At the risk of this turning into an entertainment-only blog, let’s recap the SAGs.
At first glance, it appears that No Country is now in the lead for an Oscar, since it won best ensemble. However, since There Will Be Blood wasn’t nominated (makes sense, as the only ensemble is DDL, Paul Dano, and a little kid), I don’t know that it automatically gives No Country the lead, though it certainly helps. I’m still just unconvinced that Hollywood will award the Oscar to such a violent, nihilistic film (from what I hear).
The lead acting Oscars though appear to be set, to a deserving DDL and Julie Christie (How in God’s green earth is this woman 66?). Javier Bardem is also apparently a lock, but the award going to Ruby Dee does throw things into a bit of a loop, it seems to me: will Oscar follow suit and give a career award, or will they deny it and go for Blanchett? Or could those split votes and have Tilda or Amy run in? Curious.
As far as TV goes, I was perfectly fine with the awards: glad Fey and Baldwin got their deserved awards, and certainly The Office has a stellar, integral ensemble. I’m also glad The Sopranos is off the air so they can’t win any more awards. I hope Mad Men will get serious consideration next year, since it really is an ensemble piece, and the other nominees are just silly.
It will be interested to see how all these TV awards shake out next year with so many series cut short. I have a feeling that newer pieces (e.g., Pushing Daisies) will get some more love than they would normally.
