SAG Awards: Cotillard to Lead French Charge?

Marion Cotillard in Rust and Bone. The SAG Awards usually bypass performers in non-English-language films. This year, however, could be a major exception thanks to two well-received French-language dramas: Jacques Audiard’s Rust and Bone and Michael Haneke’s Amour. The former stars Marion Cotillard and Matthias Schoenaerts; the latter stars veterans Jean-Louis Trintignant (Z, The Conformist) and Emmanuelle Riva (Hiroshima Mon Amour, Kapò), in addition to the more youthful veteran Isabelle Huppert (Entre Nous, Story of Women) in a supporting role.

SAG Awards: Solid but hardly flawless Oscar prognosticators & will Marion Cotillard lead French charge?

The Screen Actors Guild Awards – a.k.a. SAG Awards – 2013 nominations will be announced in the wee hours of the morning of Dec. 12. In the last two decades, the SAG Awards have been solid predictors of the Academy Awards – solid, but not flawless, as each year some SAG nominee or other is left out of the Oscar race.

Last year, for instance, there were three contenders for the SAG Awards who failed to get matching Academy Award nods: Leonardo DiCaprio (J. Edgar), Tilda Swinton (We Need to Talk About Kevin), and Armie Hammer (J. Edgar). Additionally, Best Cast SAG Award nominee Bridesmaids was nowhere to be found on the Academy Awards’ (lengthier) Best Picture roster.

Having said that, it’s always a good Oscar sign to be shortlisted for the SAG Awards. Two of last year’s notable absentees, Michael Fassbender (Shame) and Albert Brooks (Drive), were also absent from the Academy Awards’ list of nominated actors.

Also worth mentioning is that SAG Award voters may love several performances in one single film that, bizarrely (voting procedures may be at play here), fails to get a Best Cast nomination. A recent example: Jason Reitman’s Up in the Air, which earned nods for George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, and Anna Kendrick – but not for Best Cast.

In the end, Up in the Air and its director, Jason Reitman, were both nominated for the Oscars, along with its three awards-season-friendly cast members.

Critics faves not necessarily Screen Actors Guild faves

Here are a few more things to remember about the SAG Awards:

• Critics favorites don’t necessarily make the cut – e.g., last year’s Albert Brooks for Drive.
• Although SAG Award voters tend to ignore non-English-language films, this year things may be different. See further below.
• Benh Zeitlin’s Beasts of the Southern Wild, toplining child actress Quvenzhané Wallis, has been deemed ineligible for the 2013 SAG Awards*.
• Early and widely disseminated screeners are crucial for a movie’s SAG Award success. That was reportedly a key reason for Demián Bichir’s unexpected Best Actor nomination for Chris Weitz’s socially conscious drama A Better Life last year. That may also turn out to be the reason Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained may find trouble getting shortlisted this year.

* Beasts of the Southern Wild was made outside the provisions of the Screen Actors Guild’s contractual rules. That means not only the use of non-professional actors but also actors’ wages that fall below SAG’s stipulated minimum.

Made for a reported $1.8 million (not including marketing and distribution expenses), Beasts of the Southern Wild grossed $11.24 million at the North American box office.

The French are coming?

Michael Haneke’s French-language drama Amour is 2012’s The Artist (in terms of buzz) – minus The Weinstein Company’s awards-season machine. Last year, Michel Hazanavicius’ silent comedy-drama earned Jean Dujardin a surprising Best Actor SAG Award and Bérénice Bejo a Best Supporting Actress nod.

A Sony Pictures Classics release in the United States, Amour‘s potential SAG Award contenders are veterans Emmanuelle Riva, Jean-Louis Trintignant, and Isabelle Huppert.

If that weren’t all, Marion Cotillard is back in Jacques Audiard’s French-Belgian drama Rust and Bone / De rouille et d’os.

Leading ladies Emmanuelle Riva & Marion Cotillard have better chance

In all fairness, Trintignant (and, for that matter, Marion Cotillard’s Belgian leading man, Matthias Schoenaerts) haven’t been at all lucky this awards season on the western side of the North Atlantic. The same goes for Amour‘s supporting player Huppert.

The Rust and Bone and Amour leading ladies, however, have been getting some recognition, particularly Emmanuelle Riva, who, somewhat surprisingly, has turned out to be one of the favorite picks of U.S.-based critics groups.

