SAG Award nominations announced

Here are the just-announced nominees in the movie categories for the Screen Actors Guild awards. Precious, Inglourious Basterds, and Up in the Air each scored three nods.

Best Cast

An Education

The Hurt Locker

Inglourious Basterds

Nine

Precious

I’m quite surprised by the omission of Up in the Air, particularly since it had the most individual cast-member nominations of any movie. That’s the first knock the movie has taken in the awards season so far. Basterds is certainly on a roll now, with its 10 BFCA nods and now three from SAG. Meanwhile, Hurt Locker, Nine, and Precious solidify their standings as sure-thing Best Picture nominees, while An Education, which I’ve been skeptical about for a Best Picture nod (even though I love it), is showing real promise.

Best Actor

Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart

George Clooney, Up in the Air

Colin Firth, A Single Man

Morgan Freeman, Invictus

Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker

These are the Globe nominees, with Renner taking Tobey Maguire’s spot. It seems to be that these will likely be our five Oscar nominees, unless The Messenger gains enough momentum to help Ben Foster become a stronger contender. Isn’t it amazing to think that Daniel Day-Lewis probably won’t be among the Oscar nominees this year?

Best Actress

Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side

Helen Mirren, The Last Station

Carey Mulligan, An Education

Gabourey Sidibe, Precious

Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

Left out here: Emily Blunt for The Young Victoria, Abbie Cornish for Bright Star, Marion Cotillard for Nine, and Saoirse Ronan for The Lovely Bones. At this point the only one of the four who seems to have a real shot with the Academy is Blunt. My hunch is that not enough SAG voters probably saw the movie. If she does make it in, she’ll bump out either Bullock or Mirren.

Best Supporting Actor

Matt Damon, Invictus

Woody Harrelson, The Messenger

Christopher Plummer, The Last Station

Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones

Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

That’s two snubs this week (after the Golden Globes) for An Education‘s Alfred Molina, all the more strange considering the film’s Best Cast nomination. Damon, Harrelson, Tucci, and Waltz seem unmovable right now; I’d say Plummer, who was left out of the BFCA nominations, is the only one who needs to worry about Molina. Me and Orson Welles‘ Christian McKay also looks like he’s in trouble.

Best Supporting Actress

Penélope Cruz, Nine

Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air

Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air

Diane Kruger, Inglourious Basterds

Mo’Nique, Precious

Here we have the biggest surprise of the morning, with the fabulous Diane Kruger making the cut for her career-best performance as a movie star in Inglourious Basterds. With her costar Mélanie Laurent placed in the lead category on the SAG ballots, Basterds fans were able to focus on her terrific turn. The bad news: That meant no room for A Single Man‘s Julianne Moore. I still give Moore the edge with the Academy, though.