Forgotten Hollywood

Manny P. here…

“`It is time to submit my SAG Awards ballot, highlighting celluloid performances in 2023. This was an outstanding year in cinema, with celebrated productions. Here are my selections:

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OUTSTANDING MALE:  Paul Giamatti (The Holdovers)

“`It is such a competitive category! Cillian Murphy delivered a strong, worthy performance in Oppenheimer; it would have been so easy to select him. Colman Domingo was so energetic and inspirational in Rustin.  Paul Giamatti’s relationship with director Alexander Payne offers such nuanced acting opportunities, as they did in Sideways and this year in The Holdovers. Giamatti gets my support. Bradley Cooper (Maestro) and Jeffrey Wright (American Fiction) are respected actors that round out the category. Leonardo DiCaprio (Killers of the Flower Moon),  Barry Keoghan (Saltburn), and Andrew Scott (All of Us Strangers)  were clearly snubbed.

OUTSTANDING FEMALE:  Lily Gladstone (Killers of the Flower Moon)

“`A brutally tough call. I LOVED Emma Stone (Poor Things), Carey Mulligan (Maestro) and Sandra Huller (Anatomy of a Fall).  Lily Gladstone’s measured performance was bittersweet and transformative.  She wins by a nose.  No one worked harder than Annette Bening in prep for her role in Nyad.  Margot Robbie is a popular public pick and was snubbed by the Oscars. Performances by Huller and Greta Lee (Past Lives) were also ignored by SAG.

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING MALE:  Robert Downey Jr. (Oppenheimer)

“`Robert Downey Jr. is a clear choice. Clearly, he should have won for his work on Chaplin. Other worthy nominees include Robert DeNiro (Killers of the Flower Moon), Willem Dafoe (Poor Things)  and especially, Sterling K. Brown for a fine delivery in American Fiction. I would have rather seen Mark Ruffalo (Poor Things) than Ryan Gosling (Barbie) in the fifth spot.

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING FEMALE:  Da’Vine Joy Randolph (The Holdovers)

“`The one clear winner in this category is Da’Vine Joy Randolph, winning every competitive accolade in this year’s award’s season. Her competition is formidable, including Jodie Foster (Nyad) and Danielle Brooks (The Color Purple). Emily Blunt’s role in Oppenheimer gets lost in the crowd of strong performances, in my opinion. And Rosamund Pike (Saltburn) or Sandra Huller (The Zone of Interest) instead of Penelope Cruz (Ferrari) in the category.

OUTSTANDING CAST IN A MOTION PICTURE:  Oppenheimer

“`It comes down to Oppenheimer and Killers of the Flower Moon, since The Holdovers, Saltburn and Anatomy of a Fall were left out of the category. A magnificent cast, visionary direction and cinematography, and a compelling story describes my two favorites. The Color Purple offers a vibrant cast as well.  Barbie and American Fiction strength lies in its witty writing and a serviceable cast (with a couple of standouts).

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~ 2023 TOP TEN:  1. Oppenheimer   2. Killers of the Flower Moon   3. The Holdovers   4. Saltburn   5. Past Lives   6. Anatomy of a Fall   7. The Boys in the Boat   8. Rustin   9. Poor Things  10. A Haunting in Venice

“`The SAG Awards airs on February 24th on Netflix. Let us see how I do this year.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 23rd, 2024 at 6:54 pm and is filed under Blog by Manny Pacheco. You can follow any comments to this post through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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