The Screen Actors Guild announced the nominees for their 15th annual SAG Awards. The winners will be announced on 25 January 2009 in the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California, and telecast on TBS and TNT.
The Los Angeles Times says that, “since its inception, the SAG Awards have become a major bellwether of the Oscars. In fact, if history is any indication, it’s nearly impossible to win an Oscar without first receiving a SAG nomination.” The Times warns, however, that “as of now, the SAG Awards are scheduled to proceed. But the awards show will take place just two days after the guild announces whether it has enough votes from its membership to authorize a strike vote as negotiations with Hollywood studios continue to stall.”
Genre productions faired slightly better this year than last. Nominations of interest include:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture; Brad Pitt as “Benjamin Button” for Male Actor in a Leading Role; Taraji P. Henson as “Queenie” for Female Actor in a Supprting Role
The Dark Knight: Heath Ledger as “Joker” for Male Actor in a Supporting Role.
Heroes: Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series.
As it was last year, genre productions dominated the “Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture” category. The nominees here are: The Dark Knight, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Iron Man, and Wanted.
And once again, Star Trek alumnus William Shatner was nominated for Male Actor in a Drama Series, for his role as “Denny Crane” on Boston Legal (the show was also nominated for Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series).
James Earl Jones will receive the Screen Actors Guild Awards 45th Annual Life Achievement Award.
The full list of nominees is on this page.