"Everyone is Nominated... but you!" Our annual SAG Ensemble Rules Exposé

by Nathaniel R

Betty Gabriel is not included in the Get Out ensemble nomination. For shame, SAG!The Film Experience started a tradition of exposing the Screen Actors Guild Awards unfortunate rules regarding ensemble nominations back in 2004. If you'd like a little history as to why we became advocates for change in this matter you can find the details at the bottom of the post. But for now let it suffice to say that SAG's rules for inclusion strike us as punitive for less famous actors and thus unbecoming given that they are a union and unions are ostensibly there to support the workers. The rule boils down to this: you need your own title card in a movie to be so honored - being on a shared title card or in the credits scroll won't do. With a new set of nominees for Outstanding Cast of a Motion Picture let's investigate which valuable players were unjustly left out while their (usually) more famous coworkers were honored, no matter their actual contributions to the movie in question.

2017 SAG OUTSTANDING CAST NOMINATIONS
Who was excluded this year despite their fine work?

THE BIG SICK
Nominees (in billing order): Kumail Nanjiani, Zoe Kazan, Holly Hunter, Ray Romano, Anupam Kher, Zenobia Shroff, Adeel Akhtar 

Who was left out? The first shared title card belonged to Bo Burham and Aidy Bryant, with the second shared card going to Kurt Braunohler and Vella Lovell. Burnham, Braunohler and Bryant played Nanjiani's inner circle of comedian friends. Lovell was fantastic as a would-be arranged bride for Nanjiani but anyone who has seen her on Crazy Ex Girlfriend knows that she is skillful with mixing sharp comedy with dramatic undertow.

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Beauty vs Beast: Guess Who's Coming

Jason from MNPP here wishing everybody a Happy Golden Globe Nomination Day - I hope everybody's favorite thing got a nomination (and since everybody's favorite thing is clearly Helen Mirren I know it's true). We're taking our "Beauty vs Beast" series to a film that did well but maybe not as well as expected (no director, no screenplay) - Jordan Peele's masterful horror comedy Get Out, which we just happened to re-watch last night in an effort to reaquaint ourselves with a movie that was fading from memory.

And I'm glad I did because some of the issues I'd had the first time (I'd found its metaphor a little scattered) came more into focus, and I was reminded of its many strengths - Peele juggles all sorts of genre and tonal trickery with ease, and I love every single performance in the film (yes even whatever Caleb Landry Jones is doing). So much so that choosing the right opponent today for Daniel Kaluuya's justly nominated work in the lead gave me pause - arguments could be made to face him against Catherine Keener or Betty Gabriel here. But ultimately I laugh harder at Allison Williams eating Fruit Loops and listening to the Dirty Dancing soundtrack than I do at any other joke, and so...

Whose team are you on?

Chris

Rose

build quizzes

PREVIOUSLY Rooster done got himself trampled against Mattie in our True Grit poll last week - Hailee Steinfeld took over 3/4s of your vote. Said cal roth:

"Steinfeld is B R I L L I A N T in this. "The soul already fled the body" or something like that. She reminded me a young Jodie Foster in the way she is fierce above all things, without even realizing she isn't that strong. That category fraud still stings."

"Shape of Water" way way out front at the Critics Choice Awards

by Nathaniel R

As always, full disclosure: I am a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association. So this award announcement is always filled with anxiety for me because I want to be heard. We all want to be heard. Nevertheless most of the longer shots I rallied for didn't make it, he said, pushing away a single tear. The Shape of Water led with 14 nominations... and it was so far out front it nearly doubled the nominations afforded to its nearest rivals (a clump of them jammed together with 8 nominations each:  Call Me By Your Name, Lady Bird, Dunkirk, and The Post).

As ever I'm disappointed that the nominations double so heavily as "general Oscar pundit predictiveness" but here they are in their fullness with very immediate and perhaps too impulsive commentary after the jump.

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"Get Out" and "Call Me By Your Name" Divvy Up the Gotham Awards

by Nathaniel R

the oldest and youngest nominee flanking the big winner: Lois Smith, Jordan Peele, and Brooklynn Prince

Get Out (with 3 wins) and Call Me By Your Name (with 2 including Best Feature) dominated the Gotham Awards last night taking the bulk of the prizes. That didn't leave much for other contenders though A24 movies The Disaster Artist and Lady Bird scored both leading acting awards. Entirely shut out despite multiple nominations: The Florida Project, Good Time, and I Tonya. More after the jump...

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Spirit Award Nominations 2017

by Nathaniel R

The Film Independent Spirit Award nominees hit today. Tessa Thompson and Lily Collins were on hand to announce the awards with the longest stretch of time between nominations and awards. The ceremony, as ever, will be held the day before the Oscars. So that's Saturday, March 3rd 2018 this time.

It was a huge day for Sony Pictures Classics (the company received 13 nominations in total) and for A24, too. Almost every single movie A24 released this year was nominated for at least a little something. As far as underseen pictures the happiest nominee this morning has to be Sony Pictures Classics' The Rider (reviewed here) which was a busy film on the festival circuit but has yet to be released. 

The Nominees Are...

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