Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Noms – FILM: Trumbo and Beasts of No Nation Crash the Party

As is every year, the Screen Actors Guild nominations are ripe with some huge snubs and even bigger surprises as to who made it it.

Helen Mirren received THREE nominations this morning, two individual and one as part of a cast. She was a 10-time nominee going into this morning’s announcement and she now stands at 13 with her nominations for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture (Trumbo), Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role (Woman in Gold) and Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role (Trumbo). Her leading co-star Bryan Cranston (no stranger to SAG love himself) also pulled off a Lead nomination, bringing Trumbo’s total to three – the highest total of the day.

Beasts of No Nation, which had been largely written off this awards season, came roaring back with not only a Supporting nomination for Idris Elba (his second of the day, he was also nomination in the television category) but he and the film were nominated in the top category. No one saw that coming. Straight Outta Compton started to receive a lot of support and predictions in this category in the last few days and it ended up here as well. The Big Short and Spotlight round out the Cast category, putting the latter in a very, very secure spot as the Best Picture frontrunner.

Two other big surprises were found in Female Actor in a Leading Role where Sarah Silverman found a nomination for her indie drama I Smile Back and in Male Actor in a Supporting Role, Michael Shannon in 99 Homes follows up his LA critics win with a mention here. This category was especially crazy today as two major snubs also happened: both Spotlight actors – Michael Keaton and Mark Ruffalo – did not show up. That left the sole individual nomination for the film in the hands of Rachel McAdams.

Jane Fonda (Youth) missing out today was a surprise. She’s been everywhere and the Screen Actors Guild is exactly the place where a nomination should have been an easy get for her. She’s a veteran who’s only SAG nomination came in the form of a Cast mention for The Butler. Sylvester Stallone’s Supporting Actor train may have started a bit too late for SAG, as he didn’t show up. Jennifer Lawrence in Joy was a big snub this morning. Or was it? The very late to screen film was met with some pretty bad reviews and a blind vote for her couldn’t make up for that. In-hand screeners went out too late as well, which definitely didn’t help. It’s another classic example of just how important in-hand screeners are to the 2,000 member nominating committee. When you take a look at what got nominated you’ll find that every single film, save Leonardo DiCaprio’s nomination for The Revenant, had an in-hand screener released before the voting period started. This year was also a year that indie studios stepped up their screener game hard while some big studios and their major films waited too long and suffered as a result. We didn’t see The Martian or Joy (20th Century Fox) show up today and those could have and should have been easy gets. The Hateful Eight had no chance because in-hand screeners were intentionally not sent out. The success of films like Trumbo, Beasts of No Nation, 99 Homes and I Smile Back are proof positive of that. Early screeners mean early recognition and the Screen Actors Guild is the first industry award of the season and the best place to either keep your status and momentum or to get the ball rolling. It’s also a good place to get stopped in your tracks.

The FULL list of nominations for the 22nd Screen Actors Guild Awards (film):

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
Beasts of No Nation
The Big Short
Spotlight
Straight Outta Compton
Trumbo

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Bryan Cranston, Trumbo
Johnny Depp, Black Mass
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Cate Blanchett, Carol
Brie Larson, Room
Helen Mirren, Woman in Gold
Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn
Sarah Silverman, I Smile Back

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Christian Bale, The Big Short
Idris Elba, Beasts of No Nation
Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
Michael Shannon, 99 Homes
Jacob Tremblay, Room

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Rooney Mara, Carol
Rachel McAdams, Spotlight
Helen Mirren, Trumbo
Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl
Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs

Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture
Everest
Furious 7
Jurassic World
Mad Max: Fury Road
Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation