The Screen Actors Guild nominations were announced last Friday, but in the holiday rush, they fell through the cracks. Perhaps that's because most SAG talk these days revolves around possible strike action. The big player here is undoubtedly Doubt, which picked up four individual nods and one for its primary cast.

The categories and nominations are...

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

• Anne Hathaway for Rachel Getting Married
• Angelina Jolie for Changeling
• Melissa Leo for Frozen River
• Meryl Streep for Doubt
• Kate Winslet for Revolutionary Road

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

• Josh Brolin for Milk
• Robert Downey, Jr for Tropic Thunder
• Philip Seymour Hoffman for Doubt
• Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight
• Dev Patel for Slumdog Millionaire

• Amy Adams for Doubt
• Penelope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona
• Viola Davis for Doubt
• Taraji P. Henson for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Kate Winslet for The Reader

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons
• Doubt
• Frost/Nixon
• Milk
• Slumdog Millionaire

• The big winner was Doubt, which picked up five nominations, including best cast and two for best supporting actress. Additionally, only four members of the cast were considered primary enough to warrant mentioning for best cast, and all four earned individual nominations. Impressive.
• There were very few surprises in nominations, as only five individual nominees did not also pick up Golden Globe nods.
• Of those five, I'm happiest about Richard Jenkins nomination for The Visitor, as it is great to see him get recognition.
• Conversely, I'm most disappointed that Marisa Tomei didn't add to her collection of nominations for her performance in The Wrestler
• Heath Ledger's chances for an Oscar nomination for playing The Joker in The Dark Knight increased dramatically after earning his second nomination.
• Robert Downey, Jr also earned a second nomination for his comedic performance in Tropic Thunder. However, I would still be surprised if he was nominated. Very happy, but surprised.

- C.S.Strowbridge

Date posted: 2008-12-28