Five takeaways from the SAG Awards field
The awards race officially began today with nominations for the Screen Actors Guild Awards. Five takeaways from the field for the 21st annual show, which airs Jan. 25 (TNT and TBS, 8 p.m. ET/5 PT).
1. Birdman soars.
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's tale of a washed-up superhero actor trying to reclaim his career and life proved worthy of the growing hype with a film-leading four nominations (Michael Keaton for lead actor, Edward Norton and Emma Stone for supporting acting, plus ensemble cast).
Keaton, who starred in 1989's Batman, has been touted as an Academy Awards best actor contender for this life-mirroring role. That compelling awards-season storyline took a huge step forward today.
"His personal story of a commercial actor making the turn to serious was given special credence by the actors guild," says Tom O'Neil of awards blog GoldDerby.com. "We could see a variation of Matthew McConaughey's success story last year with Dallas Buyers Club, the surfer dude turned serious actor."
2. The geeks inherit the nominations.
The SAGs put a heavy emphasis on brains. The Imitation Game and The Theory of Everything were right in the thick of the top film nominations with three each.
Imitation Game earned Benedict Cumberbatch a best actor nod as genius World War II codebreaker Alan Turing. (The actor was also nominated for his high-IQ role in TV's Sherlock: His Last Vow.) Additionally, the movie received an ensemble nomination and supporting actress for Keira Knightley.
The Theory of Everything, which focuses on the love story between theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking and wife Jane, earned a lead acting nomination for Eddie Redmayne (as Hawking) and Felicity Jones (as Jane) and the cast was nominated.
TV's The Big Bang Theory, the sitcom focusing on socially awkward physicists dealing with normal life, received two nominations: Jim Parsons for actor in a comedy and best ensemble.
3. Jennifer Aniston brings it.
Aniston's unglam role as a woman in a suicide support group in Cake has been earning critical respect, and it garnered the former Friends star a key best actress nomination, which could boost her chances in the Oscar race.
"She has been really working it hard getting the word out about this movie," says Dave Karger, chief awards correspondent for Fandango.com. "This is a major triumph. The next question is, can she follow up?"
A bigger surprise was Naomi Watts snagging an actress nomination as a pregnant stripper in St. Vincent. "That was my happiest surprise of the morning," Karger says.
4. Plenty of big players were MIA.
Many major films were shut out at the SAGs, including civil rights drama Selma, Angelina Jolie's Unbroken and Clint Eastwood's American Sniper.Those films weren't completed in time to get award screeners to SAG voting members. Selma director Ava DuVerney, for example, screened an unfinished print in November and continued working on the film.
"They didn't have enough time to reach SAG voters — it was just too early," Karger says.
That could change for later awards, now that the movies are finished. Last year, the same screening issues hurt The Wolf of Wall Street at the SAGs — but it went on to take five Oscar nominations.
The SAGs snub was particularly poignant for Selma and its star David Oyelowo, touted as a front-runner for his Martin Luther King Jr. portrayal. His exclusion reflected a trend in the nominations: No actors of color were nominated in the film acting categories.
5. Modern Family never grows old.
The ABC comedy leads all TV nominations with four — including ensemble, Ty Burrell and Eric Stonestreet for comedy actor (Burrell won last year) and Julie Bowen for comedy actress.