No supporting actor Oscar nod for Andrew Garfield? In a way, maybe he's used to this by now

Despite appearing in "The Social Network," one of the most buzzed-about movies of this awards season, British-American actor Andrew Garfield made the not-as-coveted not-nominated-for-an Oscar list on Tuesday morning.

Some were taken aback by this. In fact, Garfield -- who portrayed of Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin -- "was heralded by more than a few gurus of gold as the guy to beat in the supporting actor race," wrote Times writer Chris Lee in his summary of this year's Academy snubs.

But one could argue that this is actually quite befitting of Garfield, given the actor's career trajectory of playing victims and fall guys. In fact, we've compiled this handy gallery of some of Garfield's film roles. (Fair warning: Spoilers await!)

What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

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'The Social Network' to 'Spider-Man': Does Andrew Garfield always play the victim?

-- Whitney Friedlander

Photos from left: Andrew Garfield in "Never Let Me Go," credit: Alex Bailey / Fox Searchlight; "Spider-Man," credit: John Schwartzman / Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. via Getty Images; and "The Social Network," credit: Merrick Morton / Columbia Tristar

Oscar nominations: Ben Affleck, Chris Nolan among those left off the list

 
This year's two heist movies, one of the mind, one of the cash, were robbed of Oscar nominations for their respective directors. Ben Affleck missed a nomination for "The Town," and his Boston-set heist film was also omitted from the Top 10 list. In fact, the film, which grossed more than $92 million at the box office, received only one nomination -- for supporting actor Jeremy Renner. In contrast, Christopher Nolan's "Inception" tracked down eight nominations, but Nolan was not honored for his directing efforts.

Rather, the academy chose Darren Aronofsky for "Black Swan," David O. Russell for "The Fighter," Tom Hooper for "The King's Speech," David Fincher for "The Social Network" and Joel and Ethan Coen for "True Grit."

In the acting category, the biggest snub probably belonged to Andrew Garfield, who was left off the supporting actor list in favor of John Hawkes of "Winter's Bone." And in the acting category, Ryan Gosling's performance in "Blue Valentine" was ignored by the Academy in favor of Javier Bardem, who received a nomination for "Biutiful."

-- Nicole Sperling

Photo: Jon Hamm in "The Town." Credit: Warner Bros.

Poll: What film will win the SAG ensemble award?

Now that "The Social Network" has won every major film critics' award plus the Golden Globe and National Board of Review, the next two places to stop the juggernaut -– if it can be stopped -– is at the Producers Guild of America awards (Saturday) or the Screen Actors Guild awards (Jan. 30).

Its PGA victory seems inevitable. "The Social Network" is just the kind of hip, successful flick that the producers usually embrace. Those SAG awards, though -- they're tricky.

All pundit eyes are on one SAG category: best ensemble. If "The King's Speech" or "The Fighter" wins there, Oscar momentum could suddenly shift. The last two times there were jaw-dropping upsets for best picture at the Academy Award, we got our first hints of it in this SAG ensemble category when "Crash" (2005) and "Shakespeare in Love" (1998) prevailed.

What makes the SAG race all the more interesting this year is the likelihood that either "The King's Speech" or "The Fighter" will win. "The Social Network" is a brilliant film, yes, but its performances aren't flashy –- they don't have snob appeal. On the other hand, the performances in "The King's Speech" and "The Fighter" are big, brassy, muscular.

Meantime, don't write off "The Kids Are All Right" -– there's impressive ensemble chemistry between Mark Ruffalo and his newfound family. Or "Black Swan," which has special appeal to members of the actors' guild: It's about the performing arts. It's really "All About Eve" on toe shoes.

Below is a list of past winners.

Asterisk (*) = Won Oscar for best picture

WINNERS: SAG ENSEMBLE AWARD
1995 – "Apollo 13"
1996 – "The Birdcage"
1997 – "The Full Monty"
1998 – "Shakespeare in Love" *
1999 – "American Beauty" *
2000 – "Traffic"
2001 – "Gosford Park"
2002 – "Chicago" *
2003 – "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" *
2004 – "Sideways"
2005 – "Crash" *
2006 – "Little Miss Sunshine"
2007 – "No Country for Old Men" *
2008 – "Slumdog Millionaire" *
2009 – "Inglourious Basterds"

-- Tom O'Neil

Photo: L.A. Times photo by Tom O'Neil

My 100% perfect Oscar nomination predictions

Oscar nominations will be unveiled next Tuesday. Below: my predictions in the top six Academy Awards races.

