CATCHING UP MIDSEASON: EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW SERIES: Candace Cameron Bure (Summer) from Make It Or Break It

When Make It Or Break It premiered last summer, the first thought that popped into my mind was…how did they know that has been my idea for a show for years? But in all honesty, one of my other loves in life is gymnastics. I follow the sport closely, and I used to be a gymnast. So when I found out about a show that combines two of my greatest interests, I could hardly contain myself. The show has more than lived up to my expectations, and I was so excited when it was renewed for 10 more episodes. It is a great look into the world of elite gymnastics, but even more than that, it’s a great drama with wonderful, interesting characters. I recently caught up with Candace Cameron Bure, and her lovely daughter Natasha at an ABC Family event (she wasn’t there on the day of my set visit), and asked her about the upcoming season, her character Summer and how she uses twitter to keep up with her fans. This season brings a lot of new things for Summer, she even hinted that she might be getting involved at The Rock.

Last (mid) season’s finale of Make It Or Break it ended on a big cliffhanger. What’s in the future for Summer? What’s going to happen with your relationship with Lauren now that you’re not with her dad anymore?
Summer broke up with Steve. She called off the engagement, and there’s definitely a switch in the relationship with Summer and Lauren, now that I’ve broken up with her dad. And I think Lauren’s never going to stop her one-liners, her zingers, but I think that they’ll be embraced by that relationship now because it’s quite different and there’s lot of cliffhangers with Payson and whether she’s going to ever do gymnastics again. And my character, now that she’s broken up, she might be finding love, you know, another love on the show. So you’ll have to tune in.

And do you want to be on the show? (to her daughter Natasha)
Yes, I do.

Do you want to play a gymnast?
Yes.

Candace, how do you feel about that?
Oh, it’s fine.
Natasha: I could be your daughter on the show.
Candace: You could be my daughter, but that might be a little true to life because I am just playing a character. But you could be a younger gymnast, that would be great.

Are you working on anything aside from the show?
I have a production company, and we’re working on some television movies right now and an independent. And I have a book that’s going to be released over the summer on health and fitness.

CATCHING UP MIDSEASON: EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW SERIES: Paul Stupin (Executive Producer) of Make It Or Break It

When Make It Or Break It premiered last summer, the first thought that popped into my mind was…how did they know that has been my idea for a show for years? But in all honesty, one of my other loves in life is gymnastics. I follow the sport closely, and I used to be a gymnast. So when I found out about a show that combines two of my greatest interests, I could hardly contain myself. I recently had the chance to visit the amazing set of the show (I even got to step foot in The Rock), and speak with the creator, executive producer and the cast members. It was an amazing visit and I’m so excited to finally be able to share with you all of the interviews. The mid-season premiere is less than a week away, and when I caught up with Paul Stupin (Executive Producer), we chatted about the upcoming season, how they built The Rock, and his gymnastics research and education.

So I’ve always said there should be a show about gymnastics…
I agree!

I am a huge gymnastics fan, and I was a gymnast a while ago. What was the motivation behind writing a show about gymnastics?
Well, initially I was not aboard when Holly did the pilot. But when the opportunity came up to potentially come on board, the first thought was…wow how freaking cool is that? Because I had watched the Summer Olympics, that’s the one element of the Summer Olympics which I absolutely did not miss. And the thing that I found so appealing about it was that not only does it give us an opportunity to sort of create these great characters and their interactions and follow their lives and their romances and all the fun personal stuff. But it’s got this totally cool overlay with the gymnastics to which we can filter all of that. And so I just thought it was a great new spin on an ensemble drama show that gave us a chance to visually do something really fun and interesting.

