SAG Nominations and Chicago Winners

Sometimes the Screen Actors Guild provides surprises on nomination day, but this year, not so much. There's the continued clusterf*** over Slumdog Millionaire, with two nominations for the film, Best Ensemble (really?) and Best Supporting Actor, Dev Patel (isn't he the lead?). The rest of the ensemble nominations are for films aiming for Best Picture Oscar nominations. Couldn't the guild member's think outside the box? Where's the surprise nomination? Where's this year's Hustle & Flow, The Station Agent, or 3:10 to Yuma? Just because you love a film and think its amazing, doesn't mean it has the best ensemble performance. There's always talk about the Oscars adding a Best Ensemble category, but I'm kind of glad that they don't, because you know if they did, it would be the same exact linup as the Best Picture category.

The Nominations:

Ensemble:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Doubt
Frost/Nixon
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire

Actor:
Richard Jenkins - The Visitor
Frank Langella - Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn - Milk
Brad Pitt - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler

Actress:
Anne Hathway - Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie - Changeling
Melissa Leo - Frozen River
Meryl Streep - Doubt
Kate Winslet - Revolutionary Road

Supporting Actor:
Josh Brolin - Milk
Robert Downey Jr. - Tropic Thunder
Phillip Seymour Hoffman - Doubt
Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight
Dev Patel - Slumdog Millionaire

Supporting Actress:
Amy Adams - Doubt
Penelope Cruz - Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis - Doubt
Taraji P. Henson - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Kate Winslet - The Reader


The Chicago Film Critics Association also handed out awards today. More Slumdog! Zzzzzzz... Their winners were:
Picture: WALL-E
Director: Danny Boyle - Slumdog Millionaire
Actor: Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler
Actress: Anne Hathaway - Rachel Getting Married
Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight
Supporting Actress: Kate Winslet - The Reader
Original Screenplay: WALL-E
Adapted Screenplay: Slumdog Millionaire
Cinematography: The Dark Knight
Score: WALL-E