The 21st Annual SAG Awards are Sunday. The show prides itself as being the most accurate indicator of who will take home Oscars (though I think the Critics Choice Awards are not far behind). It would be too easy for me to predict that Michael Keaton, Julianne Moore, J.K. Simmons, and Patricia Arquette will win in their respective acting categories, along with “Boyhood” for the Best Picture equivalent: Best Ensemble.
So, I’m going to step outside the box and give-out some upsets. If there are any shockers on Sunday night it will be these (NOTE: These are not necessarily the choices I made on my SAG Awards ballot):
Best Supporting Actor – Simmons is virtually a lock for his work in “Whiplash”, but don’t count out my upset pick, Edward Norton for “Birdman”. I’d rank Robert Duvall (“The Judge”) next. Ethan Hawke (“Boyhood”) and Mark Ruffalo (“Foxcatcher”) are back in the pack.
Best Supporting Actress – Naomi Watts has no business being in this category for “St. Vincent” (she was actually better in “Birdman”). Meryl Streep (“Into the Woods”) has no chance, and Keira Knightley (“The Imitation Game”) is a long shot. So my surprise winner (if there is one) will be Emma Stone for her performance in “Birdman”.
Best Actor – Eddie Redmayne won Best Actor in a Drama at the Golden Globes, and since “The Theory of Everything” received a surprise Best Ensemble nomination, there could be enough love out there for his work as Stephen Hawking to pull-off the upset. Benedict Cumberbatch losing again for “The Imitation Game” is a surprise itself. Steve Carell (“Foxcatcher”) or Jake Gyllenhaal (“Nightcrawler”) would be shockers.
Best Actress – Before everyone began screening Moore’s “Still Alice”, Reese Witherspoon (“Wild”) was considered to be the frontrunner. Could she hold enough support to stun the world? A win for Rosamund Pike (“Gone Girl”) is very unlikely, but would make the Oscar race much more interesting. Jennifer Aniston (“Cake”) and Felicity Jones (“The Theory of Everything”) are off in the distance.
Best Ensemble – “The Theory of Everything”, “The Imitation Game” and “The Grand Budapest Hotel” simply do not belong on this list since their ensembles were just not award worthy. The cast of “Birdman” delivered the best collective acting performance, and is my surprise pick to snag the “actor”.