SAG Awards - a brisk bellwether for Oscar night

by Nathaniel R

Did you watch the SAG Awards last night? Apart from one surprising win on the television side (an inebriated, honest Pedro Pascal for The Last of Us) it was a night of frontrunners, continuing to run so far front that their competitors are all well out of focus. Honestly at this point, all the suspense of Oscar season has entirely dissipated (but we'll get to that soon). Given the lack of interesting narrative curlicues and detours and the same faces delivering the same kinds of speeches, the highlight for yours truly was in the presenters.

The grandest entertainment came in the form of a fashionable reunion for the stars of The Devil Wears Prada...

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"Nyad" and "The Color Purple" get a boost from SAG

by Nathaniel R

Annette Bening and Jodie Foster in "Nyad". Photo by Kimberley French for Netflix

The Screen Actors Guild announced their annual nominations this morning and there are some minor plot twists. They rejected May December in totality (Todd Haynes movies do continue to struggle with non-critic based movie awards bodies), embraced Nyad just like the Globes did, and threw new question marks around both Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress. No major plot twists this year, though, like an I Smile Back, Woman in Gold, or St. Vincent. 

The SAG Awards will stream live on Netflix this year – a first! – as we’ve long suspected awards shows will move to streaming like everything else has. Comments and a full list of nominees after the jump…

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SAG Predictions

 by Nathaniel R

Randolph and Giamatti both feel like sure things at SAG.

With SAG currently in the midst of their nominating process and just two weeks until SAG announces their nominees (January 10th), we have to wonder how “set” the acting fields are at this point in awards season. SAG has been known to throw one (sometimes two) curveballs in the traditional categories and year to year the “Outstanding Cast” award is always a mystery as there are no real precursors for it and general individual Oscar traction can only take you so far in a broader category, even if the traction is assumed to be related to the closest Oscar parallel (Best Picture). Let's look at the six film awards from the Screen Actors Guild Awards and predict....

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What Does Oscar Campaigning Look Like During the Strikes?

By Ben Miller

The fall film festival season is upon us, but with a notable exception.  The usual lineup of Hollywood A-listers are (mostly) absent due to studio greed and the continuing SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes.  But so far, the date of the 96th Oscars haven't moved.  Unless the strikes are resolved more quickly than anyone believes they will be, the best films and performances will have to go toe-to-toe without the benefit of a robust campaign.

But what does an Oscar campaign look like if you aren't allowed to campaign?  

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Best Supporting Actor - First Predictions!

by Nathaniel R

Willem Dafoe in "Poor Things" from Searchlight Pictures

Will Robert Downey Jr's scenery chewing in Oppenheimer, John Magaro's stealth beautiful support in Past Lives, and Ryan Gosling's giddy winking joy be "Kenough" several months from now when the Oscar nominations are announced? That's the pressing question at the moment when it comes to the Best Supporting Actor race. They're surely the top violable contenders from the first seven months of the year, give a pair from Air. But can you choose between the foul mouth charisma of Chris Messina and the hesitant gamber cool of Ben Affleck? 

We frame the Best Supporting Actor race this way because who knows what the rest of year might hold in terms of releases...

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