Predicting the Screen Actors' Guild film nominees

Could Linda Cardellini be a surprise SAG nominee for "Return?"

Credit: Focus World

A couple of you have asked for a space in which you can toss around your predictions for tomorrow's Screen Actors' Guild Award nominations, and we are nothing if not obliging. I've listed my own best guesses after the jump to get the ball rolling.

I'm not going to waste too much time analyzing the possibilities. I expect "Lincoln" and "Silver Linings Playbook" to come out on top numbers-wise, while this will be an interesting place to see where seemingly on-the-bubble contenders like Bradley Cooper or Matthew McConaughey currently stand in the race.

Though they often lean slightly more conservative (and American) in their choices than the Academy, SAG is capable of surprising us: last year's Best Actor nod for Demian Bichir caught pretty much everyone off guard, and was duly repeated on Oscar nomination morning.

If you're looking to call this year's Bichir-style wild card, you'd be best off doing it in the Best Actress category: with "Beasts of the Southern Wild" ineligible, and French contenders Emmanuelle Riva and Marion Cotillard by no means slam-dunks with this crowd, there's a lot of room for maneuver here. I'm throwing caution to the wind and guessing that Linda Cardellini's self-funded campaign for her superb work in the microbudget indie "Return," which involved sending screeners to all SAG voters, will pay off here, as it did in the Indie Spirit nominations. 

Who are you expecting -- or hoping -- to show up in tomorrow's announcement? Have at it. 

Best Ensemble
"Argo"
"Les Misérables"
"Lincoln"
"Silver Linings Playbook"
"Zero Dark Thirty"

Best Actor
Bradley Cooper, "Silver Linings Playbook"
Daniel Day-Lewis, "Lincoln"
John Hawkes, "The Sessions"
Joaquin Phoenix, "The Master"
Denzel Washington, "Flight"

Best Actress
Linda Cardellini, "Return"
Jessica Chastain, "Zero Dark Thirty"
Jennifer Lawrence, "Silver Linings Playbook"
Helen Mirren, "Hitchcock"
Naomi Watts, "The Impossible"

Best Supporting Actor
Alan Arkin, "Argo"
Robert De Niro, "Silver Linings Playbook"
Philip Seymour Hoffman, "The Master"
Tommy Lee Jones, "Lincoln"
Matthew McConaughey, "Magic Mike"

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, "The Master"
Ann Dowd, "Compliance"
Sally Field, "Lincoln"
Anne Hathaway, "Les Misérables"
Helen Hunt, "The Sessions"

Best Stunt Ensemble
"The Avengers"
"The Dark Knight Rises"
"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"

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Guy Lodge
Critic

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Guy Lodge is a South African-born critic and sometime screenwriter. In addition to his work at In Contention, he is a freelance contributor to Variety, Time Out, Empire and The Guardian. He lives well beyond his means in London.