'Oppenheimer' leads SAG nominations as gala moves to Netflix

LOS ANGELES - Fresh from its wins at the Golden Globes, Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer" on Wednesday topped the nominations for the influential Screen Actors Guild Awards, which are key to Oscars success.

The SAG Awards, voted on by Hollywood actors, are likely to enjoy a profile boost of their own this year as they are broadcast globally on Netflix -- an awards show first for the world's biggest streamer.

"Oppenheimer," which tells the story of the inventor of the atomic bomb, earned nods for Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr. and Emily Blunt, as well as "outstanding performance by a cast" -- the SAG Awards' top prize.

Nolan's three-hour epic, which earned nearly $1 billion and received rave reviews from critics, is rapidly becoming the clear favorite for the Academy Awards in March.

"Barbie" -- the other half of last summer's "Barbenheimer" box office phenomenon, and the year's highest grossing film -- picked up nominations for Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling and overall cast.

The surreal comedy based on the wildly popular doll also picked up a nomination for its stunt performers.

The other films with three acting nominations were historical epic "Killers of the Flower Moon" -- despite its leading man Leonardo DiCaprio missing out -- and scathing satire "American Fiction," starring Jeffrey Wright.

Both movies are nominated for best cast, with musical remake "The Color Purple" rounding out that category.

'Colossal'

This year's SAG Awards gala, held on February 24, will be streamed on Netflix, as the platform slowly moves into hosting live events.

The Screen Actors Guild will bestow a lifetime achievement award on Barbra Streisand.

In a statement, SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher praised the EGOT -- Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony -- winner as "a colossal icon with a relentless work ethic, evolving with each stage of her remarkable journey."

Speeches at next month's gala are certain to feature multiple references to last year's Hollywood strikes, which saw the industry shut down as SAG-AFTRA -- along with the writers' guild -- went head-to-head with studios.

A deal was finally reached to end the actors' strike in November.

While Netflix will host the gala, none of its films were nominated for the night's biggest prize.

But the streamer did land five movie nominations, including Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan for Leonard Bernstein biopic "Maestro," and Jodie Foster and Annette Bening for "Nyad."

Elsewhere, Globes winners Paul Giamatti and Da'Vine Joy Randolph picked up nods for "The Holdovers," as did Emma Stone and her co-star Willem Dafoe for "Poor Things."

All four films missed out on nominations for outstanding cast.

The winner of that prize has gone on to win best picture at the Oscars in three of the past four years ("Parasite," "CODA" and "Everything Everywhere All at Once").

Actors represent the biggest branch of the membership of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which votes for the Oscars.

The SAG Awards also honor television, with "Succession" on top with five nods, followed by "The Bear," "The Last of Us" and "Ted Lasso," all on four.

DGA nominations

Hollywood's directors' guild also announced its own nominations Wednesday.

Both Nolan's "Oppenheimer" and Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" again made the shortlist of five nominees for the Directors Guild of America's best film.

They were joined by Martin Scorsese's "Killers of the Flower Moon, "Alexander Payne's "The Holdovers," and "Poor Things" from Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos.

The DGA Awards will take place on February 10. - AFP