The SAG ensemble award has been linked as a good precursor for the Best Picture Oscar nominees. The annual rate is that 4 of the 5 SAG nominees usually make it onto Oscar's final 7-9 shortlist of films — which makes today's mind-boggling decision to nominate "Crazy Rich Asians," for best ensemble cast, a little bewildering.
The film, a low-grade romcom with not an ounce of brilliance in its bones, has been hailed as a major landmark for its inclusive casting, it's the first all-Asian cast since 1993's "The Joy Luck Club" —today's surprising nomination for John M. Chu's film does position it well for a Best Picture Oscar. Blasphemous.
And so, the five SAG nominees — "A Star Is Born," "Black Panther," "BlacKkKlansman," "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Crazy Rich Asians" — are an indicator that Oscar will very likely push for commercial popularity over artistic merit this year. Yes, the order of the day seems to indicate, commercial success, and inclusiveness, will be all over this year's contenders: "A Star is Born," "Bohemian Rhapsody," "Black Panther," "Crazy Rich Asians," "Mary Poppins Returns," and "A Quiet Place" have all made over $150M domestically (Mind you, 'Poppins' hasn't been released yet but its chances of making tons of mullah when released are second-to-none) and are well-positioned as potential nominees. Not to mention "Green Book," a potential winner, has slowly been accumulating growing success at the box-office, and a $50M tally by nomination time is not impossible.
And so, the industry, it seems, is now trying to promote the idea that the cinematic experience is not dead because, look, the best pictures of the year made tons of money.
Some of the more shocking nominees today include Adam Driver and John David Washington's performances in "BlacKkKlansman," (SAG really seemed to like that movie) Emily Blunt in "Marry Poppins Returns," Timothee Chalamet in "Beautiful Boy," Emily Blunt in "A Quiet Place" and Margot Robbie in "Mary Queen of Scots."
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role:
Christian Bale, Vice
Bradley Cooper, A Star Is Born
Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody
Viggo Mortensen, Green Book
John David Washington, BlacKkKlansman
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role:
Emily Blunt, Mary Poppins Returns
Glenn Close, The Wife
Olivia Colman, The Favourite
Lady Gaga, A Star Is Born
Melissa McCarthy, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role:
Mahershala Ali, Green Book
Timothee Chalamet, Beautiful Boy
Adam Driver, BlacKkKlansman
Sam Elliott, A Star Is Born
Richard E. Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role:
Amy Adams, Vice
Emily Blunt, A Quiet Place
Margot Robbie, Mary Queen of Scots (makeup)
Emma Stone, The Favourite
Rachel Weisz, The Favourite
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture:
A Star Is Born
Black Panther
BlacKkKlansman
Bohemian Rhapsody
Crazy Rich Asians
The short version: "Woman Unknown" was a compromise. The jury deadlocked over "Possible Love" and "NAZA," not able to com to terms, fell back on their #3, May el-Toukhy's film.