Holly was saying that there was a ton of research done about the gymnastics world. Is that an ongoing process?
Well there are whole elements in terms of what we do to keep the verisimilitude alive and what’s so interesting about it is initially we’ll be sitting at the writers room and someone will come up with well something happens and they’ll be an injury. Well then the question is — what the hell happens and what’s the move and what’s the injury so I think we want to be as true to that world as we absolutely can be. And I think we’re doing a — one of our characters in the season finale had an accident, so especially in terms of how we follow that arc and that storyline. We want to be true to what an actual gymnast might experience. The other thing that’s funny –I don’t know if Holly mentioned it — when we’re sitting in the writers room and we come up with some interesting gymnastics thing — someone will go “well then she’ll do the flippity flip, and then after a really cool flippity flip,” so we have a gymnastics coordinator who comes in and [we] say “we need a great flippity flip for this, what do we do?” And I’ve learned all sorts of cool [terms] — the shushunova, things that I never knew about and it’s a gymnastics education for me, too.

I spoke with all the girls over the summer, and they all said they watched a lot of gymnastics on Youtube. Did you do the same thing?
Well, I just have loved gymnastics, so it’s so much fun. And I’ll tell you, when we’re shooting gymnastics, it’s so much fun. It really does feel like the Cirque De Soleil is happening because not only will we have on days we are shooting at The Rock our girls, but we’ll also have these incredible gymnasts in some cases the national champions, here doubling them. And then in the background we have other gymnasts playing background gymnasts, so it’s just this sort of visual treat. And all this fun action and eye candy to look at…it’s just really nice.

CATCHING UP MIDSEASON: EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW SERIES: Holly Sorensen (Creator) of Make It Or Break It

When Make It Or Break It premiered last summer, the first thought that popped into my mind was…how did they know that has been my idea for a show for years? But in all honesty, one of my other loves in life is gymnastics. I follow the sport closely, and I used to be a gymnast. So when I found out about a show that combines two of my greatest interests, I could hardly contain myself. I recently had the chance to visit the amazing set of the show (I even got to step foot in The Rock), and speak with the creator, executive producer and the cast members. I got to see the Pizza Shack, sit in the Cruz mansion and the Keeler household, and I can tell you, this set is spectacular. The Rock looked exactly like a gymnastics gym. Sadly, I didn’t get to see any of the doubles. For those who are unaware, there are many incredibly decorated gymnasts who double for the regular cast when they do any sort of gymnastics move. It was an amazing visit and I’m so excited to finally be able to share with you all of the interviews. The mid-season premiere is less than a week away, and when I caught up with Holly Sorensen (the creator), we chatted about her motivation behind creating this show, the casting process and the research she did into the world of elite gymnastics before the show started.

So I’ve always said there should be a show about gymnastics. I love it, I was a gymnast. What was your inspiration and what made you decide to write this show?
I come from a family of sports people. I come from a sports background, but I’ve always liked the Olympics, the Olympic ideal. I’m one of those people who would just watch all of the coverage of the Olympics, watch every single night. During the Winter Olympics, I put on a fire in my house and watch it all. And I always looked at those people and thought what makes them do that. I don’t have that — we work really hard here — but I don’t have that single minded determination and focus. So those people were always interesting to me, and when I was a kid I had a friend who was trying to be a professional ice skater and I felt so sorry for her: she had to get up at four in the morning and leave school at three in the afternoon, and couldn’t go to any of the dances. And I thought it was like child abuse. And the older I got the more I realized there were people that just sacrificed big chunks of their life for that. So I thought the whole big picture idea of it was interesting. I had been trading my scripts with the ABC Family development department because the stuff I was writing — we could tell we were interested in working together — [but] we couldn’t really find the right thing. So I went and I said, you know I’m really interested in pre-professional children, I’m interested in professional athletes who are children — about what that is to a family — I think it’d be really interesting to do skiing or gymnastics.

Skiing might have been a little harder to shoot.
You know gymnastics is not — the reason why there hasn’t been a gymnastics show is because it’s a really daunting thing to do. It’s a lot more difficult. Hopefully it’s more difficult than it looks. Hopefully we make it look not difficult but it’s not easy.

