Screen Actors Guild: Film Nominations

If the Screen Actors Guild Awards for movies have an advantage over the splashier Golden Globes it's probably because they are a better Oscar prognosticating tool, at least as far as the acting categories go. That's because the voters -- members of the Screen Actors Guild -- are a much better match for voters in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences than the elite little (emphasis on little) group known as the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

SAG gives far fewer awards, they are a much more serious affair, and they don't actually honor anything as a "best" or "outstanding" film, just the one whose cast they liked best. This year, Oscar frontrunner La La Land isn't nominated in that "Outstanding Cast" category. Instead, a little something called Captain Fantastic (about a father in the wilderness trying to raise six kids by himself) has taken its place. That may be because La La Land is more dependent on its two leads and its ensemble just didn't seem like something SAG voters wanted to single out. Or it may signify that La La Land isn't a frontrunner for the Best Picture Oscar after all.

Stars Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone were both nominated, however, so it's not like La La Land is being overlooked. Whether or not they win -- which isn't at all a sure thing given that Casey Affleck in Manchester by the Sea and Denzel Washington in Fences are expected to be the contenders for Best Actor, while Natalie Portman's Jackie is right in there with Stone at the head of the Best Actress pack -- La La Land will be celebrated plenty this awards season.

Aside from Captain Fantastic and Viggo Mortenssn in it, the biggest surprise to me is that Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant are nominated for Florence Foster Jenkins, which wasn't greeted all that enthusiastically by critics when it arrived. The power of La Streep?

Whichever direction the awards go when they are handed out January 29, the nominees are:

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A CAST IN A MOTION PICTURE
Captain Fantastic
Fences
Hidden Figures
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Amy Adams, Arrival
Emily Blunt, The Girl on the Train
Natalie Portman, Jackie
Emma Stone, La La Land
Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea
Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge
Ryan Gosling, La La Land
Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic
Denzel Washington, Fences

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Viola Davis, Fences
Naomie Harris, Moonlight
Nicole Kidman, Lion
Octavia Spencer, Hidden Figures
Michelle Williams, Manchester by the Sea

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Mahershala Ali, Moonlight
Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water
Hugh Grant, Florence Foster Jenkins
Lucas Hedges, Manchester by the Sea
Dev Patel, Lion

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A STUNT ENSEMBLE

Captain America: Civil War
Doctor Strange
Hacksaw Ridge
Jason Bourne
Nocturnal Animals

Look for the Screen Actors Guild Awards on TBS and TNT on Sunday, January 29.

Golden Globes: The TV Nominations

In addition to their movie awards, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association also honors television programs and performers during their Golden Globes awards. They tend to like British and European actors (See: Catriona Balfe, Claire Foy, Gael Garcia Bernal, Charlotte Rampling, Tom Hiddleston, Olivia Colman, Hugh Laurie and Lena Headey in the list below...) as well as anything and everything Sarah Jessica Parker. Prestige pieces like The Crown on Netflix are also catnip to Golden Globe nominators.

Last year's comedy winner Mozart in the Jungle is back, but Mr. Robot, the drama champ, didn't make the cut. Likewise, the lead actors who win in comedy categories -- Rachel Bloom (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) and Gael Garcia Bernal (Mozart in the Jungle) -- are in the mix again, while their drama counterpoints -- Taraji P. Henson (Empire) and Jon Hamm (Mad Men) -- aren't nominated. Apparently the HFPA has decided it doesn't like Henson as much as it did last year, while Hamm's show is all done. Supporting winners Maura Tierney (The Affair) and Christian Slater (Mr. Robot) are MIA, as well. The supporting categories combine dramas, comedies, miniseries and television movies, however, so those lists are always crowded and hard to predict.

And here are your television nominees for the 2017 Golden Globes:

BEST COMEDY OR MUSICAL SERIES
Atlanta
Blackish
Mozart in the Jungle
Transparent
Veep

BEST DRAMA SERIES 
The Crown
Game of Thrones
Stranger Things
This Is Us
Westworld

BEST LIMITED SERIES OR TV MOVIE
American Crime
The Dresser
The Night Manager
The Night Of
The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story

BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Caitriona Balfe, Outlander
Claire Foy, The Crown
Keri Russell, The Americans
Winona Ryder, Stranger Things
Evan Rachel Wood, Westworld

BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Rami Malek, Mr. Robot
Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul
Matthew Rhys, The Americans
Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan
Billy Bob Thornton, Goliath