BEST PICTURE
1. "The Social Network"
2. "The King's Speech"
3. "The Fighter"
4. "True Grit"
5. "Black Swan"
6. "Toy Story 3"
7. "Inception"
8. "The Town"
9. "127 Hours"
10. "The Kids Are All Right"

The top seven films on this list are locks for nominations. Mystery looms over what will nab those bottom three rungs where four films jockey for inclusion. "Winter's Bone" is the one not shown here, but could break in.


BEST DIRECTOR
1. David Fincher, “The Social Network”
2. Christopher Nolan, “Inception”
3. Darren Aronofsky, “Black Swan”
4. Tom Hooper, “The King’s Speech”
5. David O. Russell, “The Fighter”

Fincher will win, of course. The only suspense surrounds who'll be nominated. The above five are the DGA nominees. One of them (but not Fincher) might be bumped for Joel and Ethan Coen ("True Grit") or Danny Boyle ("127 Hours"). There's a remote chance Lisa Cholodenko ("The Kids Are All Right") could squeak in now that a woman finally won here for the first time last year.


BEST ACTOR
1. Colin Firth, "The King's Speech"
2. James Franco, "127 Hours"
3. Jesse Eisenberg, "The Social Network"
4. Robert Duvall, "Get Low"
5. Jeff Bridges, "True Grit"

Colin Firth will win, James Franco and Jesse Eisenberg are guaranteed nominations. Duvall and Bridges are vulnerable and could be bumped by Javier Bardem ("Biutiful"), Mark Wahlberg ("The Fighter") or Ryan Gosling ("Blue Valentine").
 

BEST ACTRESS
1. Natalie Portman, "Black Swan"
2. Annette Bening, "The Kids Are All Right"
3. Nicole Kidman, "Rabbit Hole"
4. Jennifer Lawrence, "Winter's Bone"
5. Hilary Swank, "Conviction"

Some pundits doubt that Swank will make the list, but she scored a SAG nomination and that's always a great omen. Otherwise, expect Julianne Moore ("The Kids Are All Right") or Michelle Williams ("Blue Valentine") to sneak in. Outside shot: Lesley Manville ("Another Year"), who won National Board of Review. Some pundits believe Hailee Steinfeld ("True Grit") will be nommed in lead even though she campaigned in supporting. That happened just two years ago with Kate Winslet ("The Reader"), but I don't see that scenario repeating now.
 

'King's Speech' dominates BAFTA nominations

 

"The King's Speech" dominated the nominations for the Orange British Academy Awards on Monday evening,  scoring 14 nominations, followed by "Black Swan" with 12, "Inception" with nine and "127 Hours" and "True Grit" with eight. "The Social Network," which has won the major critics awards this season, as well as the Critics Choice Movie Awards and the Golden Globe for best film, received six nominations.
 
Besides best film, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts gave "King's Speech" nominations for lead actor for Colin Firth, who just won the Golden Globe; supporting actress for Helena Bonham Carter; supporting actor for Geoffrey Rush; director for Tom Hooper; original screenplay for David Seidler, as well as for best British film, cinematography, costume design, editing, makeup and hair, original music, production design and sound.
 
Joining "King's Speech" in the best film category are "Black Swan," "Inception," "The Social Network" and "True Grit."

The other best director nominees are Danny Boyle for "127 Hours," Darren Aronofsky for "Black Swan," Christopher Nolan for "Inception" and David Fincher for "The Social Network."
 
Along witjh Firth in the best actor category are Javier Bardem for "Biutiful," Jeff Bridges for "True Grit," Jesse Eisenberg for "The Social Network" and James Franco for "127 Hours."
Leading actress nominees are  Annette Bening and Julianne Moore for "The Kids Are All Right," Natalie Portman for "Black Swan," Noomi Rapace for "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" and Hailee Steinfeld for "True Grit."
 
Nominated in the supporting actor category are Christian Bale for "The Fighter,"  Andrew Garfield for "The Social Network," the late Pete Postlethwaite for "The Town,"' Mark Ruffalo for "The Kids are All Right" and Rush.

Joining Bonham Carter in the supporting actress category are Amy Adams for "The Fighter," Barbara Hershey for "Black Swan," Lesley Manville for "Another Year" and Miranda Richardson for "Made in Dangenham."