Cotillard, for her part, has one key advantage: she’s a known quantity in the U.S., having already received a SAG Award nomination and taken home a Best Actress Academy Award for her performance as Edith Piaf in Olivier Dahan’s La Vie en Rose (2007). Besides, she has been featured in major English-language productions such as Rob Marshall’s Nine, Christopher Nolan’s Inception, Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris, and, earlier this year, Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises.

That could mean a strong French presence at the SAG Awards. In fact, if all four (or five?) Amour and Rust and Bone leads are shortlisted, it would mean the strongest “not in the English language” presence in the awards’ 19-year history.

Update: “It would,” but it didn’t. However absurdly, Amour was totally bypassed. Cotillard did, however, get shortlisted for Rust and Bone. Below is the list of the 2013 SAG Awards’ winners and nominees.

See further below our halfway off-the-mark SAG Award predictions. See also: 2013 SAG Award winners.

See also: “Golden Globes 2013: Meryl Streep Breaks Own Record + Marion Cotillard Performs Rare Feat.”

Jennifer Lawrence in Silver Linings Playbook. The Weinstein Company, which has been on an awards season roll in the last several years – e.g., The Artist, The King’s Speech, Nine, The Reader – unsurprisingly helped to land SAG Award nominations for three of the principals in David O. Russell’s Silver Linings Playbook: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, and Robert De Niro, in addition to a Best Cast nod (also including Jacki Weaver, Chris Tucker, and Anupam Kher). Update: Jennifer Lawrence, previously nominated for Debra Granik’s Winter’s Bone (2010), was the SAG Awards’ eventual Best Actress winner.

SAG Awards: Winners & nominations

Film

Best Actress
* Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook.
Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty.
Marion Cotillard, Rust and Bone.
Helen Mirren, Hitchcock.
Naomi Watts, The Impossible.

Best Actor
* Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln.
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook.
John Hawkes, The Sessions.
Hugh Jackman, Les Misérables.
Denzel Washington, Flight.

Best Supporting Actress
* Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables.
Sally Field, Lincoln.
Helen Hunt, The Sessions.
Nicole Kidman, The Paperboy.
Maggie Smith, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.

Best Supporting Actor
* Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln.
Alan Arkin, Argo.
Javier Bardem, Skyfall.
Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook.
Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master.

Best Cast in a Motion Picture

* Argo
Ben Affleck.
Alan Arkin.
Kerry Bishé.
Kyle Chandler.
Rory Cochrane.
Bryan Cranston.
Christopher Denham.
Tate Donovan.
Clea DuVall.
Victor Garber.
John Goodman.
Scoot McNairy.
Chris Messina.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Judi Dench.
Celia Imrie.
Bill Nighy.
Dev Patel.
Ronald Pickup.
Maggie Smith.
Tom Wilkinson.
Penelope Wilton.

Les Misérables
Isabelle Allen.
Samantha Barks.
Sacha Baron Cohen.
Helena Bonham Carter.
Russell Crowe.
Anne Hathaway.
Daniel Huttlestone.
Hugh Jackman.
Eddie Redmayne.
Amanda Seyfried.
Aaron Tveit.
Colm Wilkinson.

Lincoln
David Costabile.
Daniel Day-Lewis.
Sally Field.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
Hal Holbrook.
Tommy Lee Jones.
James Spader.
David Strathairn.

Silver Linings Playbook
Bradley Cooper.
Robert De Niro.
Anupam Kher.
Jennifer Lawrence.
Chris Tucker.
Jacki Weaver.

Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture
* Skyfall.
The Amazing Spider-Man.
The Bourne Legacy.
The Dark Knight Rises.
Les Misérables.

Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award: Dick Van Dyke.

 

Television

Best Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
* Kevin Costner, Hatfields & McCoys.
Woody Harrelson, Game Change.
Ed Harris, Game Change.
Clive Owen, Hemingway & Gellhorn.
Bill Paxton, Hatfields & McCoys.

Best Actress in a Television Movie or Miniseries
* Julianne Moore, Game Change.
Nicole Kidman, Hemingway & Gellhorn.
Charlotte Rampling, Restless.
Sigourney Weaver, Political Animals.
Alfre Woodard, Steel Magnolias.

Best Actor in a Drama Series
* Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad.
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire.
Jeff Daniels, The Newsroom.
Jon Hamm, Mad Men.
Damian Lewis, Homeland.

Best Actress in a Drama Series
* Claire Danes, Homeland.
Michelle Dockery, Downton Abbey.
Jessica Lange, American Horror Story: Asylum.
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife.
Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey.

