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 "12 Years a Slave," based on the real-life story of Solomon
Northup, garnered nominations in four of SAG's five film
categories, including the organization's top award, best
ensemble cast. British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor, who plays the
free black man sold into slavery on Louisiana plantations, was
nominated for best actor.
And in another endorsement of film on American black history,
the Hollywood actors group revived the awards fortunes of the
civil rights drama "Lee Daniels' The Butler," nominating it for
best ensemble cast and Forest Whitaker as the White House butler
and Oprah Winfrey as his troubled wife in best actor and best
supporting actress categories.
Rounding out the best ensemble cast category — a key indicator
for the Oscar best picture — were family dysfunction drama
"August: Osage County," AIDS treatment tale "Dallas Buyers
Club," which also landed a total of three nominations, and the
1970s con-artist drama "American Hustle," which earned two.
The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) awards are a key indicator during
Hollywood's busy awards season that culminates with the Academy
Awards, which will be handed out in March, because actors make
up one of the largest voting groups for the Oscars. Winners of
SAG awards will be announced in a ceremony in Los Angeles on
January 18.
The SAG nominations underscored the big year for black and
race-themed films and for black filmmakers like Lee Daniels and
Steve McQueen, the British director of "12 Years a Slave."
"Perhaps they've come about because with a black president in
the White House, it's somehow easier to talk about these
subjects than it was before," said Scott Foundas, chief film
critic at Variety.
The nominations also reflected a predilection for intimate films
made with small budgets. "Dallas Buyers Club," starring Matthew
McConaughey as a straight rodeo cowboy fighting for access to
AIDS treatment, was made for a mere $5 million, while "12 Years
a Slave" came in under $20 million. That contrasts with
blockbuster action films that often cost over $100 million.
Although "12 Years a Slave" from Fox Searchlight Pictures won
the top prize at the Toronto International Film Festival, it had
failed to win the best picture prizes from the top critics'
groups, which favored "American Hustle," the space thriller
"Gravity" and the quirky computer-age romance "Her."
"I'm very excited for my dedicated actors who worked so hard to
bring the story of Solomon Northup to the screen," said McQueen.
"They gave their heart and soul for this picture."
Michael Fassbender and newcomer Lupita Nyong'o were nominated in
the best supporting categories for their roles as the evil slave
master Edwin Epps and the slave girl Patsey whom he loves.
VETERAN ACTRESSES RULE
SAG members also threw their weight behind the performances of
veteran actresses and nominated five for best actress who have
all won Oscars.
[to top of second column] |
 Judi Dench, the oldest in the category at 79, was
nominated for her role as the elderly Irish mother seeking the son
taken from her when she was a teenager in "Philomena," while Meryl
Streep was recognized for her turn as a bitter family matriarch in
"August: Osage County," the film adaptation of an acclaimed Broadway
play.
Cate Blanchett, the youngest at 44, was nominated for her lead role
as a socialite fallen on hard times in director Woody Allen's "Blue
Jasmine," while Sandra Bullock received a nod for her turn as an
astronaut tumbling through space in "Gravity." Emma Thompson rounded
out the list as the embittered "Mary Poppins" author P.L. Travers in
"Saving Mr. Banks."
Joining Ejiofor and Whitaker in the best actor
category were McConaughey for "Dallas Buyers Club," veteran Bruce
Dern, for his role as a crotchety old man who thinks he has won the
sweepstakes in "Nebraska," and Tom Hanks as the ship captain in
Somali pirate thriller "Captain Phillips."
In the best supporting actor category, Jared Leto earned a
nomination for his role as a transgender woman in "Dallas Buyers
Club," a film for which both he and McConaughey had to lose a lot of
weight.
"I had not made a film in almost six years," said Leto. "To return
to the screen with this love and support is absolutely insane and
amazing."
Also nominated in the best supporting actor category is James
Gandolfini, who died of a heart attack in June and received a
posthumous nod for his role in independent relationship comedy
"Enough Said."
Alongside Winfrey in the best supporting actress
category was last year's best actress Oscar winner Jennifer
Lawrence, nominated for her role as a loopy wife in "American
Hustle."
Among the notable omissions Wednesday were the ensemble cast in the
Coen brothers' acclaimed portrait of a folk singer "Inside Llewyn
Davis" and the newcomer in the title role Oscar Isaac, and the
biopic "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom" and its star in the role of
recently deceased Nelson Mandela, Idris Elba.
SAG also announced nominations for best television performances of
the year, giving best ensemble cast nods to best drama Emmy winner
"Breaking Bad," along with "Boardwalk Empire," "Downton Abbey,"
"Game of Thrones," and "Homeland."
The upstart in television, streaming company Netflix, garnered three
nominations for its new original programs, political thriller "House
of Cards" and "Arrested Development."
(Additional reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy
in Los Angeles and Patricia Reaney in New York; editing by Vicki
Allen)
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