‘Parasite,’ ‘Jojo Rabbit’ get a boost in SAG nominations

By Jake Coyle, The Associated Press

NEW YORK — 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 favourite 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.

On Wednesday, the actors guild, as expected, nominated 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, giving “The Irishman” and “Once Upon a Time” a co-leading four nominations.

But its other choices were less predictable. The SAGs went for 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,” a much-praised Korean film, became only the second foreign language film to be nominated for the SAGs’ top award. Only “Life Is Beautiful” managed to do so before.

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 nods for its leads, Adam Driver and Johansson and Laura Dern for best supporting actress. 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.

The SAG Awards will be presented Jan. 19 and broadcast live on TNT and TBS.

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Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP

Jake Coyle, The Associated Press


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