The five biggest snubs and surprises from the SAG film nominations
By comparison with the Golden Globes nominations, the Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations don’t tend to deliver major stop-the-presses eyebrow-raisers. Still, the nominations announced Wednesday morning had their share of surprises. Here are the top five:
Regina King, Claire Foy and “Widows” cast forgotten
Two performances that were granted Golden Globes nominations last week — Regina King in “If Beale Street Could Talk” and Claire Foy in “First Man” — failed to make the cut with SAG. Indeed, Barry Jenkins’ adaptation of James Baldwin’s novel and Damien Chazelle’s Neil Armstrong biopic were both entirely shut out. Ditto the critically acclaimed thriller “Widows,” which features a stellar ensemble cast but was also passed over at the Globes, making its awards season prospects look iffy at best.
2019 Screen Actors Guild Award nominations: The full list »
“Roma” shut out
Arguably the most lauded film of the year, Alfonso Cuarón’s “Roma” — a film that has virtually swept year-end critics’ awards thus far — was also entirely shut out. Neither newcomer Yalitza Aparicio nor veteran Marina de Tavira scored individual acting nods, and the film was not recognized in the ensemble category. Though “Roma” is still widely considered a lock for a best picture nomination, it’s worth noting that in the past 23 years, only two films that have failed to earn SAG ensemble nominations have gone on to win the top Oscar.
The lack of recognition for “Roma,” combined with King’s unexpected snub, meant that, despite nominations for the minority-led ensemble casts of “Black Panther,” “BlacKkKlansman” and “Crazy Rich Asians,” only three performers of color (Mahershala Ali for supporting actor and Rami Malek and John David Washington for lead actor) earned individual nominations.
RELATED: #SAGsPrettyWhite? Screen Actors Guild contenders fall short on diversity »
Emily Blunt doubles up
In one of the morning’s bigger surprises, SAG doubled up on its love for Emily Blunt, bestowing nominations for her lead performance in the Disney musical “Mary Poppins Returns” and for her supporting turn in the horror film “A Quiet Place.” Clearly the guild has a special spot in its heart for Blunt — in 2016, she earned an ensemble nomination for the thriller “The Girl On the Train,” which was seen as a rather out-of-left-field pick (she has yet to be nominated for an Oscar).
“Bohemian Rhapsody” sneaks past “Vice,” “The Favourite”
In other odd snubs, Adam McKay’s Dick Cheney biopic “Vice” and Yorgos’ Lanthimos’ gonzo period dramedy “The Favourite” both failed to score best ensemble nominations despite racking up multiple nominations in the acting categories. (Christian Bale and Amy Adams scored nods for “Vice,” and Olivia Colman, Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz were nominated for “The Favourite.”) Instead, the Guild gave an ensemble nod to the Freddy Mercury biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody,” a film that received somewhat middling reviews and scored just one individual acting nod, for Rami Malek in the lead actor category.
Ethan Hawke fails to make the cut (again)
Ethan Hawke, who has earned acclaim and a number of critics’ prizes for his turn as a pastor undergoing a deep spiritual crisis in the drama “First Reformed,” was left out of the SAG party. This snub comes on the heels of Hawke being passed over in the Golden Globes nominations last week, a double whammy that could potentially spell trouble for his Oscar odds.
RELATED: The five biggest snubs and surprises from the SAG TV nominations »
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