December 20, 2007

SAG Went "Wild"...

The once (apparently) unstoppable Atonement continues to lose buzz in the American awards-circuit with today's Best Ensemble snub at the SAG Awards. The acclaimed euro-production has been a very weak presence at the precursor awards (the Golden Globes don't really count since its membership is composed of mostly european "journalists") and this morning’s shutout confirms its lack of support in Hollywood.

Does the SAG snub means Atonement won't win Best Picture? Probably, Yes. Does it mean it won't be nominated? Not really (the film could still benefit from the artistic and tech guilds’ votes).

Both Atonement and the other two notorious snubs: Sweeney Todd and Juno can still bounce back from this misstep with a PGA nomination. Atonement and The Demon Barber have the right elements to make an impact with the producers guild although they could still be overlooked in favor of equally well-crafted projects like 3:10 to Yuma, Eastern Promises or American Gangster (the latter, very likely at this point).

Knightley, MacAvoy, Adams, Depp and Ronan are now in huge trouble... While I don't expect the SAG nominees to match Oscars' 100%, I don't think the Academy will be as Atonement crazy as everyone was predicted a few weeks ago and for that matter, not that Broadway crazy either.

Surprisingly: Mortensen, Keener, Gosling and Hirsch are looking more and more likely to receive nominations; just like Blanchett is likely to earn 2 more in one year...

Two things are clear after the SAG nominations (combined with the meaningful BFCA nods), No Country for Old Men is now the one to beat and Into the Wild is here to stay...

Stay tuned for our Best Picture update

14 comments:

  1. Sweeney didn't receive no noms because the studio did not send out screeners to the SAG members. Some say they wanted to avoid piracy. Sweeney's Oscar chances are still intact!

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  2. Im so glad Atonement was snubbed but I cant believed the guild snubbed Depp!

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  3. I should have known that Into The Wild was not out at all. Stupid me. Bryan, what you are saying is the only explanation I can think of, how else could the Depp snub be justified? In all seriousness, they couldn’t have seen the film beforehand. I think the Atonement snub sucked, completely strange. This year is proving to be wide open, in my humble opinion.

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  4. The Atonement and Sweeney snubs were very surprising, to say the least. I'm kind of glad to see Into The Wild still in the race. The biggest surprises for me were Best Ensemble nominations for 3:10 to Yuma (which I thought was entertaining, but in a Gladiator kind of way; it's not awards material) and for Hairspray (also thoroughly entertaining, and to be fair it did have a great ensemble, but it's here at the expense of more deserving films). I think part of the problem here may be that some of the biggest films this year have such intimate casts that they don't really fit into Ensemble categories. For example, films like Michael Clayton, There Will Be Blood, Atonement, The Diving Bell & The Butterfly, or even No Country For Old Men only really have about 5 or so significant characters/performances apiece (though I suppose No Country got in on a how-could-we-not kind of basis). I was still expecting Juno or Sweeney to make an impression, but I suppose Bryan's explanation makes the most sense for the latter.

    My other big pet peeves with the list are American Gangster, which I still feel is criminally overrated, to say nothing of its potential Oscar chances (this certainly gives it a boost). The other big snub, besides obvious ones like Depp, McAvoy, Linney, Ronan, etc., is Philip Seymour Hoffman. I'm sorry, but he has had one hell of a good year: between Before The Devil Knows You're Dead (a mini-masterpiece seen by few), The Savages (which I'm seeing as soon as it comes to my area), and Charlie Wilson's War (his best bet for a nomination, and from what I hear he's the best thing about the movie). So does anyone else feel that it'd be a crying shame if he didn't get at least one nod this year?

    *breath in, breath out* That's my personal feelings. God, I love the openly biased nature of this blog. So refreshing from thinking realistically.

    Also, I'm thrilled still for No Country, Casey Affleck, and Viggo!

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  5. Myles, I completely agree with you about Philip Seymour Hoffman, he was great in The Savages and BTDKYD, although I haven't seen Charlie Wilson's War, I am sure he's great in it too.

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  6. Johnny Depp has the Globe and Critics choice. He's in the race to be nominated and if he's nominated in the Online his posibilities of nomination are safe but the victory is another history...
    Atonement and Sweeney Todd have big opportunities to be nominated, but i think the only presence from Atonement in the acting categories is Saorsie Ronan... McAvoy is dead in the race and Knightley almost. Adams is still in the race.
    Predictions:
    Still in the race: Johnny Depp and Amy Adams (If they'll win the globes would be a better situation. In the case of Depp i'm sure for 90%), Saorsie Ronan and Cate Blanchett
    Hurts: Vanessa Redgrave, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Keira Knightley
    Deads: James McAvoy, Laura Linney and Helena Bonham Carter

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  7. i am just glad angelina now seems secure in getting an oscar nod - as she should

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  8. Oh no. Does this mean Adams is out of the race? I'll be LIVID if that ho Cate Blanchett makes it in over her.

    And BOO to the Atonement snubbage. Poor Ronan.

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  9. Cate Blanchett ... a "ho"...lol

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  10. Screw the SAGS...how could you nominate Hairspray over Atonement? It's the best film of the year, and will still get a Best Picture nod, along with Sweeney Todd and No Country for Old Men....but I still don't know what the other two wil be....Atonement's buzz is down, but it's a film that Academy voters will stick to a magnet too (the intersecting stories is a stereotypical sign of a film that voters love) So I really doubt that the SAGS will have that much impact on the Oscars.

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  11. are we forgeting or overlooking the fact that 75% of AMPAS members are actors and most of them are members of SAG?

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  12. The only reason Charlie Wilson's War, Atonement as well as Sweeney Todd hadn't sent screeners to the SAG members, but they will obviously not make the same mistake, and will send plenty to AMPAS, and therefore, how sure can we be that AMPAS won't take a slightly different route after seeing the three above mentioned films? Goodbye 3:10 To Yuma and Hairspray....

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  13. Im so glad Atonement was snubbed but I cant believed the guild snubbed Depp!

    piss post

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  14. I can understand the snubb for Sweeney Todd...great movie, but hard to love. Depp, however, was amazing, and I'd be real pissed if he didn't get at least a nomination.

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