Thursday, December 20, 2007

How the SAG Nominations Changed Everything

Obviously, the SAG nominations are nothing short of shocking. Each category had something that changes the race. Observe:

Best Performance by a Cast
3:10 to Yuma
American Gangster
Hairspray
Into the Wild
No Country for Old Men


I got 2/5 on this one (No Country for Old Men and Hairspray). Um...where the hell is Atonement? And Sweeney Todd? I wasn't sure about them getting in, but the BP frontrunners HAVE to get in. This means that No Country is basically a lock, unless something bizarre happens. Also, Into the Wild and American Gangster have a fighting chance for a nod now (though we'll see what happens with the PGA).

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
George Clooney, Michael Clayton
Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
Ryan Gosling, Lars and the Real Girl
Emile Hirsch, Into the Wild
Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises

I got 2/5 (Clooney and Day-Lewis). Viggo shouldn't have any trouble getting a nomination as is now, and Hirsch and Gosling could easily make it. But the elephant in the room for this category is...WHERE IS JOHNNY DEPP???????? Does this mean that it really is Day-Lewis's category? Or will someone like Clooney or Hirsch take it? Either way, this is a huge dent for Sweeney Todd.

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Julie Christie, Away From Her
Marion Cottilard, La Vie en Rose
Angelina Jolie, A Mighty Heart
Ellen Page, Juno

I got 5/5. I KNEW CATE WOULD GET IN!!! (reminder to self: I need to see The Golden Age) Does this mean that this is what Best Actress will look like? I'm starting to think so. That means no Amy. And it's interesting that 3/5 of the nominees (Christie, Cottilard, Jolie) come from films released in the first half of the year, none of which had a great box office performance. That said, I'm still kind of iffy about the Academy honoring Cate in this category. I dunno...

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men
Hal Holbrook, Into the Wild
Tommy Lee Jones, No Country for Old Men
Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton

I got 3/5. This is by far the category I'm most pleased with for two reasons: one, Tommy Lee Jones got in!!! Two, John Travolta won't get an Oscar nod!!! Not much to say about this category. It's been a bit of a mystery all year (as it usually is), so I wouldn't bet on this being identical to the Oscar lineup.

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Cate Blanchett, I'm Not There
Ruby Dee, American Gangster
Catherine Keener, Into the Wild
Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone
Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton

I got 3/5. Big help for Michael Clayton, even though it wasn't hard to predict that SAG would be crazy for the film. This is the snub that hurts Atonement more than any other, as it snubbed its strongest acting candidate. If it fails to get a nomination at any of the other guilds, then the once undisputed frontrunner could be struggling to make the Best Picture.



This certainly put a spin on this year's season. What do you all make of these nominations?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

no one knows anything...this is going to be a VERY interesting year, extremely interesting. The Big nominees at the GG Atonement, Charlie Wilson's War, and Sweeney Todd were completely shut out. There Will Be Blood is the DDL show so it probably won't get in to BP. Maybe this will be a year just full of Marissa Tomeis? Maybe since Sweeney Todd is very artsy and should have no problems getting support from the tech branches it will get in, same for Atonement

Anonymous said...

Bad for "Sweeney Todd" and Johnny Depp. Great for Emile Hirsch (In my perception, one of the best performances of the year) and Cate Blanchett (ETGA was horrible movie with a great performance of the aussie actress)... I prefer see Cate Blanchett, Amy Adams or even Laura Linney in the fifth spot of Best Actress at the Oscar than the horrendous Keira Knightley