SAG Nominations Announced

Seeing as this is the first year I've posted the Oscar precursors so religulously (that was intentional), my blog is going acronym crazy. We finally come to SAG, which is a bit more identifiable than, say, the DFWFCA.

The Screen Actors Guild Nominees:

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role

RICHARD JENKINS / Walter Vale - “THE VISITOR”

FRANK LANGELLA / Richard Nixon - “FROST/NIXON”

SEAN PENN / Harvey Milk - “MILK”

BRAD PITT / Benjamin Button - “THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON”

MICKEY ROURKE / Randy - “THE WRESTLER”

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
ANNE HATHAWAY / Kym - “RACHEL GETTING MARRIED”
ANGELINA JOLIE / Christine Collins - “CHANGELING”
MELISSA LEO / Ray Eddy - “FROZEN RIVER”
MERYL STREEP / Sister Aloysius Beauvier - “DOUBT”
KATE WINSLET / April Wheeler - “REVOLUTIONARY ROAD”

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
JOSH BROLIN / Dan White - “MILK”
ROBERT DOWNEY, JR. / Kirk Lazarus - “TROPIC THUNDER”
PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN / Father Brendan Flynn - “DOUBT”
HEATH LEDGER / Joker - “THE DARK KNIGHT”
DEV PATEL / Older Jamal - “SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE”

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
AMY ADAMS / Sister James - “DOUBT”

PENÉLOPE CRUZ / Maria Elena - “VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA”

VIOLA DAVIS / Mrs. Miller - “DOUBT” (Miramax Films)
TARAJI P. HENSON / Queenie - “THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON”
KATE WINSLET / Hanna Schmitz - “THE READER”

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
DOUBT
FROST/NIXON
MILK
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON

SAG is in talk of a strike, the primary reason for which - to my knowledge - is the meager amount of royalties actors collect when their work is streamed online. Well, they're not gonna get much sympathy from me now that they've leapt onto the bandwagon and nominated "Slumdog Millionaire" for Best Ensemble. This is ridiculous. I'm not a hater who bucks the status quo just because, and I'm actually considering adding Danny Boyle's Mumbai fantasy to my own top ten list (it is one of the year's finest movies), but one thing it's surely NOT notable for is its acting. "The Dark Knight," "Rachel Getting Married," hell, even "Burn After Reading" are all far more deserving of this spot.

Meanwhile, SAG also chose to perpetuate the Oscar chances of the year's showiest and noisiest performance: Angelina Jolie in "Changeling." If the love for Jolie is so unstoppable, give her a nod for the fierce physicality of her sultry turn in "Wanted," not this baity movie star mismatch.

Supporting Actress has a very conspicuous snub: Rosemaire DeWitt, who surely gave one of the year's finest performances as Rachel in "Rachel Getting Married." Swap her in for Taraji P. Henson, whose token mammy, Queenie, may be an audience favorite but may also be the most over-praised, over-the-top caricature since Renee Zellweger's Ruby from "Cold Mountain."

At this point, I think the Supporting Actor category could easily be repeated for Oscar. I'd say the same for Lead Actor, though I can't imagine Pitt beating out DiCaprio or Eastwood when it comes down to the big five. His work in "Button" is solid, for sure, but not particularly impressive, and any transformative kudos belong to the makeup and special effects departments. As Benjamin, Pitt is little more than a vessel with a pretty face -- a mystical, monotone figure whose impacts on those around him are far more interesting than anything going on within the man himself (you know, except for that reverse-aging thing).

CHEERS to the rest of this group, especially: Richard Jenkins, Melissa Leo, Robert Downey Jr., and the lovely & amazing Kate Winslet.