LOS ANGELES — Box office smash “Wicked,” the musical prequel to “The Wizard of Oz,” topped the list of film nominees unveiled on Wednesday for Hollywood‘s Screen Actors Guild Awards, a key indicator of support for movies heading into the Academy Awards.
“Wicked” earned five nominations, ahead of four for Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown.”
Both films will compete for the SAG honor of best movie cast. Their competitors are Golden Globe winner “Emilia Perez,” papal selection drama “Conclave,” and “Anora,” the story of a sex worker who marries the son of a Russian oligarch.
The SAG awards are closely watched because they are selected by members of the SAG-AFTRA actors union and actors form the largest group of voters for the Oscars, the film industry’s top prizes that will be bestowed in March.
Nominated SAG actors include “Wicked” stars Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo and Jonathan Bailey, Timothee Chalamet for his portrayal of Dylan and Karla Sofia Gascon, who stars as a Mexican drug lord who transitions to a woman in “Emilia Perez.”
Demi Moore, who just won a Golden Globe for her performance as a fading actress in “The Substance,” also was nominated, as was Pamela Anderson for “The Last Showgirl.”
“The Brutalist,” winner of the Golden Globe for best movie drama on Sunday, was left out of SAG’s cast category. Star Adrien Brody, who plays a Holocaust survivor and architect chasing the American dream, was nominated for best actor.
Organizers of the SAG awards canceled a planned live announcement of the SAG nominees because of wildfires in Los Angeles. Nominations were announced online instead.
In SAG’s TV categories, historical epic “Shogun” piled up five nominations including one for best TV drama cast. It will compete with “Bridgerton,” “The Day of the Jackal,” “The Diplomat” and “Slow Horses.”
Winners of the SAG awards will be announced on Feb. 23 at a ceremony that will stream live on Netflix NFLX.O.
—Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Howard Goller, Alexandra Hudson
