Saturday’s SAG Awards will be the first one ever streamed live on Netflix. Who will win in the major movie categories? My predictions are:
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Will Win: Robert Downey, Jr. — “Oppenheimer”
Could Win: Ryan Gosling — “Barbie”
Downey Jr. seems to be a lock at this point for SAG and the Oscar. Gosling would be a surprise. Sterling K. Brown (“American Fiction”) and Robert De Niro (“Killers of the Flower Moon”) will also be at the Academy Awards. Willem Dafoe got in this SAG group but was replaced by his “Poor Things” co-star Mark Ruffalo on the Oscars ballot.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Will Win: Da’Vine Joy Randolph — “The Holdovers”
Could Win: Emily Blunt — “Oppenheimer”
Randolph is definitely the favorite here. Blunt won in this category just five years ago for “A Quiet Place”. Jodie Foster (“Nyad”) earned the first Best Actress SAG Award 30 years ago for 1994’s “Nell”. Danielle Brooks (“The Color Purple”) is also on the Oscar list. Penelope Cruz (“Ferrari”) is not.
BEST STUNT ENSEMBLE
Will Win: “John Wick: Chapter 4”
Could Win: “Barbie”
“JW Ch. 4” deserves this SAG Award, but many people could vote for “Barbie” simply because they love the movie. “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3”, “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” and “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One” are the other nominees.
BEST ACTOR
Will Win: Cillian Murphy — “Oppenheimer”
Could Win: Paul Giamatti — “The Holdovers”
Giamatti won Best Supporting Actor for 2005’s “Cinderella Man” but lost the Oscar to George Clooney (“Syriana”). Murphy has momentum after the BAFTA win, but I could see this going to either him or Giamatti. Bradley Cooper (“Maestro”), Colman Domingo (“Rustin”) and Jeffrey Wright (“American Fiction”) are happy to be on the SAG and Oscars ballots.
BEST ACTRESS
Will Win: Emma Stone — “Poor Things”
Could Win: Lily Gladstone — “Killers of the Flower Moon”
I believe Stone will win her second Best Actress SAG, after 2016’s “La La Land”, unless the voters want to reward someone else. Maybe it’s Gladstone. Maybe it’s Carey Mulligan (“Maestro”). Maybe it’s Margot Robbie (“Barbie”). Or maybe it’s Annette Bening (“Nyad”), who won in this category for 1999’s “American Beauty” but lost the Oscar to Hilary Swank (“Boys Don’t Cry”).
BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
Will Win: “Oppenheimer”
Could Win: “Barbie”
I think it’s a coin flip. It won’t be “American Fiction”, “The Color Purple” or “Killers of the Flower Moon”. If “Barbie” wins, the “Barbenheimer” Best Picture Oscars battle truly IS ON!