Some people were surprised by The Butler’s presence here, but I don’t see any surprises from them. Movies like Gravity and Her (which are frontrunners for a Best Picture nomination) aren’t large cast films, and wouldn’t get the Ensemble nomination over The Butler. The big surprise is Dallas Buyers Club, which is a relatively small cast, and did manage an Ensemble nomination. That could go a long way in getting DBC to a Best Picture nomination. Also, Daniel Bruhl is back in the race with a Supporting Actor nomination for Rush.
Kudos to the SAG members for nominating James Gandolfini for Enough Said. Last year, the SAG went 4/5 for Best Actor (they picked John Hawkes over Joaquin Phoenix), 3/5 for Best Actress (they picked Marion Cotillard for Rust and Bone and Helen Mirren for Hitchcock over eventual nominees Emmanuelle Riva and Quevenzhane Wallis), 4/5 for Best Supporting Actor (though they failed to even nominate Christoph Waltz, who won the award), and 3/5 for Supporting Actress (failing to nominate both Jacki Weaver and Amy Adams). The SAG awards a pretty good barometer for the acting categories, so all five nominees in each category will remain contenders throughout the awards tracking season. They also went 4/5 last year in relation to Best Ensemble to Best Picture. Last year, they picked The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, which failed to get a Best Picture nomination.
BEST ENSEMBLE:
12 Years A Slave
American Hustle
August Osage County
The Butler
Dallas Buyers Club
LEAD ACTOR:
Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years A Slave)
Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips)
Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)
Forest Whitaker (The Butler)
Bruce Dern (Nebraska)
LEAD ACTRESS:
Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)
Sandra Bullock (Gravity)
Judi Dench (Philomena)
Meryl Streep (August Osage County)
Emma Thompson (Saving Mr Banks)
SUPPORTING ACTOR:
Daniel Bruhl (Rush)
Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips)
Michael Fassbender (12 Years A Slave)
James Gandolfini (Enough Said)
Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)
SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years A Slave)
Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle)
Oprah Winfrey (The Butler)
June Squibb (Nebraska)
Julia Roberts (August Osage County)
