Unofficial Academy Awards Discussion Board

Flipp, I wasn't referring to the SAG group not voting Lincoln because the others weren't there, merely highlighting the fact that SAG voters almost without incident select the largest cast list on the ballot. I was suggesting that had the Lincoln list been LONGER, it might have won simply because it was the larger list. I say nothing about the quality of the actors in Lincoln because I think they are all excellent (seeing Brit Jared Harris playing the too-American Ulysses S. Grant was amusing). I also think the Argo cast is largely remarkable. I would have accepted either win really, but a Lincoln victory would have surprised me far more than a Les Mis victory would have.

I haven't seen it since the first episode of Season 3, but the entire season comes out on DVD tomorrow, so...

It was Phyllis Logan, not Penelope Wilton. You should've trusted your initial impression. Besides, she was very clearly speaking with a Scottish accent.

Unmistakable in his identity was Allen Leech up at the podium who plays the Crawley's former chauffeur Tom Branson. Leech is widely rumored to be gay. Interesting that Downton Abbey SPOILER ALERT his on-screen wife, Lady Sybil, was dying in childbirth over on PBS at around the same time they were all up accepting the award for Best Ensemble (richly deserved, by the way).

I thought it was Phyllis Logan, but according to the Huffington Post it was Penelope Wilton:

"We are so not expecting this. Ahhhh, shut the French Windows. Will somebody grab this?" – Penelope Wilton, accepting the best drama ensemble Screen Actors Guild award for "Downtown Abbey." CBS said it was Phyllis Logan, but got the quote wrong, referring to it as "front windows" when she clearly said "French windows" so now I'm totally confused. Was it 66year-old Wilton or 57 year-old Logan? They do resemble one another in longshot.

Big Magilla wrote:Penelope Wilton's "shut the French windows" speech was apparently made up on the fly. One wonders what she would have said had she had to accept for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel as well. She and Dev Patel the only cast member from that film present.

Um, that wasn't Penelope Wilton. It was Phyllis Logan, the Scottish actress who plays Mrs. Hughes, the main housekeeper of Downton Abbey. I don't think Wilton was even at the SAGs.

Are all these old ladies just starting to look the same to you, Magilla?

OscarGuy wrote:The SAG cast list for Lincoln was Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Hal Holbrook, Tommy Lee Jones, James Spader and David Strathairn only. No John Hawkes, Jackie Earle Haley, TIm Blake Nelson, Jared Harris, Lee Pace, Michael Stuhlbarg, Walton Goggins or others. Had they all been on the list, I have little doubt it would have prevailed.

Interesting. It seems you are saying the SAG voters did not give award the amazing performances in LINCOLN because not all of the amazing performances were nominated? What a rude thing to do to both the nominated actors and the non-nominated actors. I am sure the snubbed members of the LINCOLN ensemble wanted their fellow cast members to be recognized even though they could not.

When SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE won Ensemble with its generally unremarkable cast over the four other films with far more impressive performances, I took it to mean Ensemble was now more about the actors in general saying they just loved this particular film than the others. Like I said, winning two individual acting awards is nothing to look down on, but it still felt like the SAG members were saying they just enjoyed ARGO overall a little more than LINCOLN. DGA and WGA can still turn the tide for LINCOLN, but it really needs those wins now more than ever.

Rolo, your assuming Lincoln was and is the presumptive frontrunner. Until the Oscar nominations, Lincoln was looking like an also-ran with Zero Dark Thirty doing a bang-up job with critics and Argo starting to pick up steam. Regardless, there's a fact people seem to forget. In spite of having a huge, impressive cast, only SEVEN of the people in Lincoln were on the Best Cast list for the SAG awards. That's not very many at all. Argo's list was an impressive 13 names. Les Mis was at 12. The SAG rules are a bit bizarre when it comes to who is eligible. Infamously, Michael Pena, one of the most central performers in the cast of Crash was not eligible because his name wasn't in the credits solo, he was paired on screen with another actor making him ineligible for the award. With SAG, your name cannot be listed alongside another actor's, so unless your contract specifies you get a single credit for the film, you're not eligible for SAG.

The SAG cast list for Lincoln was Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Hal Holbrook, Tommy Lee Jones, James Spader and David Strathairn only. No John Hawkes, Jackie Earle Haley, TIm Blake Nelson, Jared Harris, Lee Pace, Michael Stuhlbarg, Walton Goggins or others. Had they all been on the list, I have little doubt it would have prevailed.

As for the show itself, I thought it zipped along better than most. The opening "I am an actor" speeches were short and funny unlike some of the long-winded speeches of the past. With no host and no presenters hogging the spotlight everthing went smoothly. The only disappointment was the low wattage representation from Downton Abbey.

We all know Maggie Smith doesn't like to travel, but with four nominations she might have made the effort. Elizabeth McGovern was at the Globes two weeks ago. Dan Stevens is Jessica Chastain's Broadway co-star. If she could get off from The Heiress so could he. Penelope Wilton's "shut the French windows" speech was apparently made up on the fly. One wonders what she would have said had she had to accept for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel as well. She and Dev Patel the only cast member from that film present.

OscarGuy wrote:I would hardly call Argo's win unexpected, Rolo. It was my prediction as well as the prediction of several others.

Unexpected because it does not fit into the narrative of LINCOLN winning. If LINCOLN had taken Ensemble as well as Lead and Supporting Actor, we could stop hearing about the tide turning to ARGO to win Best Picture. Now we have to deal with ARGO winning the PGA, the SAG Ensemble, and possibly the WGA and DGA. I still feel like LINCOLN is going to win Best Picture, but it just seems like Hollywood is not all that enthusiastic about it.

Losing Ensemble is not that big of deal for films like THE HURT LOCKER or MILLION DOLLAR BABY since they were films driven by the strength of their director. LINCOLN, though, had an amazing ensemble. For it to lose to the slightly less impressive ARGO cast just seems odd. Winning Lead and Supporting is great, but LINCOLN needs a win that says Hollywood likes it as a film overall.

Whatever. If LINCOLN wins the DGA and WGA then everything is back on track. If ARGO or another film beats LINCOLN for those two awards, it will be the least awarded Best Picture winner since...I cannot even remember. It did not have a big showing at the critics awards all that much, and its Guild wins are anemic. Hell, even CRASH had more Guild wins than LINCOLN might end up with.

I would hardly call Argo's win unexpected, Rolo. It was my prediction as well as the prediction of several others.

I got 5-for-5! Woo-hoo!

Well that was no fun. Other than picking ARGO for Ensemble, all the winners were exactly what everyone expected. I was hoping for some surprises to shake things up. Well, maybe the DGA and WGA will give us some shocking winner to perpetuate the uncertainty of this absolutely wide open Oscar race.

Supporting Actress - Hathaway
Supporting Actor - Jones
Lead Actress - Lawrence
Lead Actor - Day-Lewis
Stunt - Skyfall
Ensemble - Argo
(Part of me wants to predict SLP so that claims can be made for a three or fourway horserace, but the reason Little Miss Sunshine and Sideways won was because those movies appealed to the Guild more than the other nominees. Although SLP has grossed about as much as Little Miss Sunshine, a movie like Argo flatters Hollywood so much that I doubt a romcom or historical epic with a giant cast can compete. The first nominated title is Argo and the first name in the cast is Affleck.)

Cast: Lincoln
Actor:John Hawkes
Actress: Jennifer Lawrence
Supporting Actor: Robert De Niro
Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway

BEST MOTION PICTURE CAST
Argo

BEST MALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln

BEST FEMALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook

BEST MALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln

BEST FEMALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables