Awards Season: SAG Spreads the Love

December 15, 2011

The SAG nominations were handed out this week, and while The Help led the way with four nods, it wasn't the only film that earned multiple nominations.

The categories and nominations are...

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

• The Artist
• Bridesmaids
• The Descendants
• The Help
• Midnight in Paris

• Glenn Close for Albert Nobbs
• Viola Davis for The Help
• Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady
• Tilda Swinton for We Need to Talk About Kevin
• Michelle Williams for My Week with Marilyn

• Demian Bichir for A Better Life
• George Clooney for The Descendants
• Leonardo DiCaprio for J. Edgar
• Jean Dujardin for The Artist
• Brad Pitt for Moneyball

• Kenneth Branagh for My Week with Marilyn
• Armie Hammer for J. Edgar
• Jonah Hill for Moneyball
• Nick Nolte for Warrior
• Christopher Plummer for Beginners

• Berenice Bejo for The Artist
• Jessica Chastain for The Help
• Melissa McCarthy for Bridesmaids
• Janet McTeer for Albert Nobbs
• Octavia Spencer for The Help

• The Adjustment Bureau
• Cowboys & Aliens
• Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2
• Transformers: Dark of the Moon
• X-Men: First Class

• I'm a little surprised by The Help, as 75% positive reviews is generally not enough to be a major player during Awards Season. That said, there are some who have been saying for months that Octavia Spencer should have her Oscar acceptance speech done already, and this result just gives that argument more weight.
• On the other hand, The Artist practically screams Awards Season Player and its three nominations were no surprise.
• Midnight in Paris earned a nomination for ensemble cast, but none of the individual actors were singled out. I'm not sure if that helps or hurts its chances. It is probably an underdog.
• Meryl Streep earned yet another major award nomination and I suspect The Iron Lady will garner her her umpteenth Oscar nomination as well.
• Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill earned nominations for Moneyball and it is nice to see its reviews translate into nominations. Even with those reviews, I wasn't expecting this success.
• I'm especially happy for Melissa McCarthy nomination for Bridesmaids, which is not the usual Awards Season film.

- C.S.Strowbridge

Filed under: Awards Season, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Cowboys and Aliens, Warrior, The Adjustment Bureau, Bridesmaids, Beginners, The Descendants, Midnight in Paris, X-Men: First Class, My Week with Marilyn, The Help, Albert Nobbs, Moneyball, J. Edgar, We Need to Talk About Kevin, The Iron Lady, A Better Life, The Artist