The nominees for the SAG Awards were announced earlier today!  The SAG Awards are usually one of the more accurate of the various Oscar precursors.  Because so many members of the Academy are also members of the Screen Actors Guild, the SAG Awards are usually a pretty good indication of what films are on the Academy’s radar and which ones aren’t.  Occasionally, an actor will be nominated by SAG and then snubbed by the Academy.  Last year, for instance, SAG nominated Jake Gyllenhall for Nightcrawler, Jennifer Aniston for Cake, and Naomi Watts for St. Vincent.  None of those three received any love from the Academy.  But, for the most part, SAG is one of the most reliable precursors out there.

And that’s why so many of us are in shock today!  The SAG Awards in no way resembled what many of us were expecting.  Other than Spotlight, none of the film’s that many of us expected to be nominated for best ensemble (the SAG’s equivalent of the Academy’s best picture) were nominated (and even Spotlight only received one other nomination, for Rachel McAdams who, up to this point, hasn’t really figured into the Oscar discussion).  The Martian was not nominated for best ensemble or anything else for that matter.  Creed was totally snubbed.  Brooklyn was nominated for actress but not ensemble.  Mad Mad: Fury Road was nominated for its stunt work and nothing else.  Helen Mirren received two nominations, for films that hardly anyone (outside of the SAG, obviously) was really paying any attention to.  Sarah Silverman received a best actress nomination for I Smile Back, which I hadn’t even heard of until about a week ago.  It’s an unexpected and strange group of nominees.

Keep in mind, it’s not necessarily a bad thing that the nominees are unexpected.  Beasts of No Nation and Straight Outta Compton will both receive deserved boosts in their hunt for Oscar gold.  At the same time, I have to admit that I wasn’t happy to see either The Big Short or Trumbo nominated for best ensemble because I know I’m going to feel obligated to see them and they both look so freaking tedious and blandly political!  But consider this: if The Big Short and Trumbo are both huge Oscar contenders, we may face a situation where both Jay Roach and Adam McKay are nominated for best director in the same year.  I think that’s one of the signs of the apocalypse and, at this point, I’m kind of ready to welcome the end of the world.

Anyway, here are the SAG nominations!  Look them over and, after the Golden Globe nominations are announced tomorrow, update your Oscar predictions accordingly.

Best Performance by a Cast Ensemble in a Motion Picture

• Beasts of No Nation
• The Big Short
• Spotlight
• Straight Outta Compton
• Trumbo

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role

• Bryan Cranston – Trumbo
• Johnny Depp – Black Mass
• Leonardo DiCaprio – The Revenant
• Michael Fassbender – Steve Jobs
• Eddie Redmayne – The Danish Girl

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role

• Cate Blanchett – Carol
• Brie Larson – Room
• Helen Mirren – Woman in Gold
• Saoirse Ronan – Brooklyn
• Sarah Silverman – I Smile Back

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role

• Christian Bale – The Big Short
• Idris Elba – Beasts of No Nation
• Mark Rylance – Bridge of Spies
• Michael Shannon – 99 Homes
• Jacob Tremblay – Room

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role

• Rooney Mara – Carol
• Rachel McAdams – Spotlight
• Helen Mirren – Trumbo
• Alicia Vikander – The Danish Girl
• Kate Winslet – Steve Jobs

Best Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture

• Everest
• Furious 7
• Jurassic World
• Mad Max: Fury Road
• Mission Impossible – Rogue Nation

Best Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series

• Downton Abbey
• Game of Thrones
• Homeland
• House of Cards
• Mad Men

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series

• Peter Dinklage – Game of Thrones
• Jon Hamm – Mad Men
• Rami Malek – Mr. Robot
• Bob Odenkirk – Better Call Saul
• Kevin Spacey – House of Cards

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series

• Claire Danes – Homeland
• Viola Davis – How to Get Away with Murder
• Julianna Marguilles – The Good Wife
• Maggie Smith – Downton Abbey
• Robin Wright – House of Cards

Best Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series

• The Big Bang Theory
• Key and Peele
• Modern Family
• Orange is the New Black
• Transparent
• Veep

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series

• Ty Burrell – Modern Family
• Louis CK – Louie
• William H. Macy – Shameless
• Jim Parsons – The Big Bang Theory
• Jeffrey Tambor – Transparent

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series

• Uzo Aduba – Orange is the New Black
• Edie Falco – Nurse Jackie
• Ellie Kemper – Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
• Julia Louis-Dreyfus – Veep
• Amy Poehler – Parks and Recreation

Best Performance by a Male Actor in a TV Movie or Mini-Series

• Idris Elba – Luther
• Ben Kingsley – Tut
• Ray Liotta — Texas Rising
• Bill Murray – A Very Murray Christmas
• Mark Rylance – Wolf Hall

Best Performance by a Female Actor in a TV Movie or Mini-Series

• Nicole Kidman – Grace of Monaco
• Queen Latifah – Bessie
• Christina Ricci — The Lizzie Borden Chronicles
• Susan Sarandon — The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe
• Kristen Wiig – The Spoils of Babylon

Best Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama Series

• Blacklist
• Game of Thrones
• Homeland
• Marvel’s Daredevil
• The Walking Dead