Ask any Oscar pundit which film is likely to win Best Picture this year and, until this morning at least, they would probably tell you the obvious frontrunner was La La Land. Itâs the kind of film that hits the traditional Oscar demographic pretty hard, telling as it does a story about idealistic artists, inspired by the history of Hollywood but eager to forge on ahead, in a tale thatâs steeped in visual and musical nostalgia. Itâs the kind of self-congratulatory, feel-good-but-feel-kinda-tragic romance that has done a number on the Academy before, in films like Shakespeare in Love, The Artist and Birdman. (Itâs also a pretty good movie, donât get me wrong.)
But some are beginning to wonder if La La Land doesnât have the support it needs from the Oscarsâ largest voting block â actors â in order to remain frontrunner. The turning point seems to be the Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations, which were revealed this morning. As predicted, La La Land is up for Best Actor (Ryan Gosling) and Best Actress (Emma Stone), but it was left out of the guildâs nominations for best ensemble cast, which is essentially their version of âBest Picture.â If La La Land was snubbed, does it stand at chance at the Academy Awards? How can we still think people love La La Land if they donât give it a best ensemble cast nomination?
First off, itâs probably important to note that these are not the most important questions of our age, and that they probably only hold the interest of folks within the industry or folks in the audience who treat the Oscars like a sport. The actual purpose of these awards is to highlight the best artistic achievements of the year, not to keep Las Vegas bookies happy. So even though weâre about to get into the nitty-gritty of this Oscar season shocker, letâs also try to keep our heads straight and remember itâs not all that important in the long run.
20th Century Fox
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And letâs also try to remember what an âensembleâ actually means, shall we? The purpose of this Screen Actors Guild awards category is to highlight a whole cast of great performers. This yearâs nominees certainly seem to all make sense from that perspective. Captain Fantastic, Fences, Hidden Figures, Manchester By The Sea and Moonlight all benefit from a group of actors contributing their craftspersonship, their input, and their personalities to the film. Some films have larger ensembles than others but all of them are comprised of multiple lead actors and supporting performances, the films rely on every single one those performances to convey their overall story.
La La Land, however, is a two-hander. Itâs a film about a jazz musician and an aspiring actress and their personal connection, and the majority of the film consists of just the two of them, alone or together, in their own little world(s). There are a couple of noticeable supporting performances from actors like J.K. Simmons and John Legend, but the majority of the rest of the cast is only on-screen very briefly, and even then they only seem to exist to bring up plot points that have an affect on the love affair between the two protagonists. Calling La La Land an âensembleâ might technically be accurate but it would also be a bit misleading. Think about it: Before Sunset technically had more than two actors in it, but most of you would be hard-pressed to remember any of those actors other than Ethan Hawke or Julie Delpy, wouldnât you?
Lionsgate
So itâs not a snub to say that La La Land doesnât have one of the best ensemble casts of the year. It has two of the best leading performances, and the SAG Awards nominated both of those performances. La La Land is covered. It wasnât nominated in a category because nominating it in that category is arguably a little disingenuous. It doesnât have to âmeanâ anything more than that.
But there might be more consequences from this, certainly. Another film will now win the best ensemble cast category and whatever film that will be is probably going to be propped up as a major Best Picture contender at the Oscars. But again, that ainât a big deal. Weâre all going to get through this, folks. Something is going to win Best Picture, and when you look at all the likely nominees this year, itâs pretty encouraging to discover that the majority of them really are worthy contenders.
The real issue here isâŚÂ Emily Blunt got a Best Actress nomination for The Girl on the Train? And she got that nomination over Ruth Negga in Loving, or Rebecca Hall in Christine, or Kate Beckinsale for Love & Friendship, or Isabelle Huppert for Elle? Where the HECK did that come from? Geez.
Anyway, here is the complete nominees from the 2017 Screen Actors Guild Awards.
THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURES
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
CASEY AFFLECK / Lee Chandler â âMANCHESTER BY THE SEAâ (Amazon Studios and Roadside Attractions)
ANDREW GARFIELD / Desmond Doss â âHACKSAW RIDGEâ (Lionsgate)
RYAN GOSLING / Sebastian ââLA LA LANDâ (Lionsgate)
VIGGO MORTENSEN / Ben â âCAPTAIN FANTASTICâ (Bleecker Street)
DENZEL WASHINGTON / Troy Maxson â âFENCESâ (Paramount Pictures)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
AMY ADAMS / Louise Banks â âARRIVALâ (Paramount Pictures)
EMILY BLUNT / Rachel â âTHE GIRL ON THE TRAINâ (Universal Pictures)
NATALIE PORTMAN / Jackie Kennedy â âJACKIEâ (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
EMMA STONE / Mia â âLA LA LANDâ (Lionsgate)
MERYL STREEP / Florence Foster Jenkins â âFLORENCE FOSTER JENKINSâ (Paramount Pictures)
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
MAHERSHALA ALI / Juan â âMOONLIGHTâ (A24)
JEFF BRIDGES / Marcus Hamilton â âHELL OR HIGH WATERâ (CBS Films)
HUGH GRANT / St Clair Bayfield â âFLORENCE FOSTER JENKINSâ (Paramount Pictures)
LUCAS HEDGES / Patrick Chandler â âMANCHESTER BY THE SEAâ (Amazon Studios and Roadside Attractions)
DEV PATEL / Saroo Brierley â âLIONâ (The Weinstein Company)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
VIOLA DAVIS / Rose Maxson â âFENCESâ (Paramount Pictures)
NAOMIE HARRIS / Paula â âMOONLIGHTâ (A24)
NICOLE KIDMAN / Sue Brierley â âLIONâ (The Weinstein Company)
OCTAVIA SPENCER / Dorothy Vaughan â âHIDDEN FIGURESâ (20th Century Fox)
MICHELLE WILLIAMS / Randi Chandler â âMANCHESTER BY THE SEAâ (Amazon Studios and Roadside Attractions)
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
CAPTAIN FANTASTIC (Bleecker Street)
FENCES (Paramount Pictures)
HIDDEN FIGURES (20th Century Fox)
MANCHESTER BY THE SEA (Amazon Studios and Roadside Attractions)
MOONLIGHT (A24)
TELEVISION PROGRAMS
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series
RIZ AHMED / Nasir âNazâ Khan â âTHE NIGHT OFâ (HBO)
STERLING K. BROWN / Christopher Darden â âTHE PEOPLE V. O.J. SIMPSON: AMERICAN CRIME STORYâ (FX Networks)
BRYAN CRANSTON / President Lyndon B. Johnson â âALL THE WAYâ (HBO)
JOHN TURTURRO / John Stone â âTHE NIGHT OFâ (HBO)
COURTNEY B. VANCE / Johnnie Cochran â âTHE PEOPLE V. O.J. SIMPSON: AMERICAN CRIME STORYâ (FX Networks)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series
BRYCE DALLAS HOWARD / Lacie â âBLACK MIRRORâ (Netflix)
FELICITY HUFFMAN / Leslie Graham â âAMERICAN CRIMEâ (ABC)
AUDRA McDONALD / Billie Holiday â âLADY DAY AT EMERSONâS BAR & GRILLâ (HBO)
SARAH PAULSON / Marcia Clark â âTHE PEOPLE V. O.J. SIMPSON: AMERICAN CRIME STORYâ (FX Networks)
KERRY WASHINGTON / Anita Hill â âCONFIRMATIONâ (HBO)
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
STERLING K. BROWN / Randall Pearson â âTHIS IS USâ (NBC)
PETER DINKLAGE / Tyrion Lannister â âGAME OF THRONESâ (HBO)
JOHN LITHGOW / Winston Churchill â âTHE CROWNâ (Netflix)
RAMI MALEK / Elliot Alderson â âMR. ROBOTâ (USA Network)
KEVIN SPACEY / Frank Underwood â âHOUSE OF CARDSâ (Netflix)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
MILLIE BOBBY BROWN / Eleven â âSTRANGER THINGSâ (Netflix)
CLAIRE FOY / Queen Elizabeth II â âTHE CROWNâ (Netflix)
THANDIE NEWTON / Maeve Millay â âWESTWORLDâ (HBO)
WINONA RYDER / Joyce Byers â âSTRANGER THINGSâ (Netflix)
ROBIN WRIGHT / Claire Underwood â âHOUSE OF CARDSâ (Netflix)
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
ANTHONY ANDERSON / Andre Johnson â âBLACK-ISHâ (ABC)
TITUSS BURGESS / Titus Andromedon â âUNBREAKABLE KIMMY SCHMIDTâ (Netflix)
TY BURRELL / Phil Dunphy â âMODERN FAMILYâ (ABC)
WILLIAM H. MACY / Frank Gallagher â âSHAMELESSâ (Showtime)
JEFFREY TAMBOR / Maura Pfefferman â âTRANSPARENTâ (Amazon)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
UZO ADUBA / Suzanne âCrazy Eyesâ Warren â âORANGE IS THE NEW BLACKâ (Netflix)
JANE FONDA / Grace Hanson â âGRACE AND FRANKIEâ (Netflix)
ELLIE KEMPER / Kimmy Schmidt â âUNBREAKABLE KIMMY SCHMIDTâ (Netflix)
JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS / President Selina Meyer â âVEEPâ (HBO)
LILY TOMLIN / Frankie Bergstein â âGRACE AND FRANKIEâ (Netflix)
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
THE CROWN (Netflix)
DOWNTON ABBEY (Masterpiece/PBS)
GAME OF THRONES (HBO)
STRANGER THINGS (Netflix)
WESTWORLD (HBO)
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
THE BIG BANG THEORY (CBS)
BLACK-ISH (ABC)
MODERN FAMILY (ABC)
ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK (Netflix)
VEEP (HBO)
STUNT ENSEMBLES
Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture
âCAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WARâ (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
âDOCTOR STRANGEâ (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
âHACKSAW RIDGEâ (Lionsgate)
âJASON BOURNEâ (Universal Pictures)
âNOCTURNAL ANIMALSâ (Focus Features)
Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama Series
âGAME OF THRONESâ (HBO)
âMARVELâS DAREDEVILâ (Netflix)
âMARVELâS LUKE CAGEâ (Netflix)
âTHE WALKING DEADâ (AMC)
âWESTWORLDâ (HBO)
LIFE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
53rd Annual SAG Life Achievement Award
LILY TOMLIN
Top Photo: Lionsgate
William Bibbiani (everyone calls him âBibbsâ) is Craveâs film content editor and critic. You can hear him every week on The B-Movies Podcast and Canceled Too Soon, and watch him on the weekly YouTube series Most Craved, Rapid Reviews and What the Flick. Follow his rantings on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.