2010 SAG Award Prediction
Best Cast in a Motion Picture
The Hurt Locker — Christian Camargo, Brian Geraghty, Evangeline Lilly, Anthony Mackie, Jeremy Renner
Many consider the Screen Actors Guild's Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture Award as SAG' best film equivalent. Generally speaking, that ain't true. A "cast," or "ensemble," is exactly what the name implies: a group of performers interacting with one another in a movie. SAG Award voters, whether when selecting their nominees or winners, have almost invariably followed that "Outstanding Cast = Outstanding Group Acting" concept.
For instance, among past SAG Award nominees in the Outstanding Cast category have been How to Make an American Quilt, Marvin's Room, Boogie Nights, The Green Mile, Chocolat, and Bobby — movies that weren't particularly well received upon their release (and some of which turned out to be box-office disappointments), but that are ensemble pieces as opposed to showcases for only one or two performers.
That concept can also be seen at work in the SAG Award winners, e.g., The Full Monty, Traffic, Gosford Park, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Sideways, Crash, and Little Miss Sunshine.
This year is no exception. Each of the five nominees — An Education, Nine, Precious, Inglourious Basterds, and The Hurt Locker — feature a number of important roles. Rob Marshall's Nine, for one, which has been greeted with — at best — mixed reviews, got in thanks to the presence of a stellar cast that includes Daniel Day-Lewis, Penelope Cruz, Nicole Kidman, Marion Cotillard, Kate Hudson, Fergie, Judi Dench, and Sophia Loren.
The Hurt Locker has no such stellar cast, but it does have something else going for it: it's gained the reputation as the year's most prestigious film. Kathryn Bigelow's Iraq War drama, which also features Ralph Fiennes and Guy Pearce, has already won several awards and is a shoo-in to nab a Best Picture Oscar nomination. As a plus, Jeremy Renner received his own private Best Actor SAG Award nod. The combination of quality (the film and performances) and quantity (the number of key roles) should prove irresistible — like what happened last year with Slumdog Millionaire. Or so I think.
The one possible upset is a victory for Quentin Tarantino's revenge fantasy Inglourious Basterds, which has gained quite a bit of momentum since North American film critics began announcing their year-end picks. Basterds is also up for several Golden Globes and for two SAG Awards: best supporting actress Diane Kruger (who doesn't have much of a chance to win) and best supporting actor Christoph Waltz (who doesn't have much of a chance not to win). Even so, Tarantino's latest doesn't quite have the same prestige aura as The Hurt Locker.
And that's why I'm betting on the bomb squad to take home the SAG Award for best cast.
I have to disagree. I really think Precious is going to get it. I think everyone in the cast really did a phenomenal job, and the piece as a whole works cohesively, but at the same time, you have standout performances from Gabourey, Mo'Nique, and even Mariah, and Paula Patton. I also think the fact that he took Gabourey Sidibe who had never been in a movie before, Mo'Nique who was a comedienne and not taken very seriously as an actress, and Mariah Carey who was known as a horrible actress and perceived to be plastic diva, and pretty much launched them into Oscar-worthiness is worth something. Idk. I haven't seen The Hurt Locker yet, but I really think Precious has this one.