by Nathaniel R
EEAAO an easy choice for "Best Ensemble" discussions.
With the SAG Awards airing tonight -- we expect to see encore speeches from Blanchett, Fraser, Bassett, and Quan since the acting winners tend to get set in stone once televised ceremonies begin -- let's talk acting categories that Oscar doesn't have. Here are my personal favourites for Casting, Ensemble, Stunts, and Juvenile Performances, a couple of prizes which SAG has and two that they don't...
CASTING / ENSEMBLE
These lineups in my own personal awards are never 5/5 matches. Some films are harder to cast than others and ensemble performances are what happens on set and in that magic transfer from script to screen. All-star casts, for example, are often feats of contract negotiations and creative scheduling solutions but are they great casting? Wouldn't another set of famous faces have worked just as fabulously in, say, Glass Onion (which doesn't quite make the best ensemble list though we respect its SAG nomination)? It's a much different proposition to find the right lesser-knowns or, say, entirely new or child actors that are perfect for their parts. It's also a thrill to see when stars are cast artfully against type or in ways you aren't quite expecting -- which was the case with Everything Everywhere All At Once this year (which is nominated in both categories). In terms of casting there's also thinking outside the box when it comes to mixing and matching actors -- who knew for example that Ralph Fiennes and Anya Taylor-Joy would prove so riveting together in such a conceptually preposterous face-off in The Menu and that placing Hong Chau between them would make it even better? See the nominees in both categories here.
As for SAG's cast choices for Outstanding Cast (Babylon, Banshees of Inisherin, EEAAO, The Fabelmans, Women Talking) they all make exact sense in terms of what always SAG looks for in this category: crowded films with lots of familiar faces! But it's not my lineup.
RRR has such enjoyable "stunt" scenes
STUNTS
SAG's lineup in this category this year (Avatar 2, Batman, Black Panther 2, Top Gun 2, The Woman King), is better than usual so we only have a couple of differences in our final lineup. We especially can't be without the non-SAG action film RRR in this category!
JUVENILE PERFORMANCE
The lineup is foreign-heavy this year with two of Oscar's Best International Feature Film nominees (Close and The Quiet Girl) hogging 60% of the category.
CHECK OUT THE FILM BITCH AWARDS HERE. We're 18 categories in!