The Irishman, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Parasite receive best ensemble nominations at SAG Awards 2020

Scarlett Johansson received two individual nominations, Parasite scored a best ensemble nod and both _The Irishman_ and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood solidified their Oscar favorite status in nominations announced Wednesday for the 26th Screen Actors Guild Awards. The SAG Awards are one of the most closely watched Academy Awards bellwethers because, historically, a best ensemble nomination from the actors is usually a prerequisite for any best-picture contender’s resume. Actors make up the largest percentage of the film academy, giving them the greatest influence of any branch. [caption id=“attachment_7425451” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] A still from The Irishman[/caption] The actors guild, as expected, nominated both Martin Scorsese ’s Netflix opus and Quentin Tarantino ’s Hollywood fable for best ensemble, along with a pair of individual acting nods: Al Pacino and Joe Pesci for The Irishman and Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt for Once Upon a Time. Each film also added stunt ensemble nominations. But the guild’s other choices were less predictable. The SAGs rounded out best ensemble with the casts of Taika Waititi’s Nazi Germany coming-of-age tale _Jojo Rabbit,_ Jay Roach’s Fox News docudrama _Bombshell_ and Bong Joon Ho’s class satire Parasite. Parasite, the much-praised Korean film, became just the second foreign language film to be nominated for the SAGs’ top award. Only Life Is Beautiful managed to do it before, in 1997. Notably missing out on the best ensemble nomination was Noah Baumbach’s divorce drama _Marriage Story_ , which on Monday led the Golden Globe nominations with six nods. It still came away with acting nominations for its leads, Adam Driver and Johansson, and Laura Dern for best female actor in a supporting role. Johansson was nominated in that category, as well, for her performance in Jojo Rabbit. Recently, a SAG ensemble nomination hasn’t been quite as vital for a best-picture winner at the Oscars. The last two winners, _Green Book_ and The Shape of Water , managed the feat without a nod for the screen actors’ top award. But before that, it had been two decades before the SAG Awards didn’t help predict the eventual best-picture winner. Faring especially well Wednesday was Bombshell, which tied The Irishman and Once Upon a Time with a co-leading four nominations. Critical reception has been mixed for Bombshell, a starry dramatization about the culture of sexual harassment at Fox News. But the actors guild nominated its three stars: Charlize Theron (lead actress), Margot Robbie and Nicole Kidman. Along with Theron and Johansson, the nominees for best performance by a female actor in a leading role were: Cynthia Erivo (Harriet), Lupita Nyong’o ( Us ) and Renee Zellweger ( _Judy_ ). Those picks omitted Saoirse Ronan ( Little Women ) and Awkwafina ( The Farewell ). Joining Driver and DiCaprio in best actor were Christian Bale ( _Ford v Ferrari_ ), Taron Egerton ( _Rocketman_ ) and Joaquin Phoenix _(Joker_ ). Among those left out were Antonio Banderas ( _Pain and Glory_ ), Eddie Murphy ( _Dolemite Is My Name_ ) and Adam Sandler ( _Uncut Gems_ ). A number of prominent contenders were shut out, including Sam Mendes’ World War I thriller 1917, Greta Gerwig’s Louisa May Alcott adaptation Little Women, Lulu Wang’s family drama The Farewell, Fernando Meirelles’ Vatican drama _The Two Popes_ and Rian Johnson’s star-studded whodunit Knives Out . Tom Hanks ( _A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood_ ) and Jamie Foxx ( Just Mercy ) were nominated for best male actor in a supporting role. Jennifer Lopez ( _Hustlers_ ), looking more and more like a lock for her first Oscar nomination, also joined the best female in a supporting role category. Usually, about four out of five individual SAG nominees go on to land an Oscar nomination. In television categories, Apple TV-Plus’ recently launched The Morning Show scored three nods (Jennifer Aniston, Steve Carell, Billy Crudup). In best drama series ensemble, the actors nominated the casts of Big Little Lies , The Crown , Game of Thrones, The Handmaid’s Tale and Stranger Things . Comedy ensemble nods went to Barry, Fleabag , The Kominsky Method  and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel . The SAG Awards will be presented 19 January and broadcast live on TNT and TBS in the US.