In the process of writing and creating the show, did you do a lot of research into elite gymnastics?
I did. It’s a really interesting world. It’s an interesting personality type that tends to go into that. The kind of person that becomes a gymnast is probably exactly the opposite of my own personality, which makes it just even more interesting. And then what I thought was interesting from a storytelling point of view is that you have this facility: The Rock, filled with families. And we say on the show that The Rock is like a small town, because it’s filled with people that are just there by proximity, and kind of by coincidence. Because these girls probably wouldn’t be friends if they were all in high school together. And their families probably wouldn’t associate with one another. They’re kind of forced to be together. And as a storyteller, that’s really fun. Because then you’re putting combinations of people together that are interesting.

INTERVIEW: Ken Baumann (Ben) from Secret Life Of The American Teenager

I absolutely adore ABC Family’s original programming. Secret Life of the American Teenager may have started off as a guilty pleasure show for me (I’m not sure I’m in the right demographic), but it has quickly become a favorite of mine. It tackles a lot of tough issues — teenage pregnancy, sex, relationships, death…you name it, which many other shows shy away from. It has a great cast and interesting storylines and I am so excited for its mid-season premiere. I recently had the chance to chat with Ken Baumann who plays Ben Boykewich about what’s coming up this season, how he relates to his character, and his ideal guest star.

What’s coming up on this season of Secret Life?
Let’s see, what can I give away. Infidelity, maybe a new pregnancy, maybe — oh my God, there’s so much drama, it’s hard to keep up with!

Your character, Ben, has been going through a lot of issues. How do you relate to your character?
You know, it’s interesting because I never fell in love with a girl who got knocked up by the bad boy. I would say that there are a lot of parallels to my high school experience. I’m kind of the geeky guy, so I feel very akin to Ben in that way. So yeah, I understand what it’s like to navigate school, which is very tricky.

Other than the show, is there another genre you want to work in– do you want to do movies?
I kind of feel like — Stanley Kubrick, one of his favorite quotes, when people ask him what kind of movies he’d like to make, he said “good movies.” And I know it’s like inexplicable, but I just want to do good projects — good movies, good TV.

INTERVIEW: Shailene Woodley (Amy) from Secret Life Of The American Teenager

I absolutely adore ABC Family’s original programming. Secret Life of the American Teenager may have started off as a guilty pleasure show for me (I’m not sure I’m in the right demographic), but it has quickly become a favorite of mine. It tackles a lot of tough issues — teenage pregnancy, sex, relationships, death…you name it, which many other shows shy away from. It has a great cast and interesting story lines and I am so excited for its mid-season premiere. I recently had the chance to chat with Shailene Woodley, who plays Amy Jeurgens about what’s coming up, which relationship she is rooting for (Ben vs. Ricky) and fan reaction to the show.

Is there anything you can share with us about what to expect when the show returns?
Yes, there’s a lot of new things. Another maybe pregnancy, weddings; there’s a lot of confusion as far as in Ben and Amy’s relationship; there’s a lot of up and downs with Ricky’s character and trying to figure out who he is and what he wants.  A lot of the characters are going through that stage in high school where you’re starting to become a person and in that recognition of who you are there’s a lot of confusion and you get scared.  And I think a lot of teenagers react in not the best ways and I think the whole next season kind of discovers that and goes into depth of that confusing state of adolescence.

You play a very serious character with a lot of responsibilities. What has that been like for you?
Well the first season, I was just like “please let her smile,” because every day I’d read the script and be like “Oh, I have to cry again tomorrow.” But it’s really cool being able to play a teen with all this turmoil in her life because she is developing a maternal [instinct] in such a quick way for a fifteen year old.

Do you have a favorite part of filming the show so far?
Yeah, I guess for some scenes there’s just two or three characters who work at the same time, and then sometimes like once every month, we’ll get like all the fifteen people who work at the same time, and it’s awesome. We all jam, we all play guitar together and hang out. The girls go into a trailer together and blast Spice Girls, and just sing for hours, we have fun.

How have you been able to relate to your character? Obviously, you’re not with-child.
I guess, just putting all the pressure that I had in high school and then adding pregnancy. That’s kind of the only way I could do it, and even that was almost impossible. I don’t mind playing pregnant, because I don’t plan to be for a very long time.

