Confessions of a SAG Voter: The 2017 Edition

[NUguy514]

(12-07-2019 06:10 PM)eurocheese Wrote:  *applauds

Eddie Murphy, Awkwafina and all the Ensemble nominees - love it. Beanie and Park So-dam - inspired choices.

Thanks! I really loved Beanie (and that movie) and think she's really talented, and I could've nominated most of the Parasite cast individually and had to make very tough choices.

[Brad]

There’s a lot I haven’t seen, but I really like seeing the individual Parasite mentions!

[GGPartition]

Welp! These were weird. They shunned The Farewell, Dolemite is My Name, Little Women, Knives Out, The Two Popes, Banderas and DeNiro. Threw bones to Jamie Foxx, Nicole Kidman, Taron Egerton, nominated the limited ensemble of The Irishman while also giving that film a stunt nomination.

[malcolm1980]

Thank you for nominating Parasite in Best Ensemble.

[NUguy514]

(12-12-2019 01:24 AM)GGPartition Wrote:  Welp! These were weird. They shunned The Farewell, Dolemite is My Name, Little Women, Knives Out, The Two Popes, Banderas and DeNiro. Threw bones to Jamie Foxx, Nicole Kidman, Taron Egerton, nominated the limited ensemble of The Irishman while also giving that film a stunt nomination.

Yep, these are basically as horrific as I thought they'd be; the lack of Banderas and anything Little Women- or Dolemite-related really pisses me off. You can't say I didn't try! At least Parasite got nominated in ensemble. I knew Phoenix and Egerton would get nominations; theirs are the only two films here I haven't seen.

I may have to sit this season's Oscars out; it's looking to be a white sausage fest battle between two films I thought were bloated, self-indulgent bores. My only hope is for Parasite to steal wins, but it's not going to happen.

[Brad]

Not sure if you can attest to this, but EW was speculating that Little Women being shut out was likely attributable to early voting deadline vs. late screening for the film.

[NUguy514]

(12-12-2019 06:26 AM)Brad Wrote:  Not sure if you can attest to this, but EW was speculating that Little Women being shut out was likely attributable to early voting deadline vs. late screening for the film.

There were screenings in the three or so weeks prior to the deadline, and I got the screener for it the Tuesday of Thanksgiving week. In fact, there were fewer screenings of Bombshell (if memory serves), and I got that screener the same day as the Little Women screener. So, I don't know if lack of availability to see Little Women really was a factor, unfortunately.

[NUguy514]

Actually, I'm going to amend my above post a bit: voting for nominations opened November 14th, so a bunch of people might have submitted votes right away before seeing a number of films (that doesn't explain how well Bombshell did, though). I'd say subtitles might've been an issue for Banderas and The Farewell, but Parasite's ensemble was still nominated (THANK GOD).

I'll watch Joker and Rocketman over the next few days, submit my votes as soon as voting opens, and be done with it. I will say, though, that, aside from Lead Actor (pending Phoenix and Egerton), I have at least one option in the film categories for whom I'll be thrilled to vote, which isn't always the case. It's just too bad none of my choices will likely win.

[malcolm1980]

Another explanation on why Bombshell did very well despite being just as late as Little Women was that since the merger of SAG-AFTRA a few years ago, it's not only actors who get to vote but also TV personalities like news anchors, morning show hosts, TV weatherpersons, etc. This explains the more populist leanings of a lot of the nominees recently, the rise of Netflix and movies and TV shows about TV. So Bombshell would definitely appeal more to those people than Little Women.

[NUguy514]

Well, voting opened today, and since I've seen all the nominated film performances, I figured I might as well vote.

OUTSTANDING CAST: Parasite. I loved Bombshell's and Jojo Rabbit's casts also, but this was an easy choice. Parasite's complexity is obviously due in part to the script and Bong's direction, but the cast should be given enormous credit, too. It has little chance of winning, but it's a minor miracle this cast was nominated at all (only the second foreign-language cast to be nominated in the history of the SAG Awards). I feel like OuaTiH is going to win, which grosses me out, but this is going to be that kind of year for me.

