The road to the Oscars is finally being paved. During the week, nominations for major precursors such as the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild Awards were officially announced. Now that we've seen how the major races are shaping up, let's take a look at the snubs and surprises for both of these small stepping stones on the path to the Academy Awards..
One major difference between the Golden Globes (see a full list of nominees HERE) and the Oscars is their split between dramas and comedy/musicals, giving a wider base for potential nominees. As expected, big-time players like 12 Years a Slave, Gravity and American Hustle found their way into the Best Picture categories. One a more surprising note, the Best Picture - Drama race was rounded out by Oscar-longshots Philomena and Rush. Although I wasn't overly impressed with Philomena when I had a chance to screen it at the Philadelphia Film Festival in October, I was ecstatic to see Ron Howard's Formula 1 racing film receive some recognition. It's held onto the top spot of my personal list of the year's best films for a few months now, and hopefully this type of inclusion can sway the voting body for the Academy Awards into not forgetting about this impressive Fall release. And as far as the Best Picture race is concerned, it's beginning to look like a difficult road ahead for omitted hopefuls such as Saving Mr. Banks, Blue Jasmine, August: Osage County and Dallas Buyers Club.
In the acting races, the Golden Globes handed out nominations to an expected crop of lead actors, while the Best Actress categories have all but confirmed that Brie Larson (Short Term 12) has no shot at being recognized for her fine work in one of the year's most overlooked dramas. With supporting roles, it was an utter shock to see the world's most powerful woman, Oprah Winfrey, snubbed for what very well could be an Oscar winning performance in Lee Daniels' The Butler (even if I disagree with all the acclaim she's been given). Other Golden Globe snubs in the supporting races include Tom Hanks (Saving Mr. Banks) and Jonah Hill (The Wolf of Wall Street).
Finally, diving into the Best Director competition, the Globes surprisingly chose Paul Greengrass (Captain Phillips) over legendary filmmakers Martin Scorsese (The Wolf of Wall Street) and the Coen brothers (Inside Llewyn Davis). In fact, with 4 nominations of its own, Captain Phillips has becomes a huge wild card on the journey to the Academy awards.
On a more meaningful note, the Screen Actors Guild Awards (full list of nominees HERE) certainly has a larger impression on the Oscars' selections in all of the acting categories. This year the SAG showed a shocking amount of love and appreciation for Lee Daniels' The Butler, handing out nominations to leading man Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey and a highly coveted Best Ensemble. Recognition such as this truly boosts the film's Oscar prospects.
There were a handful of other snubs and surprises with this year's SAG Nominations, mainly the overlooking of Robert Redford's remarkable one-man-show in the survival tale All Is Lost and a posthumous recognition for the late James Gandolfini's solid turn in Enough Said. These major precursors have also strengthened the hopes for fringe players in the Supporting Actor race such as Daniel Bruhl (Rush) and Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips), while Jonah Hill keeps falling quickly out of contention.
*** Remember to stay tuned over the next 3 months as I'll continue to dissect all of the major races on the road to March 2nd's Academy Awards.
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