17th Annual SAG Award Nominations

The nominations for the 17th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards were announced this morning, and they stand as one of the very best predictors for the acting nominations we'll see at the Oscars. How does this list of acting nominees look against the likes of the Golden Globes and the Critics' Choice? Let's take a look.

Leading the nominees were "The King's Speech" and "The Fighter" with four each.

Outstanding Performance by a Cast went to "Black Swan," "The Fighter," "The Kids Are All Right," "The King's Speech" and "The Social Network." It's looking more and more like "The Fighter" has the strongest full cast recognition, but any of these nominees are likely to take this award.

The SAGs did not honor the two leads of "Blue Valentine" as other award nominations have, which opened up spaces for others to slide in.

Colin Firth for "The King's Speech" led the nominees for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role followed by James Franco for "127 Hours," Jesse Eisenberg for "The Social Network," Jeff Bridges for "True Grit" and, replacing Ryan Gosling, Robert Duvall for "Get Low." This boosts the veteran's chance for an Oscar nomination for this role.

Ousting Michelle Williams in the category of Outstanding Performance by a Female in a Leading Role was Hilary Swank for "Conviction" boosting her Oscar chances. Lesley Manville for "Another Year," who has also received some notice, got skipped. With her was the expected bunch of Annette Bening for "The Kids Are All Right," Jennifer Lawrence for "Winter's Bone," Nicole Kidman for "Rabbit Hole" and Natalie Portman for "Black Swan." It is really between Portman and Bening for this one, and whoever wins here will most likely take home the Oscar, too.

Mark Ruffalo of "The Kids Are All Right" is turning into more of a lock as he again got nominated for supporting actor. Joining him in the category of Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role were Christian Bale for "The Fighter," Geoffrey Rush for "The King's Speech," Jeremy Renner for "The Town" who's gaining momentum and, lastly, the surprise of John Hawkes for "Winter's Bone" over the other likely candidate, Sam Rockwell for "Conviction." The lack of appreciation and nominations for Andrew Garfield of "The Social Network" still upsets me. His Oscar chances are now looking slim.

I'm pleased to say, though, that Mila Kunis is now officially a lock for "Black Swan" as she got nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role. Still surprising to note she is getting recognition over Barbara Hershey, but warranted praise nonetheless. Joining her was Helena Bonham Carter for "The King's Speech," Hailee Steinfeld for "True Grit," Melissa Leo for "The Fighter" and Amy Adams for "The Fighter." Jacki Weaver who has been taking the supporting actress awards by storm is absent. For the Oscars, it is really between whether she or Amy Adams will make the cut as the rest are nearly locked in.

The nominations for this year's SAG awards throw a rather hefty wrench into the suspected acting nominees--John Hawkes, Hilary Swank, Robert Duvall--while also securing a surefire lock for others--Mila Kunis, Hailee Steinfeld, Mark Ruffalo. Time will only tell who the Academy will pick.

Click here for a complete list of the 17th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards Nominations.

Stay tuned to find out who the winners are on Sunday, January 30, 2011 at 8 p.m. on TNT and TBS.