SAG Ensemble. Our Annual "Fix This Rule" Gripe

You may have noticed a few key names missing when the SAG nominatione for ensemble were announced this morning. No, I'm not talking about the casts of Moonrise Kingdom or Magic Mike or other fine ensembles. I'm talking about the performers from the five nominated pictures who won't get a SAG winner / nomination on their resume from this honor. That might seem like nothing but for working actors whose names aren't above the titles it can mean a lot. So today we honor these actors who deserved better from their guild!

I'll keep talking about this every year until SAG fixes their system. Behold the Five most "Outstanding Casts" according to the Screen Actors Guild and a sampling of people that aren't included in that honor.

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
ARGO (Warner Bros. Pictures)
BEN AFFLECK / Tony Mendez
ALAN ARKIN / Lester Siegel
KERRY BISHÉ / Kathy Stafford
KYLE CHANDLER / Hamilton Jordan
RORY COCHRANE / Lee Schatz
BRYAN CRANSTON / Jack O’Donnell
CHRISTOPHER DENHAM / Mark Lijek
TATE DONOVAN / Bob Anders
CLEA DUVALL / Cora Lijek
VICTOR GARBER / Ken Taylor
JOHN GOODMAN / John Chambers
SCOOT McNAIRY / Joe Stafford
CHRIS MESSINA / Malinov

WHERE IS...?

WHERE IS... SHEILA VAND who was captivating as the Canadian Ambassador's housekeeper Sahar?
No people of color from Argo's cast list were recognized despite several cast members of color with important scenes. 

More awkward snubs after the jump...

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BIFA Gives an Early Boost to "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel"

The British Independent Film Awards are what I like to think of, rightly or wrongly, as the UK version of the Gotham Awards... or maybe the Spirit Awards. British readers can correct that assumption in the comments if it's totally untenable. They've announced their nominations and on the heels of the EFA announcement this is more minor good news for Amour but I'm already off track. That's barely a blip story here since the awards focus (almost) exclusively on British Indies. Let's talk headline.

In terms of Oscar the biggest boost (i.e. more laurels for the FYC ads to tout) goes to the sleeper hit The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel which we should've figured would come back to life at year's end given how well liked slash comfy it is. It even doubles up on the Dames for maximum BAFTA/AMPAS pleasure.

BEST BRITISH INDEPENDENT FILM
Berberian Sound Studio
Broken
Sightseers
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
The Imposter

Broken, a film about a young girl who witnesses a violent attack, leads the BIFA nods with 9 nominations including 4 for acting. Marigold Hotel won 3 acting nominations. Complete list of nominations with commentary after the jump...

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European Film Awards. You've Always Wanted to Visit Malta, Right?

Each year the European Film Awards move to a different location and this year for their 25th anniversary they'll be in Malta. If you vote on their Audience Award prize starting September 1st (today!) you become eligible to win a trip to the ceremony on December 1st (today in 3 months!). Voting closes at the end of October.

vote now

The audience prize nominees, an eclectic bunch, are...

• THE ARTIST (france -- last year's best picture winner)
• BARBARA (germany -- Germany's official submission for the upcoming Oscars)
• THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL (uk)
• CAESAR MUST DIE (italy)
• HASTA LA VISTA/COME AS YOU ARE (belgium)
• HEADHUNTERS (norway) 
• IN DARKNESS (poland - oscar foreign film nominee 2011)
• INTOUCHABLES (france)
• THE IRON LADY (uk - oscar best actress winner)
• SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN (uk)
• SHAME (uk)
• TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY (france, uk, germany)

I'm baffled about the inclusion of The Iron Lady as it certainly doesn't fit any "crowd pleaser" definition previously known to man. Unless by crowd you mean the entire population of StreepStanistan. Obviously in any "people's choice" situation the film that has been the most widely seen has the edge, so this prize is probably going to The Intouchables ($363 million globally) given its global phenom status. The Artist ($133 million globally), and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel ($131 million globally) look like the only possible spoilers.

Lest you dismiss the European Film Awards outright through headscratching over this particular list, please to remember that it's only their audience prize. Their regular nominations don't arrive until early November. Last year they were the only awards body to give the great Melancholia multiple statues.

In related Ocean-Crossing news, The Oscar Foreign Film Submission Charts are now up to detail the official Academy submissions as well as rumors of which films might compete:

• ALBANIA thru ISRAEL - one official submission thus far, one official finalist list, a few rumors
• ITALY thru VIETNAM - one official submission thus far, some rumors

Box Office in Full Franchise Mode

In its second weekend, Marvel's The Avengers broke yet more records (first film to gross over $100 million in its second weekend) and joined the long-legged Katniss of The Hunger Games in her treetop perch. Together they can gaze far far down at the rest of the year's films whilst casually planning their even bigger sequels. Toy Story 3 excepted, they're the two most massive hits since James Cameron's Avatar. Meanwhile in limited release that Exotic Marigold Hotel was at full occupancy. Dark Shadows had a disappointing bow given the expectations generally placed on the Burton/Depp camp in mainstream remake mode. Since they clearly ought to take a break to recharge their creative batteries, maybe this is for the best? Consider that the Dames Judi & Maggie, in far far fewer theaters (roughly 4% of Dark Shadow's screens) and in their second weekend, had double the per screen average.

Johnny Depp's bankability tied down by Avengers fever and Double Dame powers.

TOP TEN 
01 THE AVENGERS  $103.1 (cum $373.1) Review
02 DARK SHADOWS  $28.8 new
03 THINK LIKE A MAN  $6.3 (cum $81.9)
04 HUNGER GAMES  $4.4 (cum $386.9) Review
05 THE LUCKY ONE  $4 (cum $53.7)
06 THE PIRATES! $3.2 (cum $23.1)
07 FIVE YEAR ENGAGEMENT  $3.1 (cum $24.3)
08 THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL $2.6 (cum $3.7) Review
09 CHIMPANZEE $1.6 (cum. $25.5)
10 GIRL IN PROGRESS $1.3 new 

What did you see this weekend? How many times have you seen The Avengers already? I would've seen Dark Shadows (LaPfeiffer awaits) but for visitors from out of town. I shall gaze on my beloved this week. More to come.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (For the Elderly and Beautiful)

This review was originally published in my column at Towleroad

Outsource your elders. Ship them off to India!

Though some media pundits scoffed last weekend when The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel opened for business the same weekend as The Avengers (previously reviewed) it turned out to be a savvy move. Where else were the spandex averse or Downton Abbey addicts to go? (Rather perversely, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel denies Abbey addicts additional showdowns between Lady Crawley and the Dowager Countess; Penelope Wilton and Maggie Smith's stories don't intertwine much) In fact, this British retirees in India dramedy should have opened even wider since they had the nation's second best per screen average and could have cracked the top ten with far fewer theaters than the other movies.

But enough about money. Hotel manager Sonny Kapoor (Slumdog Millionaire's Dev Patel) is a dreamer, not a businessman. His family is losing patience with his dream and time is running out for the hotel. It's running out for the guests, too, as they near the end of their lives. The name of Sonny's establishment is actually “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel for Elderly and Beautiful People”. The movie's title lops off those last five words which only proves Sonny's business model's point: he believes that most countries don't care about their elderly so he'll outsource old age. Come to India and live out your autumn years. [More after the jump]

Dev Patel, drinking the hotel's entire coffee budget before each take.

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