Amy went through a personality change after the baby was born.  What do you think the writers were trying to do there, was that like postpartum depression or just that she was kind of overwhelmed?
I think that all teenage girls kind of go through that mean stage where the world revolves around them.  I think it’s very hormonal and especially after having a child I think that your hormones are all out of whack and it causes a lot of mood swings.  So I think they were just trying to portray that life isn’t perfect after you have baby, you are going to go through exactly like what you said, post dramatic depression.  You’re going to go through a lot of things that you wouldn’t necessarily go through if you hadn’t had a child at 15.

Best TV Of The Year: 2009

As opposed to my Best of the Decade list which contained moments and episodes from the decade, this list will be less extensive because I didn’t want to limit myself to 5 best shows of 09. Keep in mind, this is in no particular order!

1.  Parks and Recreation: I did not enjoy this show in its first season. It was always all about “the pit” and getting rid of the pit. I adore Amy Poehler, but her role seemed a bit too Michael Scott-esque to me. However, whatever happened during the off-season was fantastic. Season two has been hilarious. The pit has taken a secondary role, and each character has had a chance to develop and grow. I didn’t care for Andy in the first season, but he has become one of my favorites. I think this show deserves a ton of recognition for really stepping up its game. It is a show I look forward to every week.

2. Lost: This past season has been phenomenal. Time changing, Dharma goodness, Hurley’s hilarious questions…it’s all been great. The creators are brilliant, and I have faith that they know exactly what they are doing and that the series finale is going to blow our minds.

3. How I Met Your Mother: This year has had such great episodes as The Playbook and The Front Porch (I will never forget how hard I laughed at suitjamas). While this show can have its up and downs, every episode makes me happy. And any excuse to watch Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris) wax poetic about his “bro code” and “lemon laws” is great in my opinion.

4. The Office: Season 5 started off (in ’08) with the Jim and Pam proposal, and ended on a pregnancy. And season 6 had one of the best episodes of The Office ever with the Jim/Pam wedding. It was perfect in so many ways–hilarious but also showed us what we have been wanting for 6 years. I may have watched the boat scene upwards of 10 times. The show is at its best truly brilliant, and it has been a great season thus far. I can’t wait to see more.

5. Party Down: This show on Starz Network has garnered quite a following for itself. Created by Rob Thomas (of Veronica Mars fame) it stars many of his VM colleagues, and is truly fantastic. It is a hilarious and wonderful portrayal of a catering company in Los Angeles, and its employees who clearly want to be more than just cater waiters. It returns for a 2nd season in 2010, where Kristen Bell will be back, and Megan Mullally joins the cast. This is a show you must see! Catch up with it on DVD before season 2 begins.

Best TV of the Decade: How my relationship with TV continued to solidify through the Aughts

I have been in love with all things TV since I knew what TV was. I grew up in the age of great TV. As any child of the 80s can claim, TV was almost a surrogate parent for me. As I got older, my relationship with TV continued to solidify and increase. In college, my roommate and I would keep the TV on practically from the moment we woke up until the moment we went to sleep. We’d wake up to Maury (don’t judge) and fall asleep to Frasier reruns. TV for me has always been a way to get invested in something that wasn’t my own life. It wasn’t necessarily a form of escapism, but more a way to enter the world of Central Perk or Neptune High.

I wouldn’t be writing about TV so much if I didn’t truly love it. When thinking about my list, I realized how subjective mine would be. There will be shows on there which I am sure everyone agrees with and some I might have left out. I decided that in addition to this list, I will include moments as well. Just naming a show is great, but I want to let everyone into my decade for a bit.