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Rachel Bloom, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Sarah Jessica Parker, Divorce
Issa Rae, Insecure
Gina Rodriguez, Jane the Virgin
Tracee Ellis Ross, Blackish

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Anthony Anderson, Blackish
Gael Garcia Bernal, Mozart in the Jungle
Donald Glover, Atlanta
Nick Nolte, Graves
Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent

BEST ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR TV MOVIE
Felicity Huffman, American Crime
Riley Keough, The Girlfriend Experience
Sarah Paulson, The People vs. O.J. Simpson
Charlotte Rampling, London Spy
Kerry Washington, Confirmation

BEST ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR TV MOVIE
Riz Ahmed, The Night Of
Bryan Cranston, All the Way
Tom Hiddleston, The Night Manager
John Turturro, The Night Of
Courtney B. Vance, The People vs. O.J. Simpson

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Olivia Colman, The Night Manager
Lena Headey, Game of Thrones
Chrissy Metz, This Is Us
Mandy Moore, This Is Us
Thandie Newton, Westworld

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Sterling K. Brown, The People vs. O.J. Simpson
Hugh Laurie, The Night Manager
John Lithgow, The Crown
Christian Slater, Mr. Robot
John Travolta, The People vs. O.J. Simpson

The Golden Globes ceremony will air Sunday, January 8, on NBC, hosted by Jimmy Fallon.

Golden Globes: The Movie Nominations

Nominations for the 74th Annual Golden Globe Awards were announced last week, with the usual flurry of obvious, wacky and encouraging choices from the nominating members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The Golden Globes made their name by combining awards for film and television programs (instead of just movies or TV by themselves) and by getting their show on the air very early among awards shows. This time, you'll find the early bird Globes ceremony on NBC on January 8th, while Oscar voters are still in the first days of their nomination process.

The fact that the Golden Globes are handed out so quickly continues to fool people into thinking that they are a good indicator for the Academy Awards. But because of the small number of HFPA members and voters, they tend to go out on a lot more limbs than the Oscars, plus HFPA voters seem to like European (and especially British) actors and directors more than some of the other awards. Where Oscar voters gravitate toward dramas and "important" pictures, the Golden Globes offer a separate category for comedy and musical films as well as their lead performers, meaning those movies get a bit more of the spotlight than they would otherwise. And something like Florence Foster Jenkins may get some love from the HFPA but end up largely ignored by Oscar. No matter. Whether they're revelatory or just plain silly, the Golden Globes are fun to discuss.

Here's the list of nominations on the film side of the Golden Globes equation:

BEST MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell or High Water
Lion
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight

BEST MOTION PICTURE, MUSICAL OR COMEDY
20th Century Women
Deadpool
La La Land
Florence Foster Jenkins
Sing Street

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Amy Adams, Arrival
Jessica Chastain, Miss Sloane
Isabelle Huppert, Elle
Ruth Negga, Loving
Natalie Portman, Jackie

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea
Joel Edgerton, Loving
Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge
Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic
Denzel Washington, Fences
 

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Annette Bening, 20th Century Women
Lily Collins, Rules Don’t Apply
Hailee Steinfeld, The Edge of Seventeen
Emma Stone, La La Land
Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Colin Farrell, The Lobster
Ryan Gosling, La La Land
Hugh Grant, Florence Foster Jenkins
Jonah Hill, War Dogs
Ryan Reynolds, Deadpool

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Viola Davis, Fences
Naomie Harris, Moonlight
Nicole Kidman, Lion
Octavia Spencer, Hidden Figures
Michelle Williams, Manchester by the Sea
 
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Mahershala Ali, Moonlight
Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water
Simon Helberg, Florence Foster Jenkins
Dev Patel, Lion
Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Nocturnal Animals
 
BEST DIRECTOR
Damien Chazelle, La La Land
Tom Ford, Nocturnal Animals
Mel Gibson, Hacksaw Ridge
Barry Jenkins, Moonlight 
Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea

BEST SCREENPLAY
Damienl Chazelle, La La Land
Tom Ford, Nocturnal Animals
Barry Jenkins, Moonlight
Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea
Taylor Sheridan, Hell or High Water

BEST ANIMATED MOTION PICTURE
Kubo and the Two Strings
Moana
My Life as a Zucchini
Sing
Zootopia

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE MOTION PICTURE
Divines (France)
Elle (France)
Neruda (Chile)
The Salesman (Iran/France)
Toni Erdmann (Germany)

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Nicholas Britell, Moonlight
Justin Hurwitz, La La Land
Jóhann Jóhannsson, Arrival
Dustin O’Halloran and Hauschka, Lion
Hans Zimmer, Pharrell Williams and Benjamin Wallfisch, Hidden Figures

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"Can’t Stop the Feeling," Trolls
"City of Stars," La La Land
"Faith," Sing
"Gold," Gold
"How Far I’ll Go," Moana

The Golden Globes ceremony will be broadcast live at 8 pm Eastern/7 Central on January 8th on NBC with Jimmy Fallon as host.

