Courtesy: Indiewire
Importance of the SAG and the Golden Globes
Following the announcement of Screen Actors Guild (SAG), Golden Globes will hit Hollywood with another huge wave of excitement on tomorrow 13:00 (GMT). What is so special about all these nominations and awards? Well, they are precursors to Oscar winners of the year which will be announced in January. Whoever wants to catch an eye among Oscar voters should better earn a nomination in SAG and the Golden Globes. It is all about the momentum along the race, especially when media sets to play an important role nowadays.
Before we look into filmAEO's predictions for the Globes, let us have a quick review on the SAG nominations announced today, and what they would potentially mean at the Oscars.
Review: The 'expected' and 'surprising' SAG nominations
As mentioned in the previous post, it is a highly competitive year of performances, and the term 'snubs' may not truly reflect the nature of the race. The nature would result in either 'within expectations' or 'surprises' that you would think he/she actually well performed.
The Best Supporting Actor category was an example of what filmAEO would regard as 'within expectations'. We were uncertain about Robert Duvall's position in the beginning, but he has earned his place in the end as a veteran. Ethan Hawke, Edward Norton, Mark Ruffalo and J.K. Simmons were the sure bets and they are likely to be announced as nominees at the Globes tomorrow.
There are several underrated performances which are honoured within the SAG nominations. Naomi Watts' performance in St. Vincent was good but you could find better options to fill in your ballots. Yet, her overall presence for the film and dynamic with Bill Murray to whom he would refer as the 'Lady of the Night' caught the eye of both audience and voters. Her Eastern European accent was astonishingly amazing. filmAEO was glad to be surprised by her presence at the SAG.
Another surprise is Jennifer Aniston in Cake. She is similar to last year's Matthew McConaughey when they are actors/actresses that have been around in comedies and B-rated movies. However, if you look at the trailer of Cake, you will see this is a different Jennifer Aniston because of her transformation for the character.
In whatever aspect,
Nightcrawler would be filmAEO's top 10 films of 2014. Jake Gyllenhaal has stepped out of his comfort zone and physically transformed himself into an ambitious and dark character for the film. We thought the film would not place any significance at the Oscars, but reconsidering Jake's performance and nomination, we might see changes in the race.
Best Cast Ensemble
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Birdman
Boyhood
The Imitation Game*
Theory of Everything*
Best Actor in a Leading Role
Steve Carrell (Foxcatcher)
Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game)
Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler)*
Micheal Keaton (Birdman)
Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything)
Best Actress in a Leading Role
Jennifer Aniston (Cake)*
Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything)
Reese Witherspoon (Wild)
Julianne Moore (Still Alice)
Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl)
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Ethan Hawke (Boyhood)
Robert Duvall (The Judge)
Edward Norton (Birdman)
Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher)
J.K. Simmons (Whiplash)
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Patricia Arquette (Boyhood)
Keira Knightley (The Imitation Game)
Emma Stone (Birdman)
Meryl Streep (Into the Woods)
Naomi Watts (St. Vincent)*
*indicates nominations that filmAEO did not predict on.
The Golden Globes Nominations Predictions
Golden Globes nominations bear some differences from SAG as the lead actor and actress categories will split be into subcategories on drama and comedy/musical. filmAEO hopes our predictions for Globes will exceed our 80% accuracy on SAG.
Best Motion Picture - Drama
Boyhood
The Imitation Game
Selma
The Theory of Everything
Unbroken
Best Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical
Into the Woods
Birdman
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Pride
Begin Again
Best Director
Richard Linklater (Boyhood)
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Birdman)
Ava DuVernay (Selma)
Morten Tyldum (The Imitation Game)
David Fincher (Gone Girl)
Best Actor - Drama
Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything)
Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game)
Steve Carell (Foxcatcher)
David Oyelowo (Selma)
Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler)
Best Actress - Drama
Julianne Moore (Still Alice)
Reese Witherspoon (Wild)
Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl)
Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything)
Jennifer Aniston (Cake)
Best Actor - Comedy/Musical
Michael Keaton (Birdman)
Ralph Fiennes (The Grand Budapest Hotel)
Bill Murray (St. Vincent)
Chris Rock (Top Five)
Joaquin Phoenix (Inherent Vice)
Best Actress - Comedy/Musical
Helen Mirren (The Hundred-Foot Journey)
Emily Blunt (Into the Woods)
Amy Adams (Big Eyes)
Keira Knightley (Begin Again)
Angelina Jolie (Maleficent)
Best Supporting Actor
Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher)
J.K. Simmons (Whiplash)
Edward Norton (Birdman)
Johnny Depp (Into the Woods)
Ethan Hawke (Boyhood)
Best Supporting Actress
Patricia Arquette (Boyhood)
Meryl Streep (Into the Woods)
Laura Dern (Wild)
Emma Stone (Birdman)
Keira Knightley (The Imitation Game)
Best Screenplay
Boyhood
Birdman
The Imitation Game
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Gone Girl
Best Animated Feature
Big Hero 6
The Lego Movie
How To Train Your Dragon 2
Best Foreign Language Film
Two Days, One Night
Ida
Mommy
Leviathan
Force Majeure
