SAG Nominations!

Best ensemble, yes, but we know who was the star. 

At this time of year there are tons of awards given, nominations announce, and lists compiled. There can start to be a sameness to them after a while (Clooney, Firth, Bridges, Renner for best actor; Streep, Mulligan, Bullock for actress, and so on), so the key is to look and see what stands out about each organization and its particular awards. For the SAG nominations, that’s the “Best Ensemble” category.

The Screen Actors Guild Awards are of course voted on by actors, and actors really care about working together (actors who only care about themselves are usually not very good). So the Ensemble Award is really the biggest award on the board for the SAGs (actually even more so for TV, but we’re a film blog). This year the nominees are “An Education,” “The Hurt Locker,” “Inglourious Basterds,” “Nine” and “Precious.” Interesting group, especially the big cast “Basterds.” But to be honest, I probably would swap them out for the cast of “Star Trek,” who in addition to having to turn in stellar performances as a stand alone movie, also had to be accountable to generations of people who loved the original actors. Good job there.

And now the list of this year’s SAG nominations:

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role

JEFF BRIDGES / Bad Blake - “CRAZY HEART” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

GEORGE CLOONEY / Ryan Bingham - “UP IN THE AIR” (Paramount Pictures)

COLIN FIRTH / George Falconer - “A SINGLE MAN” (The Weinstein Company)

MORGAN FREEMAN / Nelson Mandela - “INVICTUS” (Warner Bros. Pictures)

JEREMY RENNER / Staff Sgt. William James - “THE HURT LOCKER” (Summit Entertainment)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role

SANDRA BULLOCK / Leigh Anne Tuohy - “THE BLIND SIDE” (Warner Bros. Pictures)

HELEN MIRREN / Sofya - “THE LAST STATION” (Sony Pictures Classics)

CAREY MULLIGAN / Jenny - “AN EDUCATION” (Sony Pictures Classics)

GABOUREY SIDIBE / Precious - “PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL ‘PUSH’ BY SAPPHIRE” (Lionsgate)

MERYL STREEP / Julia Child - “JULIE & JULIA” (Columbia Pictures)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role

MATT DAMON / Francois Pienaar - “INVICTUS” (Warner Bros. Pictures)

WOODY HARRELSON / Captain Tony Stone - “THE MESSENGER” (Oscilloscope Laboratories)

CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER / Tolstoy - “THE LAST STATION” (Sony Pictures Classics)

STANLEY TUCCI / George Harvey - “THE LOVELY BONES” (Paramount Pictures)

CHRISTOPH WALTZ / Col. Hans Landa - “INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS” (The Weinstein Company/Universal Pictures)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role

PENÉLOPE CRUZ / Carla - “NINE” (The Weinstein Company)

VERA FARMIGA / Alex Goran - “UP IN THE AIR” (Paramount Pictures)

ANNA KENDRICK / Natalie Keener - “UP IN THE AIR” (Paramount Pictures)

DIANE KRUGER / Bridget Von Hammersmark - “INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS” (The Weinstein Company/Universal Pictures)

MO’NIQUE / Mary - “PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL ‘PUSH’ BY SAPPHIRE” (Lionsgate)

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

AN EDUCATION (Sony Pictures Classics)

DOMINIC COOPER / Danny

ALFRED MOLINA / Jack

CAREY MULLIGAN / Jenny

ROSAMUND PIKE / Helen

PETER SARSGAARD / David

EMMA THOMPSON / Headmistress

OLIVIA WILLIAMS / Miss Stubbs

THE HURT LOCKER (Summit Entertainment)

CHRISTIAN CAMARGO / Col. John Cambridge

BRIAN GERAGHTY / Specialist Owen Eldridge

EVANGELINE LILLY / Connie James

ANTHONY MACKIE / Sgt. J.T. Sanborn

JEREMY RENNER / Staff Sgt. William James

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS (The Weinstein Company/Universal Pictures)

DANIEL BRÜHL / Fredrick Zoller

AUGUST DIEHL / Major Hellstrom

JULIE DREYFUS / Francesca Mondino

MICHAEL FASSBENDER / Lt. Archie Hicox

SYLVESTER GROTH / Joseph Goebbels

JACKY IDO / Marcel

DIANE KRUGER / Bridget Von Hammersmark

MÉLANIE LAURENT / Shosanna

DENIS MENOCHET / Perrier LaPedite

MIKE MYERS / General Ed French

BRAD PITT / Lt. Aldo Raine

ELI ROTH / Sgt. Donny Donowitz

TIL SCHWEIGER / Sgt. Hugo Stiglitz

ROD TAYLOR / Winston Churchill

CHRISTOPH WALTZ / Col. Hans Landa

MARTIN WUTTKE / Hitler

NINE (The Weinstein Company)

MARION COTILLARD / Luisa Contini

PENÉLOPE CRUZ / Carla

DANIEL DAY-LEWIS / Guido Contini

JUDI DENCH / Lillian

FERGIE / Saraghina

KATE HUDSON / Stephanie

NICOLE KIDMAN / Claudia

SOPHIA LOREN / Mamma

PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL “PUSH” BY SAPPHIRE (Lionsgate)

MARIAH CAREY / Ms. Weiss

LENNY KRAVITZ / Nurse John

MO’NIQUE / Mary

PAULA PATTON / Ms. Rain

SHERRI SHEPHERD / Cornrows

GABOUREY SIDIBE / Precious