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR: Christian Bale. This wasn't an easy choice because none of my five choices were nominated. I almost nominated Bale, though, and thought Egerton was great. Ultimately, though, I think Bale's performance was a bit more grounded, and he was refreshingly free of many of his normal actorly tics. I'm already steeling myself for a Phoenix win.

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS: Lupita Nyong'o. While I loved Charlize, this was one of the easiest choices for me. I am under no illusion that Lupita can actually win the Oscar (this award is a different story), but I don't think any lead actress comes close to her this year. As a side note, I can't convey enough how disappointed I was with Harriet (and, to an extent, Erivo); I wanted that movie to be amazing, but it was just completely by-the-numbers. I was convinced Zellweger would win this award, but I think it could end up being pretty close between her, Lupita, and Charlize (depending on how Bombshell does).

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR: Joe Pesci. I thought really hard about voting for Foxx, and I was loath to give any vote to the turgidity that is The Irishman; however, Pesci really was a complete delight and was the only thing about his film that held my interest, and he was also the first man out when I voted for my nominees. Since none of my top five were nominated, Pesci, as my sixth, gets my vote. I assume Pitt, for doing nothing of note, will benefit from blatant category fraud and win.

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Margot Robbie. I didn't think twice about this vote either. Robbie was the only one of my personal five to make it (and for the correct performance), so she gets my vote. She really does some wonderful, nuanced work here. Funnily enough, I was talking to the student I tutored today about Marriage Story, and she and her family know the lawyer Dern portrays. My student said the real woman is nothing like the character (with which I don't have a problem since creative license is part of the game), but she also represented Dern in her own divorce, which I found hilarious. Honestly, I love Dern, but this is a one-note performance through and through; it's going to feel like two years ago when Janney won: I'll be happy to see Dern be an Oscar winner, but I'll wish it was for a more interesting performance (I'd even be happy with her winning for playing Marmee).

OUTSTANDING FILM STUNT ENSEMBLE: Ford v Ferrari.

OUTSTANDING TV MOVIE/MINISERIES ACTOR AND ACTRESS: Jharrel Jerome and Michelle Williams. I alllllllllmost voted for Jared Harris and Toni Collette, but...I didn't.

OUTSTANDING DRAMA ENSEMBLE: The Handmaid's Tale. If we were talking Season One of Big Little Lies, I'd have voted for that, but...we're not. Season Two was good, but nowhere near the excellence of Season One.

OUTSTANDING DRAMA ACTOR: David Harbour. Meh. Nothing about The Morning Show interests me, I can't stand Peter Dinklage's affect, and I've come to despise Randall (and I kind of think Brown's performance is a little to blame for it). So...Harbour it is.

OUTSTANDING DRAMA ACTRESS: Olivia Colman. I mean, as much as I love Elisabeth Moss, Olivia Colman is an international treasure who is never not absolutely incredible and who should always win awards and give amazing speeches.

OUTSTANDING COMEDY ENSEMBLE: Schitt's Creek. In stark contrast to last year, I had the hardest time with this category because I was so torn between Schitt's Creek and Fleabag. I knew I would vote for Andrew Scott, but I wasn't sure how to decide between Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Catherine O'Hara in comedy actress and their two shows here. My compromise was to split the difference, even though it kills me not to vote for Sian Clifford. I did honestly laugh more during Schitt's Creek, which is not nothing in this particular category.

OUTSTANDING COMEDY ACTOR: Andrew Scott. No contest, Hot Priest for the win!

OUTSTANDING COMEDY ACTRESS: Phoebe Waller-Bridge. As much as I love O'Hara, yeah, Waller-Bridge is absolutely the right choice here.

OUTSTANDING TV STUNT ENSEMBLE: Watchmen.