Did you hear that? That was the official sound of the Oscar Race 2016 kicking off, and to the surprise of many after two years are relatively structured and predictable races, we seem to have ourselves a race very much up in the air. The critics groups have announced their choices, the National Board of Review had Mad Max: Fury Road sitting with it’s highest honor, and now, the SAG Award nominations have been released and there’s plenty to discuss. While the nominations here aren’t always a perfect indicator of what’s to come, they certainly offer some insight on what the voters are thinking and it will be interesting to see tomorrow morning how the Golden Globe nominees stack up in comparison because at the moment, some of the fields seem wide open.
For now, take a look below and some of the biggest snubs today as well as some of the biggest surprises (for better or worse).
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.
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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
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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.
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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?
Biggest Surprises
Jacob Tremblay-Room
In terms of the surprise nomination that made me the happiest it would have to be in the form of the pint-sized Jacob Tremblay who helped anchor the moving film Room as Jack, along with Brie Larson who played Ma. As the awards season has progressed, his performance has been consistently overlooked, despite giving a powerful performance that far surpasses many performance this year from actors who have already been in the business for decades. It’s his performance that film truly relies on and he’s equally inquisitive, heartbreaking and warm. He should be an obvious contender rather than a surprise, and I dare anyone to make it through the film without turning into a bucket of sap after a scene with him and a dog.
Bryan Cranston and Sarah Silverman
Bryan Cranston and Sarah Silverman both earned nominations this morning for their respective performances in Trumbo and I Smile Back with the later possibly being the most surprising moment of the announcements. While Silverman is very good in the role, the film (which I didn’t like very much at all) hasn’t exactly won raves. Cranston isn’t as surprising, but before this morning a nomination for him and the film seemed like slim possibilities, listed around eight on personal polls. Is Silverman that Jennifer Aniston of this year? Does Cranston have a lot of goodwill after his work on Malcolm in the Middle and Breaking Bad?
Helen Mirren – Woman in Gold/Trumbo
Here we have, in as good of an example as we’ll ever get, the power of Harvey Weinstein. While I’m sure that Mirren is great in Woman in Gold as she so often is (I personally haven’t watched the film yet) let’s not pretend that this film was only passable by critics standards. Her nomination for this and Trumbo almost seem to be filling the Meryl Streep role of the year, where any performance of hers will be considered award worthy, even if the film surrounding the performance was either inconsequential or downright bad. What makes it more frustrating is that her nomination shut out actresses such as Charlotte Rampling (45 Years), Jane Fonda (Youth) and Carey Mulligan (Suffragette) all of whom were deserving of the spot.
No Mark Ruffalo
I’m sure some would categorize this one as a snub but I’m too pleased with who it allowed to sneak in to call it as such. It is however, without question a surprise that he (or Michael Keaton for that matter) was left out of the Supporting Actor category despite winning raves for his role in Spotlight, one of the only films people consider a front runner. Instead, well deserving actors such as the aforementioned Jacob Tremblay got in, along with Michael Shannon’s great turn in 99 Homes (if I had my way, both Shannon and Andrew Garfield would be up for serious consideration for their roles in that film). The only real possibility I can think of is that he and Keaton split the vote, but it’s an interesting development so early on in the season.
Key & Peele for best Comedy Ensemble
Not much in the television category surprised me, although much of it annoyed me. It’s time for Big Bang Theory and Downton Abbey to be cycled out of the lineup and make room for not only newer shows, but, more importantly, better shows. So yeah, the television category is largely bland and boring in the SAG television field, as always (look to the Golden Globes for more interesting picks) aside from one, peculiar but great choice. Key and Peele getting a nomination is both surprising and well deserved, especially as it’s the first time they’ve gotten one and it’s for their last season. Did enough voters tune in finally? Word of mouth? Their knack for creating viral clips? Who knows, but we can shut up and just be happy about it for now.
Let us know in the comments what nominations surprised you and who you thought was unfairly snubbed?
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