The Nominations for the 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards were announced today and for me, this is the real beginning of the 2012 awards season (sorry, People's Choice Awards but there are far too many Twihards with access to a computer to make you legit.) In a way the nominations and subsequent awards given by SAG is one of the highest honors an actor or ensemble can achieve since it is voted on by one's peers. There's no Academy, no Hollywood Foreign Press, no party politics - just you and a few hundred thousand friends. It's a great occasion and as one would imagine, a very humbling night. Plus, the SAG Awards have a pretty good track record for predicting the Academy Award Winners in the Acting categories. Complete upsets are rare, not to mention shocking since it usually means that someone (::coughTheAcademycough::) is out of touch with reality.
There were some surprises in today's announcement but first let start with the not so shocking yet well deserved nods. For Best Male Actor in a Leading Role, the field is filled with quite a few Hollywood Heavyweights including George Clooney as Matt King in "The Descendants”, Leonardo DiCaprio as J. Edgar Hoover in "J. Edgar", and Brad Pitt as Billy Beane in "Moneyball". This category might seem pretty stiff but that's nothing compared to the female giants nominated for Best Female Actor in a Leading Role: Glenn Close as Albert Nobbs in "Albert Nobbs”, Viola Davis as Aibileen Clark in “The Help”, Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher in “The Iron Lady”, Tilda Swinton as Eva in “We Need to Talk About Kevin" and of course, Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe in “My Week With Marilyn”. Usually, Streep is a SAG fav but did you see The Help? (If you haven't, I give you permission to stop reading this and RUN, don't walk to your nearest Blockbuster, Redbox, whatever! Go! Now!) Viola Davis was incredible as were Jessica Chastain as Celia Foote and Octavia Spencer as Minny Jackson who are up against each other for Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role. That's a shame because most of their scenes were together and just fantastic. I expected Octavia to get a nod but Jessica was a pleasant surprise. Also a surprise to me was Armie Hammer as Clyde Tolson in "J. Edgar", Jonah Hill as Peter Brand in "Moneyball" and Melissa McCarthy as Megan in "Bridesmaids". Melissa McCarthy and Jonah Hill I can definitely see as contenders but Armi Hammer? I have nothing against him as an actor - he was badass² in "The Social Network" but I wasn't all that impressed with his portrayal of Clyde.
Now for this season's snubs! The most glaring has to be Ryan Gosling in either "The Ides of March" or "Drive" I personally was more impressed with the latter but come on!! The rest I cannot comment on because I haven't seen their performances but I know the internet is atwitter with outrage over Sandra Bullock, Rooney Mara, and Charlize Theron. As for the Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture category, I'm surprised by the lack of love for "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" - again, haven't seen it but I was under the impression it would be a shoe in. The category is pretty well stacked though with "The Artist", "Bridesmaids", "The Descendents", "The Help", and "Midnight in Paris". I've seen 4 out of 5 of those films and while I'm not going to post my predictions yet, I do believe that those ensembles are all really well deserving.
On to the small screen, they're weren't many surprises here except for Patrick J Adams as Mike Ross in “Suits”. I 'm not surprised he was nominated - I was just under the impression I was the only one watching it. Also missing was my annual favorite, "Mad Men" but because someone who shall not be mentioned couldn't get it together, it was not eligible this year (I'm not bitter...promise...) This however open the field to what I believe will be an HBO vs. HBO showdown with "Boardwalk Empire" and "Game of Thrones." Both shows have the longest casts I've ever seen with 25 and 32 actors nominated respectively. It will be interesting to see if the numbers game works against them or if the SAG voters will be able to discern the quality from the sheer quantity. It's there, but we'll have to tune in at 8PM EST on Sunday, January 29th to find out. In the meantime, I'll be living at the movie theater.
Cinematically yours,
the mixx chic
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