Notably missing from the list of nominees were "The Fighter" and its director, David O. Russell, Oscar best actress contender Jennifer Lawrence for "Winter's Bone" and supporting actress contender Melissa Leo, who just won the Golden Globe, for "The Fighter."
 
The nominees for animated film are "Despicable Me," "How to Train Your Dragon" and "Toy Story 3."

The awards will be handed out Feb. 13 at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in London.
 
For a complete list of nominees go to http://www.bafta.org.

-- Susan King

Photo: BAFTA nominees Colin Firth and Helena Bonham Carter in "The King's Speech." Credit: The Weinstein Co.

 

Golden Globes announce more presenters including nominee Andrew Garfield

The Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. announced a new crop of presenters for this Sunday's Golden Globe Awards telecast.

Andrew Garfield, nominated for lead actor in a supporting role for "The Social Network," Steve Carell, nominee for lead actor in a TV series comedy or musical for "The Office," January Jones, Alicia Keys, Eva Longoria, Michelle Pfeiffer and Julianne Moore, a nominee for lead actress in a comedy or musical motion picture for "The Kids Are All Right,"  will be among the presenters Sunday on the three-hour ceremony, which will be telecast live on NBC at 5 p.m. from the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Ricky Gervais returns as the host.

--Susan King

Andrew Garfield photo by Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times

 

Palm Springs gala is a trial run for Oscar night

James Franco polished his teleprompter-reading, Natalie Portman found a baby-bump-friendly dress and Colin Firth and Robert Duvall schooled the new kids in speech-making.

A week before the Golden Globes and seven weeks before the Oscars, Hollywood held its first dress rehearsal of awards season Saturday night at the Palm Springs International Film Festival�s 22nd annual awards gala. Though high on glamour, the event offers attendees an opportunity to hone their awards-show skills in the relatively low-pressure environment of a desert film festival.

Stars like Javier Bardem, Carey Mulligan and Mark Wahlberg walked a 300-foot red carpet into the Palm Springs Convention Center, passing bunches of red tulips spilling out of giant martini glasses and ice sculptures of Ketel One vodka bottles. Inside the sprawling dining room, tables were dressed with red silk and Cartier napkin rings, a 32-piece orchestra played and �Entertainment Tonight�s� Mary Hart emceed.

Portman, who received the Desert Palm Achievement Actress award and is considered an Oscar front-runner for her performance in �Black Swan,� remembered to thank all the key people � her mom, manager, director and castmates. But she singled out her choreographer, Benjamin Millepied, saying, �He partnered me in the film and also now partners with me in life.� The actress, who wore a loose-fitting, collared black dress that concealed a baby bump, recently announced that she and Millepied were engaged and expecting a child.

Though the event is black-tie, most of the celebrities are considerably more relaxed than at other awards events. They aren�t worried about a live television audience and already know what they�re winning, or not winning, a fact that leads to some very loose speeches.

Before presenting Carey Mulligan with the Breakthrough Performance Award, her "Never Let Me Go" costar Andrew Garfield said, �She's lacking in vanity enough to rock a mullet with pride.� Melissa Leo introduced "The Town" director Ben Affleck by calling him �our generation�s Orson Welles but with better abs.� And a tie-less and expletive-dropping Jake Gyllenhaal said of Portman, �She has recently announced that she is gonna have a baby, who will probably need therapy after watching �Black Swan.� �

Join our live chat with 'Social Network' stars Andrew Garfield and Jesse Eisenberg on Saturday

 
For Jesse Eisenberg and Andrew Garfield, 2010 had to be some kind of crazy year. Eisenberg started things off playing a drug dealing Orthodox Jew in "Holy Rollers" and Garfield a soulful clone in "Never Let Me Go."  Both were small, well-received movies that not a whole lot of people saw.   

But things were very different with the release of "The Social Network," David Fincher's film about the founding of Facebook. The movie, in which Eisenberg  plays Harvard undergrad Mark Zuckerberg, who with his friend � and soon to be frenemy � Eduardo Saverin (Garfield) launches the site, caught on with audiences and critics alike and is now hitting the awards season like a bullet train.

So what must have it been like working with Fincher? Or Justin Timberlake? The actors will be joining us at 10 a.m. Saturday (Jan. 8) for a live chat to discuss the film, their roles, future projects and to answer all your questions. Sign up below.

Photo: Andrew Garfield, left, and Jesse Eisenberg in "The Social Network." Credit: Columbia Tristar.