Screen Actors Guild Award Predictions: Big Night for American Hustle?

The cast of American Hustle looks poised to con the award for Best Ensemble. 

The Screen Actors Guild is one of the most important precursor awards to have behind you or the film your in; the actors are the largest voting body in the Academy, and though SAG is significantly smaller than the AMPAS voting actors, it's very telling of which performances could win at the Oscars.

Unlike the Globes, the SAG awards take place before voting, so they have the power to influence voters. The Academy likes voting for winners, and a winner who can deliver a great speech is like catnip to them.

However, winners at SAG haven't always gone on to win the Oscar; Viola Davis not only won the Leading Actress award, but a shared award with the ensemble of The Help. Sadly, none of this was enough to conquer Meryl Streep, who went on to win her 3rd Oscar for The Iron Lady. Streep's Oscar narrative was just too strong I suppose.

So if you win the SAG award, its not set in stone that you will win an Oscar, just like being nominated does not guarantee you an Oscar nomination (.... Helen Mirren and Emma Thompson anyone?).

So where does that bring us in terms of this year? 12 Years A Slave will face off with American Hustle (Gravity has one nomination in Sandra Bullock, in no fault of its own as the cast is made up of her and George Clooney) for Supporting Actress (Jennifer Lawrence vs. Lupita Nyong'o) and the Ensemble award (SAG's equivalent to Best Picture). Lawrence won the Globe, but Nyong'o just won the Broadcast Critics' Award, which tends to line up with Oscar more often than not, so the edge is with Nyong'o on this one. But American Hustle's starry cast is almost irresistible, and the acting is really the movie's only true strength.

Expect Hustle to take the Ensemble award, it's almost stupid to bet otherwise. If there were more support for Lee Daniels': The Butler or August: Osage County, they could surprise and win it, but those ensembles are just lucky to be there honestly. I suppose 12 Years A Slave could upset... it did land more nominations than American Hustle did, but the popularity of American Hustle is just too hard to ignore.

But this will not be the end of the Best Picture race... that will come with the announcement of the PGA, on Sunday.

Read my official predictions below:

American Hustle: A Entertaining Mess

Amy Adams & Bradley Cooper strut their stuff in O.Russel's wild caper. 

"Some of this actually happened" David O. Russel tells us at the very beginning of American Hustle before leading into a long take of Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale) fixing his, as Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams) describes it, "elaborate" comb over. And boy, is it elaborate. But what we'll come to know through Irving's comb over is that he's just as elaborate; not what he seems at all, and consisting of many layers. He's a con man, but he has to be to survive.

And that's what the film is truly about; At the center of American Hustle's loud, obnoxious and zany retelling of the FBI led ABSAM scandal of the 70's, is a survival story.

First American Hustle Screenings: Jennifer Lawrence is on Track for Oscar nomination #3

That's right! The biggest question mark in this year's Oscar race has finally been unveiled. Kris Tapley of incontention.com reports that after many test screenings and editing sessions, Sony Pictures held a screening of the film for various press members, among them are SAG members who will be voting on this year's nominations in just a few weeks.

Sorry! Also, Sky Ferreira and some other cool stuff

I haven't been posting as frequently as I'm known for, which I apologize for. I'm swimming in a pool of school assignments as the semester is drawing to a close. However, this Friday I'll be attending Sky Ferreira's concert in Philly in support of her upcoming album (which you can check out here if you haven't already), and will be live blogging the event here for you to all keep up with and check out.

And so I don't deter too far off of my blog's usual topic of film and the Oscars, I have some interesting stories happening right now, so check em out!

• The much hyped up Disney film, "Maleficent" starring Oscar winner and Hollywood Queen Angelina Jolie dropped a trailer today. Jolie stars as the iconic villain who put a curse on Sleeping Beauty (played in the film by Elle Fanning). The film is set to be released in May 2014, and tells the story of Maleficent, instead of the story we remember from the classic Disney film. You can read more about the film and watch the trailer here. 
• Jennifer Lawrence has apparently lost her Oscar! Maybe the Academy had second thoughts and deservingly gave it to Jessica Chastain or Emmanuelle Riva 
• American Hustle releases a new buzzy teaser. The amount of excitement I have for this film is officially reaching ridiculous heights. Watch it here. 
• Sasha Stone of Awards Daily reports that Oprah Winfrey is set to receive the Montecito Award from the Santa Barbara Film Festival. Is this the first of many awards for Oprah's supporting work in Lee Daniels' The Butler? Read here
• Kris Tapley of Incontention assesses the very weak field of Animated Films vying for an Oscar this year, and bangs the drum for Christian Bale's work in Out of the Furnace, which if partnered with his work in American Hustle, could help boost him to another Oscar nomination.