See ALLEGIANCE Tonight -- One Night Only -- in Cinemas Nationwide

Tonight's the night for the Broadway musical Allegiance on the big screen. For one night only, Fathom Events is bringing Allegiance, which starred Telly Leung (Rent, Glee, Pacific Overtures), Lea Salonga (Miss Saigon) and George Takei in its Broadway production, to cinemas nationwide, including Willow Knolls 14 in Peoria, Savoy 16 south of Urbana, and Springfield 12 in Springfield. Allegiance plays at 7:30 pm tonight in all three of those theaters. Click here for ticket information.

Allegiance's story was very personal for Takei, best known for his role as Sulu on the original Star Trek. Like the characters in the show, Takei was forced to live in an internment camp for Japanese-Americans during a shameful chapter in American history after Pearl Harbor. With songs and scenes, Allegiance addresses how the prisoners (because, let's face it, the "relocation" or "internment" camps were really prisons under a nicer name) were ripped from their homes and jobs -- some from their families -- to live in spartan conditions without medical care or contact with the outside world. No trials, no due process, just a lot of American citizens punished and isolated based on their race.

George Takei was born in Los Angeles and he was only a boy when he and his family were sent to live in a horse stable converted to house people in Los Angeles, an internment camp in Arkansas and finally another camp back in California. In Allegiance, the members of the Kimura family are forced to leave their California farm, which is sold off for pennies without their consent, and carted off to a camp in Wyoming for the duration of World War II.

In addition to Leung, Salonga and Takei, the musical's cast included Michael K. Lee, Christopheren Nomura, Katie Rose Clarke and Greg Watanabe. It was directed by Stafford Arima and choreographed by Andrew Palermo. Jay Kuo wrote the music and lyrics, while Marc Acito, Kuo and Lorenzo Thione collaborated on the book.

See the BRIGHT STAR Reunion Concert Tonight on Theater Mania

Although the Broadway musical Bright Star earned mostly positive reviews and was nominated for five Tony Awards and seven Drama Desk Awards, winning one for its music, along with winning the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Musical, it had to compete with Hamilton mania. When all was said and done, Bright Star closed last June after 109 performances.

Creators Steve Martin and Edie Brickell weren't quite ready to say goodbye to their show, however, scheduling a reunion concert for the original cast at New York City's Town Hall tonight. Martin and Brickell will also perform as part of this event, and they'll be on hand for a post-show Q & A. The concert is sold out, which is bad news for those who didn't get tickets and want to see it in person, but Theater Mania has come through for those of us willing to experience Bright Star on our computers.

All you have to do is go to the Theater Mania website tonight at 7:30 pm Eastern/6:30 pm Central time to see a livestream of the reunion concert.

So what is Bright Star? "Directed by Tony winner Walter Bobbie and inspired by a real event, this 'downright wonderful' (Newsday) original musical tells a sweeping tale of love and redemption set against the rich backdrop of the American South in the 1920s and '40s. 'Carmen Cusack is a revelation' (Chicago Tribune) as literary editor Alice Murphy, whose relationship with a young soldier just home from World War II awakens her longing for the child she once lost. Haunted by their unique connection, Alice sets out on a journey to understand her past — and what she finds has the power to transform both of their lives."

If you saw Carmen Cusack as Dot in Chicago Shakespeare Theatre's Sunday in the Park with George a few years ago, you already know that she has a beautiful voice. The score for Bright Star is quite different from George, using bluegrass and banjo and a lot of downhome licks to fill out its story, but Cusack inhabits and illuminates the role and the songs just as well as she did Elphaba in Wicked or Nellie in South Pacific or any other role she's played. For Cusack alone, the Bright Star concert is worth seeing tonight.

