SAG Awards 2016: Who Will Go the Distance?
Nominees were announced Wednesday.
— -- Awards season is just getting started with the first major acting nominations -- the Screen Actors Guild -- out today.
On the film side, "Trumbo" leads the nominations with three, while "Beasts of No Nation," "Carol," "Room," "Spotlight," "Steve Jobs," "The Big Short" and "The Danish Girl" each garnered two apiece.
But what does it all mean for Golden Globe and Oscar nominations, which are still ahead? We asked Jordan Zakarin, a writer for Yahoo! Movies, to read the tea leaves for what's ahead for the film awards.
"It's not a bad barometer," he said about the nominations by Hollywood's acting branch. "It's also a little early. A lot of movies are just getting seen."
That includes David O. Russell's "Joy" and Quentin Tarantino's "Hateful Eight," neither of which got any nominations. And then there's the new "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" movie, which no one has seen.
Still among films that have been seen, there were some glaring omissions, including "The Martian" and "Creed."
"The snub I'm most surprised by is 'Creed,'" Zakarin said. "I'm surprised it didn't get a best ensemble nomination or a best supporting actor for Stallone."
Stallone could still get a nod from the Globes or Academy Awards, while some of the SAG nominees may not go the distance. Here are some of Zakarin's predictions coming out of today's SAG nominations.
1. JLaw
Don't count out Jennifer Lawrence, an Academy and Globe favorite, once her film "Joy" opens. Zakarin can't imagine her being left out of the Oscar nominations. "She will charm people," he said.
2. 'Straight Outta Compton'
The biopic about groundbreaking hip-hop group N.W.A was a huge hit and earned one SAG nomination for best cast in a movie. Zakarin said it has a good chance of getting a best picture nomination, depending on how many films the Academy nominates. (It can go up to 10.) "The Big Short," with its star-studded cast and good reviews, stands a good chance as well.
3. 'Spotlight'
Among SAG's best cast nominees, "Spotlight," about the Boston Globe's investigation of sexual abuse by Roman Catholic priests in Massachusetts, appears to have a "lock" on a best picture nomination, Zakarin predicted. He also expected some best supporting actor nominations from the film, including Michael Keaton and Mark Ruffalo. As for Rachel McAdams, who did score an outstanding supporting female actor nomination from SAG, Zakarin expects her name to turn up at both the Globes and Oscars.
Zakarin has no doubt Leonardo DiCaprio will go the distance this award season for his star turn in "The Revenant," he also thinks this "could be his year" to win the Oscar. Meanwhile, defending Oscar champ Eddie Redmayne will likely score another nod for his performance as the first recipient of sex-reassignment surgery. Fellow Brit Idris Elba and Irish actor Michael Fassbender will also continue to get nominations, Zakarin predicted.
On the actress side, favorites Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara, co-stars in the 1950's lesbian love story "Carol," are expected to go all the way to the Oscars. Previous Oscar winner Kate Winslet also has a pretty good shot at continuing. And Zakarin wouldn't be surprised to see relative newcomers Brie Larson, Alicia Vikander and Saoirse Ronan making future lists either.
6. Trumbo
"Trumbo" may be leading the SAG nominations because its stars, Helen Mirren and Bryant Cranston are beloved by their fellow actors, but Zakarin doesn't expect the film's momentum to carry past the Globes, where it may score some nods in the best musical or comedy category. Similarly, Sarah Silverman, who scored a nod for her Sundance film, "I Smile Back," probably won't go the distance. As Zakarin described the SAG nominations, "These are actors voting for their friends."