Best Actor in a Comedy Series
* Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock.
Ty Burrell, Modern Family.
Louis C.K., Louie.
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory.
Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family.

Best Actress in a Comedy Series
* Tina Fey, 30 Rock.
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie.
Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation.
Sofía Vergara, Modern Family.
Betty White, Hot in Cleveland.

Best Ensemble in a Drama Series

* Downton Abbey
Hugh Bonneville.
Zoe Boyle.
Laura Carmichael.
Jim Carter.
Brendan Coyle.
Michelle Dockery.
Jessica Brown Findlay.
Siobhan Finneran.
Joanne Froggatt.
Iain Glen.
Thomas Howes.
Rob James-Collier.
Allen Leech.
Phyllis Logan.
Elizabeth McGovern.
Sophie McShera.
Lesley Nicol.
Amy Nuttall.
David Robb.
Maggie Smith.
Dan Stevens.
Penelope Wilton.

Boardwalk Empire
Steve Buscemi.
Chris Caldovino.
Bobby Cannavale.
Meg Chambers Steedle.
Charlie Cox.
Jack Huston.
Patrick Kennedy.
Anthony Laciura.
Kelly Macdonald.
Gretchen Mol.
Vincent Piazza.
Paul Sparks.
Michael Stuhlbarg.
Shea Whigham.
Anatol Yusef.

Breaking Bad
Jonathan Banks.
Betsy Brandt.
Bryan Cranston.
Laura Fraser.
Anna Gunn.
RJ Mitte.
Dean Norris.
Bob Odenkirk.
Aaron Paul.
Jesse Plemons.
Steven Michael Quezada.

Homeland
Morena Baccarin.
Thimothée Chalamet.
Claire Danes.
Rupert Friend.
David Harewood.
Diego Klattenhoff.
Damian Lewis.
David Marciano.
Navid Negahban.
Jackson Pace.
Mandy Patinkin.
Zuleikha Robinson.
Morgan Saylor.
Jamey Sheridan.

Mad Men
Ben Feldman.
Jay R.
Ferguson.
Jon Hamm.
Jared Harris.
Christina Hendricks.
Vincent Kartheiser.
Robert Morse.
Elisabeth Moss.
Jessica Paré.
Teyonah Parris.
Kiernan Shipka.
John Slattery.
Rich Sommer.
Aaron Staton.

Best Ensemble in a Comedy Series

* Modern Family
Aubrey Anderson-Emmons.
Julie Bowen.
Ty Burrell.
Jesse Tyler Ferguson.
Nolan Gould.
Sarah Hyland.
Ed O’Neill.
Rico Rodriguez.
Eric Stonestreet.
Sofía Vergara.
Ariel Winter.

30 Rock
Scott Adsit.
Alec Baldwin.
Tina Fey.
Judah Friedlander.
Jane Krakowski.
Jack McBrayer.
Tracy Morgan.
Keith Powell.

The Big Bang Theory
Mayim Bialik.
Kaley Cuoco.
Johnny Galecki.
Simon Helberg.
Kunal Nayyar.
Jim Parsons.
Melissa Rauch.

Glee
Dianna Agron.
Chris Colfer.
Darren Criss.
Samuel Larsen.
Vanessa Lengies.
Jane Lynch.
Jayma Mays.
Kevin McHale.
Lea Michele.
Cory Monteith.
Heather Morris.
Matthew Morrison.
Alex Newell.
Chord Overstreet.
Amber Riley.
Naya Rivera.
Mark Salling.
Harry Shum Jr.
Jenna Ushkowitz.

Nurse Jackie
Mackenzie Aladjem.
Eve Best.
Jake Cannavale.
Bobby Cannavale.
Peter Facinelli.
Edie Falco.
Dominic Fumusa.
Arjun Gupta.
Lenny Jacobson.
Ruby Jerins.
Paul Schulze.
Anna Deavere Smith.
Stephen Wallem.
Merritt Wever.

The Office
Leslie David Baker.
Brian Baumgartner.
Creed Bratton.
Clark Duke.
Jenna Fischer.
Kate Flannery.
Ed Helms.
Mindy Kaling.
Ellie Kemper.
Angela Kinsey.
John Krasinski.
Jake Lacy.
Paul Lieberstein.
B.J. Novak.
Oscar Nuñez.
Craig Robinson.
Phyllis Smith.
Catherine Tate.
Rainn Wilson.

Best Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series
* Game of Thrones.
Boardwalk Empire.
Breaking Bad.
Sons of Anarchy.
The Walking Dead.

