The odds of Cate Blanchett winning her second Oscar look even stronger after she collected the Screen Actors Guild award on Sunday for best lead actress in Blue Jasmine.
Similarly Matthew McConaughey’s hopes of taking the best lead actor prize have improved after SAG recognised his performance in Dallas Buyers Club.
The SAG awards for Jared Leto as best supporting actor for Dallas Buyers Club and for Lupita Nyong’o as supporting actress in 12 Years A Slave won’t have dimmed either’s chance of winning gold.
Meanwhile the outstanding cast award for American Hustle is viewed by some pundits as a harbinger of that film’s prospects of taking the best picture gong, as happened last year with Argo.
“At this point it just doesn’t appear Blanchett can be beaten – and she still has BAFTA to go before the Academy opens its envelopes on March 2,” opined Deadline com’s Peter Hammond.
“ It looks like Cate’s year and SAG just added more heat. Plus she delivers a great acceptance speech (“You’re giving me only 29 seconds after Matthew McConaughey was just up here talking about Neptune?”)”
Blanchett won the best supporting actress Oscar for The Aviator in 2005.
Actors make up the largest branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences so SAG members may have more influence in determining the Academy Awards winners than any other group.
Still, there are no certainties between the major guilds’ awards. As Hammond observes, the last time SAG and Oscar had a perfect match was 2010 when The King’s Speech took the cast award and Colin Firth, Black Swan's Natalie Portman and The Fighter's Christian Bale and Melissa Leo were victorious.
Commentators are now looking to the Producers Guild awards on Monday local time, as the PGA has matched the Oscar-winning best picture for the past six years in a row.
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
LUPITA NYONG’O / Patsey – “12 YEARS A SLAVE” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
JARED LETO / Rayon – “DALLAS BUYERS CLUB” (Focus Features)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS / Vice President Selina Meyer – “VEEP” (HBO)
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
TY BURRELL / Phil Dunphy – “MODERN FAMILY” (ABC)
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
MODERN FAMILY (ABC)
JULIE BOWEN / Claire Dunphy
TY BURRELL / Phil Dunphy
AUBREY ANDERSON EMMONS / Lily Tucker-Pritchett
JESSE TYLER FERGUSON / Mitchell Pritchett
NOLAN GOULD / Luke Dunphy
SARAH HYLAND / Haley Dunphy
ED O’NEILL / Jay Pritchett
RICO RODRIGUEZ / Manny Delgado
ERIC STONESTREET / Cameron Tucker
SOFIA VERGARA / Gloria Delgado-Pritchett
ARIEL WINTER / Alex Dunphy
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
HELEN MIRREN / Linda Kenney Baden – “PHIL SPECTOR” (HBO)
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
MICHAEL DOUGLAS / Liberace – “BEHIND THE CANDELABRA” (HBO)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
MAGGIE SMITH / Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham – “DOWNTON ABBEY” (PBS)
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
BRYAN CRANSTON / Walter White – “BREAKING BAD” (AMC)
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
BREAKING BAD (AMC)
MICHAEL BOWEN / Uncle Jack
BETSY BRANDT / Marie Schrader
BRYAN CRANSTON / Walter White
LAVELL CRAWFORD / Huell
TAIT FLETCHER / Lester
LAURA FRASER / Lydia Rodarte-Quale
ANNA GUNN / Skyler White
MATTHEW T. METZLER / Matt
RJ MITTE / Walter White Jr.
DEAN NORRIS / Hank Schrader
BOB ODENKIRK / Saul Goodman
AARON PAUL / Jesse Pinkman
JESSE PLEMONS / Todd
STEVEN MICHAEL QUEZADA / Gomez
KEVIN RANKIN / Kenny
PATRICK SANE / Frankie
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
MATTHEW McCONAUGHEY / Ron Woodroof – “DALLAS BUYERS CLUB” (Focus Features)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
CATE BLANCHETT / Jasmine – “BLUE JASMINE” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
AMERICAN HUSTLE (Columbia Pictures)
AMY ADAMS / Sydney Prosser
CHRISTIAN BALE / Irving Rosenfeld
LOUIS C.K. / Stoddard Thorsen
BRADLEY COOPER / Richie DiMaso
PAUL HERMAN / Alfonse Simone
JACK HUSTON / Pete Musane
JENNIFER LAWRENCE / Rosalyn Rosenfeld
ALESSANDRO NIVOLA / Federal Prosecutor
MICHAEL PEÑA / Sheik (Agent Hernandez)
JEREMY RENNER / Mayor Carmine Polito
ELISABETH RÖHM / Dolly Polito
SHEA WHIGHAM / Carl Elway