SAG nominees

If you want to enter the Oscar nominations office pool, the nominations from the Screen Actors Guild give a pretty good indication on who will be the final five in the four acting categories (after all, only other actors can vote in these four categories) as well as for best picture (SAG members make up the majority of the Motion Picture Academy's voters).

So here are the SAG nominees announced this morning, the big surprise for me being that Kristin Scott Thomas did not receive a best actress nomination. Melissa Leo, who has received a number of the critics year end awards, filled the spot I thought might go to Ms. Scott-Thomas. I was delighted to see Richard Jenkins get a nomination, but a little bit surprised that Brad Pitt received one over Leonardo DiCaprio. By the same token I was stunned to see Michael Shannon's name omitted from the supporting actor list. I have not seen "Revolutionary Road" yet but have heard nothing but absolute raves about Shannon's performance (although I'm told it's brief.) The fact that neither Shannon nor DiCaprio received a nomination and that "Road" didn't make the final five in SAG's equivalent to best picture makes me question just how good the film turned out to be. Of course it could also be that, because of its late release date, not enough SAG members have had an opportunity to see it.

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Richard Jenkins, "The Visitor"
Frank Langella, "Frost/Nixon"
Sean Penn, "Milk"
Brad Pitt, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Mickey Rourke, "The Wrestler"

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Anne Hathaway, "Rachel Getting Married"
Angelina Jolie, "Changeling"
Melissa Leo, "Frozen River"
Meryl Streep, "Doubt"
Kate Winslet, "Revolutionary Road"

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Josh Brolin, "Milk"
Robert Downey Jr., "Tropic Thunder"
Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Doubt"
Heath Ledger, "The Dark Knight"
Dev Patel, "Slumdog Millionaire"

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Amy Adams, "Doubt"
Penelope Cruz, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
Viola Davis, "Doubt"
Taraji P. Henson, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Kate Winslet, "The Reader"

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
"Doubt"
"Milk"
"Frost/Nixon"
"Slumdog Millionaire"
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"