SAG Nominees: Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Motion Picture

The nominees:
VIGGO MORTENSEN, EASTERN PROMISES
EMILE HIRSCH, INTO THE WILD
RYAN GOSLING, LARS AND THE REAL GIRL
GEORGE CLOONEY, MICHAEL CLAYTON
DANIEL DAY-LEWIS, THERE WILL BE BLOOD

My predictions: 2/5, picking Hirsch and Day-Lewis with Clooney as my alternate, but otherwise incorrectly choosing Johnny Depp, James McAvoy, and Tommy Lee Jones.

You gotta love this. This is a truly surprising category full of interesting and mostly deserving actors (I am sure Day-Lewis is great, but without Clooney this list would be a lot better). Gosling's inclusion in particular is a lot of fun and quite unexpected. I am not sure how much Oscar traction he will have, but man do they love him. I am happy for Hirsch, who deserves his buzz, and Viggo Mortensen, who I like for the first time in this role. I wish the film was getting more attention. The real shocker is the omission of Johnny Depp. Could this be the first sign of backlash for "Sweeney Todd"? It is especially weird because he won in this category for "Pirates of the Carribean". Who knows? I am just excited for these surprises. No Denzel Washington, too. That is a breath of fresh air. Bad, bad news for Tommy Lee Jones in "In the Valley of Elah".

Who will win? Who the hell knows? And I love it! Probably Day-Lewis but I have an inkling it might even be Mortensen.
Oscar lineup? Don't ask me. Could it be as simple as replacing Gosling with Depp?