LOS ANGELES • The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) entered the awards season fray with its nominations on Wednesday, which saw the surprise inclusion of unorthodox family comedy Captain Fantastic - led by Viggo Mortensen - in the best ensemble category, the guild's equivalent of best picture.
One of this year's favourites, La La Land, is not led by an ensemble cast, but by two main actors, hence its exclusion from the best ensemble category.
Family drama Manchester By The Sea landed four nominations, the most, followed by race relations story Fences and coming-of-age drama Moonlight, each with three.
Competing for best ensemble with Captain Fantastic were Moonlight, Fences, comedy Hidden Figures and Manchester By The Sea, which also landed acting nominations for lead Casey Affleck and supporting actors Michelle Williams and Lucas Hedges.
Emily Blunt landed a surprise nomination for lead actress for The Girl On The Train, while Silence, Martin Scorsese's tale of missionaries, was shut out.
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Some nominees
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Outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture: Captain Fantastic; Fences; Hidden Figures; Manchester By The Sea; Moonlight
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
Actress 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 ensemble in a drama series: The Crown; Downton Abbey; Game Of Thrones; Stranger Things; Westworld
Outstanding ensemble in a comedy series: The Big Bang Theory; Black-ish; Modern Family; Orange Is The New Black; Veep
Top SAG winners, voted for by actors, often go on to win Oscars as actors form the largest voting body in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
The SAG list followed Monday's Golden Globe nominations, in which La La Land and Moonlight led the race, and precedes next month's Oscar nods. The winners will be announced in Los Angeles on Jan 29.
NYTIMES, REUTERS
