SAG Award Nominations: Snubs and Surprises

Biggest Snubs

Oscar Isaac-Show Me a Hero

I’m just going to call this one for what it is. Bill Murray being nominated for A Very Murray Christmas is bullshit. Oscar Isaac not being nominated for Show Me A Hero, one of 2015’s most timely and riveting dramas is bullshit. It’s almost laughably ludicrous. However, SAG is an actors group and Murray is a well respected and well liked actor in the business while Isaac is still, some could say, gaining his feet in the industry. I would largely disagree with this since Isaac is about to star in what will likely be the biggest film in a decade with Star Wars: The Force Awakens. While the actor is no stranger to being snubbed come awards season, Isaac delivered one of the most nuanced, quietly powerful and ultimately emotional performances of the 2015 season, and hopefully today’s nominations are simply a fluke.

Love & Mercy

I don’t know if I’d say that it was an obvious and definite contender, but it had definitely seemed as if the Brian Wilson flick Love & Mercy had been picking up some attention in the last few weeks, particularly Paul Dano. The film however got zero nominations from the Screen Actors Guild and Dano got pushed out of what is already a highly competitive Supporting Actor race, at least for the time being.

The Revenant is Passed Over

Despite my own, lukewarm, feelings on the upcoming The Revenant, it’s markedly odd that it got passed over, even when it’s leading star Leonardo DiCaprio snagged a nod for his performance. With Alejandro Inarritu and Emmanuel Lubezki on board after their Oscar wins last year you’d think it would be an obvious contender. While I don’t foresee this becoming a trend with the upcoming nominations for the Golden Globes and the Oscars, it’s interesting to see Straight Outta Compton get a vote, having earned strong reviews but suspected to be forgotten come awards season. Even more interesting is Trumbo scoring a nod, reminding us all that voters and Hollywood love movies about Hollywood.

Mr. Robot for Drama Series

People just can’t seem to let go of their vice grip on Downtown Abbey. This is a shame considering it could have easily been replaced by USA’s newest show this year, the critically acclaimed Mr. Robot. Star Rami Malek scored a nod for his turn as the tortured Eliot but the show it seems will sit this year out with a voting committee that tends to honor longevity.

No Love for Ridley Scott’s The Martian

Sure, I never truly bought that Matt Damon gave one of the best performances of the year and I still hold residual frustration against director Ridley Scott for his Exodus: Gods and Kings fiasco, but The Martian was arguably the greatest crowd pleaser of the year, with a hell of a supporting cast on board. There seemed to be little doubt that The Martian would miss out on any award it was available for here, so to see it miss out on all of them is one of the truest, big snubs of the season so far. We can make excuses for films such as Joy and The Hateful Eight but assuming they didn’t reach enough voters in time (or maybe, more interestingly, they simply didn’t enjoy them) but The Martian has been out for a while now, so why’d it so completely miss it’s mark?