"Into the Wild" leads surprising SAG nominees
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Sean Penn's wilderness drama "Into the Wild" topped a surprising list of Screen Actors Guild nominees on Thursday with four nods overall, including best ensemble cast and best actor for its star Emile Hirsch.
Absent from the widely watched group of nominations for SAG's top honor, best film cast, were romance "Atonement" and musical "Sweeney Todd," leaving award watchers scratching their heads as they tried to handicap Hollywood's Oscar sweepstakes.
"SAG pulled some major surprises here. This really shakes up the race," said Pete Hammond, a columnist for awards Web site TheEnvelope.com.
Hirsch was nominated for his portrayal of a young man on a journey of self-discovery to Alaska, and Hal Holbrook and Catherine Keener earned supporting actor and actress nominations for "Into the Wild," which Penn directed.
Crime thriller "No Country for Old Men" and legal drama "Michael Clayton" earned three nominations each. "No Country" was nominated for best film cast, while co-stars Javier Bardem and Tommy Lee Jones garnered supporting actor nominations.
"Clayton" snagged a best actor nod for George Clooney, who played the troubled title character, and nominations for co-stars Tom Wilkinson and Tilda Swinton in the supporting roles. But it, too, was snubbed from the list for best cast.
Joining "Into the Wild" and "No Country" in that category were three other films: musical "Hairspray" and crime drama "American Gangster" and western "3:10 to Yuma," which had been viewed as largely out of the awards race only to gallop back.
"Yuma" stars Russell Crowe, Christian Bale and Ben Foster in a tale of old West bank robbers. The movie was a box office hit, yet none of the actors were nominated individually.
ACTORS BRING HEAT
"We're always hoping the synergy and heat between actors produces something greater than the sum of the parts, and that is something we are always looking to do in movies we make," said "Yuma" director James Mangold.
The Screen Actors Guild Awards, which will be handed out on January 27 in Los Angeles, often indicate who will be nominated for the film industry's top honors, the Oscars, because actors make up the largest group of Academy Award voters.
The Oscars are the world's top film award and are given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in February.
Joining Clooney and Hirsch among SAG's film actor nominees were Daniel Day-Lewis in oil prospecting drama "There Will Be Blood," Ryan Gosling for comedy "Lars and the Real Girl" and Viggo Mortensen for crime thriller "Eastern Promises."
Experts said they were surprised that Johnny Depp, who plays a barber on a killing spree in "Todd," was left off the best actor list, as he was widely seen as a shoo-in.
Best actress nominations went to Cate Blanchett in drama "Elizabeth: The Golden Age," Julie Christie in Alzheimer's tale "Away from Her," French actress Marion Cotillard as singer Edith Piaf in "La Vie En Rose," Angelina Jolie as the wife of slain journalist Daniel Pearl for "A Mighty Heart," and Ellen Page in teen pregnancy comedy "Juno."
Among supporting actor nominees, the fifth nod went to Casey Affleck playing Robert Ford in "The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford."
Cate Blanchett snared a second nomination as a supporting actress playing singer Bob Dylan in "I'm Not There." Joining her, Swinton and Keener were veteran Ruby Dee for "American Gangster" and newcomer Amy Ryan for "Gone Baby Gone."
TV nominations for best cast in a drama featured "The Sopranos," "Boston Legal," "Grey's Anatomy," "The Closer" and "Mad Men." Nods for best comedy cast went to "Entourage," "30 Rock," "Desperate Housewives," "The Office" and "Ugly Betty."
Colbert chosen AP Celebrity of the Year
While most TV characters remain boxed inside the frames of our sets, Stephen Colbert has routinely injected his on-screen persona into everything from the presidential race to ice cream.
In 2007, the mock pundit on Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report" exceeded the influence of most real pundits, orchestrating an ill-fated (and Doritos-sponsored) run for president and topping the best-seller lists with his book "I Am America (And So Can You!)."
Colbert failed to get onto the primary ballot in his home state of South Carolina, dooming his hopes for the White House. And his show went 0-for-4 at the Emmy Awards, including an especially painful loss to Barry Manilow.
But Colbert did win one honor: He was voted AP Celebrity of the Year by newspaper editors and broadcast producers who said Colbert had the biggest impact on pop culture in 2007.
He finished just a nudge above J.K. Rowling, who authored the final book in her enormously popular "Harry Potter" series. Finishing third was Al Gore, whose year included an Oscar, an Emmy, a Nobel Peace Prize and the global concert Live Earth.
Voting was otherwise spread out across many entertainers, including pop star Britney Spears, "Hannah Montana" star Miley Cyrus, rapper Kanye West, comedy director and producer Judd Apatow and country singer Kenny Chesney.
But it was the slight, bespectacled Colbert — his hair never ruffled, suits forever pressed — who dominated the year. Even from the relatively small stage of late-night cable TV, his satire spread into all corners of media and society — and for a few weeks made a mockery of the democratic system.
