SAG Award Nominations Throw Weight Behind 12 Years A Slave, The Butler

Nominees for the 2014 Screen Actors Guild Awards were announced Wednesday morning in Los Angeles, giving Oscar trackers a clearer picture of the ongoing race as it continues to gel.

As the L.A. Times notes, the annual SAG Awards can be "the most reliable early predictors of the Oscars," primarily because the Academy’s acting branch tends to be the largest voting group – so their collective preferences can point to a notable direction in the Oscar race. This year, SAG seems to have put its weight behind 12 Years a Slave and August: Osage County, which earned multiple nominations including the key category of Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture (the SAG equivalent of Best Picture).

SAG isn’t always right. Last year, the group accurately predicted that Ben Affleck’s Argo would have a big night at the Oscars. But the year prior, SAG went with The Help over the eventual Best Picture Oscar winner, The Artist.

How will history shape this race? We’re starting to see the final pieces snap into place. The major regional critics’ groups continue to recognize the best of 2013. The Broadcast Film Critics Association will reveal its nominees for the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards on Monday, Dec. 16. And tomorrow, Dec. 12, we’ll have a full slate of Golden Globes nominees to analyze … and likely criticize.

Until then, here’s the complete list of film nominees for the 2014 SAG Awards, which will be aired on TNT and TBS on Saturday, Jan. 18. What did they get right? Where did they go wrong?

Movie Awards

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

12 Years a Slave

American Hustle

August: Osage County

Dallas Buyer's Club

The Butler

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role

Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine

Sandra Bullock, Gravity

Judi Dench, Philomena

Meryl Streep, August: Osage County

Emma Thompson, Saving Mr. Banks

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role

Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips

Daniel Bruhl, Rush

Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave

James Gandolfini, Enough Said

Jared Leto, Dallas Buyer's Club

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role

Bruce Dern, Nebraska

Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave

Tom Hanks, Captain Phillips

Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyer's Club

Forest Whitaker, The Butler

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role

Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle

Lupita Nyongo, 12 Years a Slave

Julia Roberts, August: Osage County

June Squibb, Nebraska

Oprah Winfrey, The Butler

Sean O'Connell
Managing Editor

Sean O’Connell is a journalist and CinemaBlend’s Managing Editor. Having been with the site since 2011, Sean interviewed myriad directors, actors and producers, and created ReelBlend, which he proudly cohosts with Jake Hamilton and Kevin McCarthy. And he's the author of RELEASE THE SNYDER CUT, the Spider-Man history book WITH GREAT POWER, and an upcoming book about Bruce Willis.