Tommy Lee Jones as Thaddeus Stevens in Lincoln. Steven Spielberg’s historical/political drama about Abraham Lincoln’s struggle to abolish slavery in the United States – which led to the American Civil War (1861–1865) and the president’s eventual assassination – will most likely earn veteran Tommy Lee Jones a nomination in the SAG Awards’ Best Supporting Actor category. In Lincoln, Jones, under heavy make-up, plays Thaddeus Stevens, one of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Radical Republicans – nowadays a label associated with Far Right Christians, white supremacists, and out-of-control corporatists; back then it meant uncompromising abolitionists.

SAG Awards predictions: From Leonardo DiCaprio to Emmanuelle Riva

After realizing that Marcel Carné’s beautifully acted Children of Paradise / Les Enfants du Paradis is ineligible for this year’s SAG Awards (it was first released in 1945, which means the French presence this year won’t be as strong as it could have been), we’ve reworked our predictions below.

Several French, British, and Australian performers, Meryl Streep, Leonardo DiCaprio, Helen Hunt; and several Silver Linings Playbook, Lincoln, The Master, and (non-French) Les Misérables cast members are all strong possibilities for the SAG Awards 2013.

Below are our predictions in the Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Cast (film) categories, including a number of potential surprises.

Best Actress

Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty.
Marion Cotillard, Rust and Bone.
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook.
Emmanuelle Riva, Amour.
Meryl Streep, Hope Springs.

Other Best Actress possibilities:
Naomi Watts, The Impossible.
Judi Dench, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.
Rachel Weisz, The Deep Blue Sea.
Keira Knightley, Anna Karenina.
Laura Linney, Hyde Park on the Hudson.

Nothing is impossible:
Barbra Streisand, The Guilt Trip.
Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Smashed.
Michelle Williams, Take This Waltz.
Maggie Smith, Quartet.

Best Actor

Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook.
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln.
Hugh Jackman, Les Misérables.
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master.
Jean-Louis Trintignant, Amour.

Other Best Actor possibilities:
Denzel Washington, Flight.
John Hawkes, The Sessions.
Anthony Hopkins, Hitchcock.
Richard Gere, Arbitrage.

Nothing is impossible:
Tom Hanks, Cloud Atlas.
Thure Lindhardt, Keep the Lights On.
Robert Pattinson, Cosmopolis.†

† Pattinson’s fellow limo movie actor Denis Lavant has no chance as Leos Carax’s Holy Motors was not submitted for consideration.

Best Supporting Actress

Amy Adams, The Master.
Sally Field, Lincoln.
Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables.
Helen Hunt, The Sessions.
Amanda Seyfried, Les Misérables.

Other Best Supporting Actress possibilities:
Susan Sarandon, Arbitrage.
Ann Dowd, Compliance.
Rosemarie DeWitt, Your Sister’s Sister.
Kristen Stewart, On the Road.
Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook.

Nothing is impossible:
Nicole Kidman, The Paperboy.
Maggie Smith, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.
Penélope Cruz, To Rome with Love.

Best Supporting Actor

Leonardo DiCaprio, Django Unchained.
Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master.
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln.
Michael Peña, End of Watch.
Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained.

Other Best Supporting Actor possibilities:
Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook.
Javier Bardem, Skyfall.
Alan Arkin & John Goodman, Argo.
Matthew McConaughey, Magic Mike.

Nothing is impossible:
Tom Hiddleston, The Avengers.
Tom Cruise, Rock for Ages.
Michael Fassbender, Prometheus.

Best Cast

Ben Affleck’s Argo.
Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln.
Tom Hooper’s Les Misérables.
David O. Russell’s Silver Linings Playbook.
Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty.

Other Best Cast possibilities:
Amour.
The Master.
The Dark Knight Rises.
Django Unchained.
Moonrise Kingdom.
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.

Nothing is impossible:
Seven Psychopaths.
The Impossible.
To Rome with Love.

SAG Awards website.

Marion Cotillard Rust and Bone image: UGC Distribution / StudioCanal.

Image of eventual 2013 SAG Awards winner Jennifer Lawrence Silver Linings Playbook: The Weinstein Company.

Image of eventual 2013 SAG Awards winner Tommy Lee Jones as Thaddeus Stevens in Lincoln: DreamWorks Pictures / 20th Century Fox.

“SAG Awards: Marion Cotillard to Lead French Charge? + Jennifer Lawrence Among Possible Contenders” last updated in August 2018.