‘Trumbo’ leads SAG noms in murky awards season

On Wednesday morning, some 2,200 actors who normally have to beg for the attention of Hollywood’s bigwigs like everyone else instead had their undivided attention.

Matt Damon has been expected to be in the discussion for The Martian, but his campaign took a significant hit when he didn’t earn a SAG Awards nomination.

Trumbo opens in New Zealand cinemas on December 26.

“Thank you to the Screen Actors Guild for this nomination and for recognizing my work in THE DANISH GIRL – it’s an honor to be among the incredible actresses in this category”.

That’s not, however, to say that all of these noms were widely anticipated.

Mirren is a double nominee, also given a nod for best actress for her work on “Woman in Gold”.

Elba was also nominated for his leading role in TV’s “Luther”.

Moving up the SAG nominations to before the holiday break may influence Oscar choices more than usual – if only because academy members can consider SAG’s choices when deciding which screeners to catch. Once is an honour, twice is surprising, three times is a miracle.

Downton Abbey, which has been hugely successful in the United States, was nominated for best drama ensemble, while Dame Maggie Smith was nominated for outstanding performance by a female actor in a drama series for her portrayal of the Dowager Countess of Grantham.

Supporting actor Christian Bale, The Big Short; Idris Elba, Beasts of No Nation; Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies; Michael Shannon, 99 Homes; Jacob Tremblay, Room.

Now, inevitably, for every feel-good story, there were instances of people whose parades were rained upon.

The prime winners on the SAG awards, chosen by greater than one hundred, 000 actors, typically go on to win Oscars.

Sadly, only Rachel McAdams received an individual recognition for her performance in “Spotlight” despite the equally remarkable performances of her male co-stars.

The nominations definitely surprised, as many actors were left out, possibly killing their Oscar chances.

Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight, David O. Russell’s Joy and Alejandro G. Inarritu’s The Revenant only earned one nomination – The Revenant’s Leonardo DiCaprio was nominated for Lead Actor. “A lot of movies are just getting seen”.

The roughest morning of all, though, was had by films that were completely shut out.

“Trumbo”, a biopic about the 1947 Hollywood blacklist, led the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award nominations on Wednesday with three nods, including in the accolade’s top prize for best ensemble cast.

The award season has started with announcing of nominess for the forthcoming Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAGs) by Anna Faris and Anthony Mackie.

Kate Winslet – Nominee for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role “Steve Jobs”: “This makes me very very happy”.