SAG Predictions

For the second year in a row, the Screen Actors Guild announces its choices for the best in film and television one day before the Golden Globe nominations announcement. It used to be the other way around, which meant that the Globe list was a more extensive, inclusive list, employing comedy and drama categories as well as lead and supporting races for television, and the later SAG list was a thinner, more specific pool of nominees. As such, I got used to preparing my Golden Globe musings for Thanksgiving week, and didn’t do extensive SAG predictions. After preparing the broader list, it’s less exciting to zero in on a list with fewer nominees. Therefore, please find my SAG predictions for all film categories below with overall notes at the bottom.

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Bruce Dern (Nebraska)
Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave)
Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips)
Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)
Robert Redford (All is Lost)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)
Sandra Bullock (Gravity)
Judi Dench (Philomena)
Meryl Streep (August: Osage County)
Emma Thompson (Saving Mr. Banks)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Bradley Cooper (American Hustle)
Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave)
James Gandolfini (Enough Said)
Tom Hanks (Saving Mr. Banks)
Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle)
Lupita Nyongo (12 Years a Slave)
Julia Roberts (August: Osage County)
June Squibb (Nebraska)
Oprah Winfrey (The Butler)

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
American Hustle
Blue Jasmine
The Butler
Saving Mr. Banks
12 Years a Slave

Last year, SAG voters didn’t nominate “Django Unchained” at all, and that was probably the latest-breaking film of the year. That honor falls to “The Wolf of Wall Street” this year, and while Leonardo DiCaprio is a SAG favorite, earning accolades for “J. Edgar” and “The Departed” on top of his Oscar-nominated performances, I think he’ll sit this race out. The Best Actor race seems locked up unless Michael B. Jordan surges, and the same is true of Best Actress. The supporting races are anyone’s game, especially with multiple players in a few films who could pop up. My dream nominees would be “Mud” and “The Way, Way Back” for ensemble, but I think that “Enough Said” is a more realistic if equally improbable no guts, no glory pick. Check back here Wednesday morning for analysis of the nominees by category, and leave your own thoughts in the comments below! TV races will be predicted tomorrow at TVwithAbe.com!