Classic Holiday Movies and Where to Find Them This Year

I tend to watch Christmas in Connecticut (the 1945 version) a few times every year around this time. Barbara Stanwyck is irresistible as a popular magazine writer who pretends to be an expert on everything domestic when she hasn't a clue how to keep a house, with Dennis Morgan as the handsome military man who dreams of a homey holiday dinner at her place. To accommodate the war hero, Babs will have to borrow a home in Connecticut, complete with husband and baby, and find a talent for flapjack flipping. "Cuddles" Sakall steps in as a friend who happens to run a restaurant, while Sydney Greenstreet is her demanding boss. This year, TCM will air Christmas in Connecticut Sunday the 11th at 1 pm Central time, at 9 pm on December 15, and at 7 pm on December 24.

Another romantic comedy I can't do without is The Shop Around the Corner, the sweet, sentimental movie about two shop clerks at a Budapest parfumerie who think they hate each other when they're really in love as pen pals. Like Christmas in Connecticut, The Shop Around the Corner is part of TCM's Christmas Classics lineup, airing December 15 at 7 pm and December 24 at 3:15 pm.

My third must-see rom com is Holiday, the 1938 Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn charmer where she's a rich girl and he's a self-made man who thinks he's in love with her snooty sister. Unfortunately, Holiday isn't showing up anywhere that I can find it between now and December 31. Not to worry: I have it on DVD because I really, really love this movie and I don't want to spend New Year's Eve without hearing "Happy New Year, Johnny," in Katharine Hepburn's voice. Still... Somebody at some network needs to get cracking and find a slot for Holiday.

One of my other favorite Christmas movies is Elf, a Will Ferrell vehicle from 2003 that casts him as a full-sized human accidentally raised as an elf at the North Pole. When he sets out to find his real father in New York, things get funny. And sweet. And charming. With Bob Newhart and Ed Asner in supporting roles, Elf can't go wrong. The newly dubbed Freeform network is offering Elf on December 12, 13, 18 and 19. The times are a little wacky (8, 6, 8:50, 5:50) so check your local listings to be sure you know when it starts. Or you can save your Elf for the big screen, since the Normal Theater will screen this holiday classic on Sunday the 11th at 7 pm.

There are, of course, a million zillion different versions of A Christmas Carol running around out there. The one with the Muppets will be on HBO at 5:40 am on December 16, while the 1938 black-and-white version with Reginald Owen as Scrooge airs on TCM at 8 am on December 18. TCM is saving the 1951 Alastair Sim Christmas Carol that has become the standard from endless TV reruns until December 22 at 10:30 pm, while it will offer Albert Finney's musical Scrooge at 7 pm on December 18 and then again at 9:30 am the day before Christmas. If George C. Scott's A Christmas Carol is more your style, Scott will be humbugging on AMC at 7 pm Central on the 17th and then again at noon on the 18th. The Muppets Christmas Carol and the Reginald Owen Carol are also part of the Normal Theater's holiday schedule, with the Muppets on December 17 at 1 pm and Reginald on Tuesday December 20 at 7 pm.

White Christmas isn't among my own faves, but it and It's a Wonderful Life certainly seem to sit at the top of everybody's else lists. Bing & Co. will be  extolling the virtues of snow snow snow on December 14, 16, 18, 22 and 24 at the Normal Theater, or at 9:30 pm on the 17th on the AMC channel, if you'd like to watch in your jammies in your own living room. Jimmy Stewart will illustrate all the reasons to live in It's a Wonderful Life at the Normal Theater on December 15, 17, 21 and 23, or on the USA network on the 10th (7 pm), 11th (8 am) and 16th (7 pm). All of these Normal Theater choices start at 7 pm.

A note about times: I tried to be careful and put everything in Central time, but it is a good idea to double-check what's what for you if you really don't want to miss one of your own faves.

Along with Holiday, I don't see Holiday Inn, Scrooged or the 1947 original Miracle on 34th Street* anywhere on the dial throughout the rest of December, although Scrooged and the Richard Attenborough remake of 34th Street are available on Netflix and Amazon can always hook you up with the others if you really need a copy or an instant view. I'm just happy I have copies of my own so I won't be left out in the cold. Cary and Kate will do acrobatics, Fred will dance with firecrackers, Bill Murray will get smacked with a toaster and little Natalie Wood will believe in Santa Claus at my house, anyway.

