / Samantha
THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL (FOX SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES)
F. MURRAY ABRAHAM / Mr. Moustafa
MATHIEU AMALRIC / Serge X.
ADRIEN BRODY / Dmitri
WILLEM DAFOE / Jopling
RALPH FIENNES / M. Gustave
JEFF GOLDBLUM / Dep. Kovacs
HARVEY KEITEL / Ludwig
JUDE LAW / Young Writer
BILL MURRAY / M. Ivan
EDWARD NORTON / Henckels
TONY REVOLORI / Zero
SAOIRSE RONAN / Agatha
JASON SCHWARTZMAN / M. Jean
LÉA SEYDOUX / Clotilde
TILDA SWINTON / Madame D
TOM WILKINSON / Author
OWEN WILSON / M. Chuck
THE IMITATION GAME (The Weinstein Company)
MATTHEW BEARD / Peter Hilton
BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH / Alan Turing
CHARLES DANCE / Commander Denniston
MATTHEW GOODE / Hugh Alexander
RORY KINNEAR / Nock
KEIRA KNIGHTLEY / Joan Clarke
ALLEN LEECH / John Cairncross
MARK STRONG / Stewart Menzies
THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING (Focus Features)
CHARLIE COX / Jonathan Hellyer Jones
FELICITY JONES / Jane Hawking
SIMON McBURNEY / Frank Hawking
EDDIE REDMAYNE / Stephen Hawking
DAVID THEWLIS / Dennis Sciama
EMILY WATSON / Beryl Wilde
A Nomination for Jennifer Aniston
My dislike of the Aniston-starring Cake aside, the actress has done it! Cake is nothing if it’s not an awards-baity role, and Aniston looks to be getting the exact return on her work that she sought: a real nomination from a real voting body. Aniston already has a mess of nominations under her belt for her television work – including both an Emmy and a Golden Globe for Friends — but aside from scatter accolades for The Good Girl, Aniston has been lacking big nods for her film work. This is her first non-Friends SAG nomination.
No Love for Selma
Ava DuVernay’s masterful Martin Luther King, Jr. biopic deserves attention in all areas – including performance – and it’s a shame the feature was shut out of the SAGs. From David Oyelowo to rising star Tessa Thompson to scads of supporting thespians, the film is more than deserving of at least an ensemble nod.
A Bonkers Supporting Actress Section
Meryl Streep in her most boring role in years? Naomi Watts for her work in St. Vincent? No love for other Into the Woods starlets like Anna Kendrick and Emily Blunt or possible dark horses like Carrie Coon or Rene Russo? What a wacky lineup.
No Nomination for Tyler Perry
His work in Gone Girl was impeccable and you know it.
A Nod for The Judge
Did the members of SAG see The Judge?
A Vicious Channing Tatum Shut-Out
Both Mark Ruffalo and Steve Carell snagged nominations for their work in Foxcatcher, but the film’s ostensible lead – no matter where you want to run Carell, the guy is supporting – didn’t grab even one measly nomination.
Foxcatcher and Into the Woods Out of Ensemble Contention
Moreover, Foxcatcher, which boasts a stellar cast, and Into the Woods, which has the year’s most star-studded cast, didn’t grab ensemble nods either. The ensemble picks here are good ones, but there could certainly stand to be plenty more picks.
Nothing for Jessica Chastain and Marion Cotillard
The indie dark horses are frequently popping up on other lists – and Cotillard is snagging award after award – but both of them were fully shut out of any and all SAG nominations. Where’s the love, guys?
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The 21st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards will take place on Sunday, January 25, 2015. You can participate – sort of! – y watching them unfold either on TNT or TBS.
