La La Land hit all the right notes for the Golden Globes, but the Screen Actors Guild sang a different tune Wednesday, when Kenneth Lonergan’s family drama Manchester by the Sea picked up the most nominations. It was nominated for best ensemble cast, best actor for Casey Affleck and best supporting performances for Michelle Williams and Lucas Hedges.
Barry Jenkins’ coming-of-age tale Moonlight and Denzel Washington’s August Wilson adaptation Fences followed with three each, including ensemble. They’ll be competing with the fact-based NASA crowd-pleaser Hidden Figures and the family drama Captain Fantastic. Shut out of the coveted ensemble award was Damien Chazelle’s candy-colored musical La La Land, which scored nominations only for its leads, Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling.
Sophia Bush and Common announced the nominees early Wednesday morning in West Hollywood, Calif. In the past, SAG nominees have served as predictors of the four Oscar acting categories.
While some categories looked generally as expected, like the supporting actress nods for Williams, Fences’ Viola Davis, Moonlight’s Naomie Harris, Lion’s Nicole Kidman and Hidden Figures’ Octavia Spencer, others were surprising.
In the lead actress category, Annette Bening failed to pick up a nomination for 20th Century Women. Bening had been an assumed lock for an Oscar nomination and had been considered a top contender against front-runners Natalie Portman (Jackie) and Stone (La La Land), both of whom were recognized. Instead, SAG nominated Emily Blunt for the thriller The Girl on the Train, Meryl Streep (Florence Foster Jenkins) and Amy Adams (Arrival).