Colbert has declined interviews during the writers strike that has shuttered his show, but he told The Associated Press by e-mail:
"In receiving this award, I am pleased that I was chosen over two great spinners of fantasy — J.K. Rowling and Al Gore. It is truly an honor to be named the Associated Press' Celebrity of the Year. Best of all, this makes me the official front-runner for next year's Drug-Fueled Downward Spiral of the year. P.S. Look for my baby bump this spring!"
Julio Diaz, entertainment editor for the Pensacola News Journal, explained his vote for the faux newsman:
"Colbert is more than an entertainer, he's a force of nature," said Diaz. "He's influenced the way we look at the news and even the way we speak. Whenever a major news story breaks, one of my first thoughts is what Colbert's spin on the story will be."
Colbert began his year by facing off against his inspiration, Bill O'Reilly. In one afternoon, Colbert and the Fox News commentator traded guest appearances on each other's shows in an exchange Colbert called "a meeting of the guts."
The meeting had been anticipated since Colbert's 2005 debut of "The Report," a deadpan fun-house mirror held up to "The O'Reilly Factor" and other conservative news programs.
In early 2007, Colbert became the namesake of the new Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavor "Americone Dream." This followed in a tradition of naming things after Colbert, like the mascot for the Saginaw Spirit, an Ontario Hockey League team, "Steagle Colbeagle the Eagle."
While taping an episode on June 27, Colbert fell and broke his wrist — a minor event for most, but weeks of fodder for Colbert. The following month, he unveiled a "wrist awareness" campaign in which he urged anyone famous to wear a "WristStrong" bracelet (similar to Lance Armstrong's "LiveStrong" bands).
Showcasing his extremely detail-centric sense of humor, Colbert said on a September show: "If (Alan) Greenspan can do for my bracelets what he did for secured short-term lending through federal repurchasing agreements — can you imagine how great that would be?"
But Colbert's main act would be the run-up to his White House campaign and his ensuing bid for the nation's highest office. While promoting his new book, Colbert appeared on news programs and wrote a guest column for The New York Times mocking the dance many candidates go through before officially declaring their candidacy.
Colbert eventually announced on his program on Oct. 16, where he made it clear he aimed to parody everything about image-sensitive political campaigns. He appeared beforehand on "The Daily Show" sitting on a bale of hay and drinking a beer to show that he was an Average Joe.
The 43-year-old comedian jokingly suggested his ticket could read "Colbert-Huckabee," referring to former Arkansas governor Republican Mike Huckabee. Huckabee had made several appearances on "The Report" (making him a "friend of the show"). Huckabee's candidacy was then something of a joke; now he has zoomed to the top of the polls.
Colbert's announcement set off dialogue across the political landscape about the legitimacy of his candidacy and how he might impact the primaries.
Wrote New York Times columnist David Carr: "It is Mr. Colbert's ability to both mimic and amplify the tics of political convention and play them back with just a little more topspin that makes his satire so discomfiting."
Colbert said he would run only in his native South Carolina, but after he applied to get his name on the state's Democratic primary ballot (the Republican fee was too high), party officials voted 13-3 to keep Colbert off, claiming he "serves to detract from the serious candidates."
Soon thereafter, Colbert announced that he was withdrawing: "Although I lost by the slimmest margin in presidential election history — only 10 votes — I have chosen not to put the country through another agonizing Supreme Court battle. It is time for this nation to heal."
Colbert's withdrawal may have been hastened by the Hollywood writers strike, which shut down production on "The Report" in early November. Comedy Central, which is owned by Viacom Inc., announced Thursday that both "The Report" and "The Daily Show" will return to the air on Jan. 7, with or without their writing staffs.
On his last episode of the year, Colbert said: "As you know, except for my 13 writers and production crew, I do this show single-handedly four nights a week. I'm also raising a family, promoting a book and, hey, two weeks ago I said, `Let's run for president.' I haven't gotten a wink since I blacked out talking to Tim Russert."
Stewart, Colbert returning to the air
NEW YORK - "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and "The Colbert Report" will resume production on Jan. 7 without their striking writers, the Comedy Central network announced Thursday.
Both late-night shows were shuttered after the Hollywood writers strike began seven weeks ago. The comedy duo are the latest late-night hosts to announce their return to the air while the ongoing writers strike continues to devastate much television and film production. Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien and Jimmy Kimmel have all recently said that they will resume their programs on Jan. 2 with or without their writing staffs.
On Friday, leaders of striking television writers plan to meet with David Letterman's production company in an attempt to reach a separate deal that could return the "Late Show" to the air with its writing staff.
But "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" rely far more on scripted material than those shows, which are more centered around interviews and musical guests.
In a joint statement, Stewart and Colbert said: "We would like to return to work with our writers. If we cannot, we would like to express our ambivalence, but without our writers we are unable to express something as nuanced as ambivalence."
A spokesman for Comedy Central said neither the network, Stewart nor Colbert would have any further comment. A call to the Writers Guild of America was not immediately returned late Thursday.