* I did see Miracle on 34th Street on demand on HBO, so it is out there!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like December

Yes, I'm more than a day late and more than a dollar short with my December listings. I do apologize. But time's a-wasting so we'd better get on with the show. 

It's a Wonderful Life, a Live Radio Play opened December 2, but performances continue tonight, tomorrow and Friday night at Illinois State University's Center for the Performing Arts. Check out this ISU press release for all the details.

The Normal Theater has pretty much a whole month of holiday movie programming coming up, including The Santa Clause tomorrow, Elf on Friday and Sunday, and Remember the Night, White Chrismas, It's a Wonderful Life, Edward Scissorhands, The Muppet Christmas Carol, and the 1938 Christmas Carol, all before Christmas day. To check out what's when and all the other important details, you can visit the Normal Theater's December calendar.

Champaign's Parkland College will perform A Charlie Brown Christmas live and on stage through December 11. Remaining performances are Friday December 9 and Saturday December 10 at 7:30 pm, and Saturday and Sunday the 10th and 11th at 3 pm. This stage version of the classic TV program includes, "joyful music and a meet and greet with the Peanuts characters for the kids."

The Normal pop-up theater known as Sticky is back Friday night at Firehouse Pizza and Pub for their sweet and sticky holiday event. You are invited to "settle in under the twinkling lights to be entertained by six ten-minute plays that are nothing short of jolly." Sticky organizers would like you to keep in mind that this is considered an all-ages event, but some plays may contain adult themes and mature language. Remember: It's set at a bar, which by definition (or at least by law) includes adult activities. In fact, I have never seen a Sticky without adult themes and mature language. Admission is $7 at the door and Karen Bridges will be the opening musical act. The December Sticky cast will include founders Connie Blick and J. Michael Grey as well as Lori Cook Baird, John Bowen, Kyle Fitzgerald, Devon Lovell, Wes Melton, Nick McBurney, Michelle Woody and Kristi Zimmerman-Weiher.

Community Players will offer a free holiday movie -- Home Alone -- to the first 270 people in the door on Saturday, December 10th. Doors open at 5:30 pm, with the movie starting at 6. They are promising holiday cookies and other refreshments and even some prizes. You're encouraged to deck out in holiday gear, too. If you don't have any other use for that garish Christmas sweater with Santa and a load of reindeer, this may just be the place to go.

Fathom Events brings George Takei's Allegiance, the Broadway musical inspired by real events in the United States during World War II, to screens nationwide next week. After Pearl Harbor, Japanese-American families like Takei's were taken from their homes, their jobs and their schools and forced to live in "relocation camps" simply because their ancestry was Japanese. This blot on our national history needs to be remembered, especially since politicians are once again suggesting that immigrants or children of immigrants cannot be trusted because of where they came from or what religion they practice. You'll find details about the show here, and movie theaters where it's playing here. Willow Knolls 14 in Peoria, Savoy 16 south of Champaign, and Springfield 10 in Springfield are your closest options if you're in Bloomington-Normal. All three of those theaters are showing Allegiance at 7:30 pm on December 13. Click the links under the names of the theaters to get tickets.

Over in Urbana, the Station Theater's December show, Every Brilliant Thing by Duncan Macmillan and Jonny Donahoe, runs through December 17. "A one-person interactive play about depression and the lengths we will go to for those we love," Every Brilliant Thing is directed by Katie Baldwin Prosise and features William Anthony Sebastian Rose II as the one man in the one-man show on even dates like the 8th and the 10th and Jason Dockins on odd dates like the 9th and the 11th. Click here for more information on Every Brilliant Thing at the Station or here to reserve tickets.

And if you want to keep ahead of awards season, highly touted movies like Moonlight, La La Land, Manchester by the Sea, Loving and Arrival are already in theaters or will be soon. Moonlight and Arrival are in area theaters now, with Loving in Champaign at the Art Theater Co-op and Manchester by the Sea and Moonlight both listed under the "coming soon" tab at the Art. La La Land is scheduled to open everywhere on December 16. So far, the Independent Spirit and Critics Choice Awards have announced their nominations if you want to see which films emerge as the front-runners. The Critics Choice organization will give out its awards on December 11 with a ceremony televised on A&E at 7 pm Central time, the Golden Globes will announce their (frequently flaky) nominations on December 12 at 7 am our time, and the Screen Actors Guild will announce its (less flaky) nominations December 14.

More to come as more nominations and awards come in and I get a handle on who's showing what on TV in terms of my favorite holiday films.