The first show that comes to mind right away is Friends. I realize that the show only had 4 seasons in the decade, but to me they were some of its best. One of my favorite episodes of all time (and there are way too many) is in the 9th season. “The One With Phoebe’s Birthday Dinner” centers around the gang’s arrival to Phoebe’s birthday dinner. Everyone (besides the guest of honor and Joey) are so preoccupied that they show up over an hour late. When the guests finally do arrive, Rachel and Ross brought Ross’ mom to watch Emma (they didn’t want to leave her), and Monica and Chandler are in a fight over cigarettes, ovulating and sex. Finally they all decide they are dedicated to the dinner, and Phoebe gets a call from Mike (boyfriend) and decides to leave to spend time with him. Eventually, everyone else (again besides Joey) leave to get back to their issues at hand. One of the best lines of the show comes at the very end when Joey says “Dinner for 6…for 1? You boys are about to see something very special.” The episode is also filled with many other amazing one-liners:
“Cigarettes in Hawaiian are called leilalalukus.” – Chandler, explaining his extensive knowledge of cigarettes to Phoebe
“Never hit a woman, never hit a woman. Ross bruises like a peach, he bruises like a peach” -Joey, when the gang takes too much time to order food after they finally arrived
Ross: “Kick up your feet, paint the town red!”
Rachel: “You really have to learn some new slang.”

This episode is just one of my many favorites from this show that made the friendship comedy what it is today. I remember re-watching this tape recorded episode, that a friend from college was kind enough to give my roommate and I, (DVR was just becoming sort of popular later in my college years) so many times that it eventually started to skip a little. Without Friends (and arguably others as well), there would be no How I Met Your Mother, or The Office. It was quite revolutionary in that respect. There was no star, no one standout actor. They were all a part of a cast of characters that grew, married, divorced, had babies and each got their moment in the spotlight. And as cheesy as this may sound, I feel like I grew along with them. I sat in my room watching the finale, crying as they gave in their keys–feeling like in a way, I knew this part of my life was over too. So I couldn’t leave this show off my list because it really will remain one of my favorites of all time, and definitely the decade.

The next show I consider to be a “best,” is Veronica Mars. Now I have to admit, in the age of DVDs and Netflix, I did not watch this show live. I don’t think my sole viewership would have saved the show from it’s way-too-short lived run, but I do wish I had seen it from day 1. I had always liked Kristen Bell, and my friend who introduced me to the show told me how amazing it was. We sat on her apartment couch (with her roommate’s crazy cats attacking us) and watched episode after episode. I think one time we watched four episodes of season 1 in a row without moving. I was addicted from the first few minutes. I loved every part of it: the cast, the mysteries, Jason Dohring… Rob Thomas is brilliant in so many respects and this show is his shining glory. One of my favorite episodes from this show was probably the finale of season 1 when everything comes to a head. (The finale of season 2 was amazing too). Veronica figures out Lily’s killer, almost dies, her dad saves her…you know the usual for a teenage sleuth. I wish that it had that 4th season with Veronica in the FBI because even though the 3rd season might not have been as innovative and amazing as the first 2, it was still Kristen Bell at her best, and I will always love it.

SUNDANCE CHANNEL: Rufus Wainwright “Prima Donna”

The Sundance Channel has some great programming coming up, and it’s documentaries are no exception. I recently had the pleasure of watching their newest one called Rufus Wainwright: Prima Donna. If you are a fan of this artist (and I know I am), you will really love this documentary. It takes the viewer through a journey of Rufus Wainwright’s life and prolific career leading up to his first classical opera (aptly titled “Prima Donna”) It is full of interesting home videos, and other exclusive looks into his life and what made him the singer/songwriter that he is today.

I had no idea that he always had a passion and love for opera. As a teenager, he cast his sister and cousins in the opera “Tosca,” that he filmed on a camcorder. Everything that Rufus does has a ton of passion behind it. This opera is no exception. The plot and cast members are loosely based on people closest to him. And despite his incredible talent, creating and staging this opera can be challenging at parts.

The documentary may be focused on his creative process surrounding the opera, but it is at its core about Rufus’ life. He was born to singer/performer Loudon Wainwright III and folk singer Kate McGarrigle. From a very young age, he was encouraged to explore his own musical talent. (In fact, most of his family is successful in the music business). He came out when he was a teenager, was addicted to drugs and had a stint in rehab, and has now become an incredibly beloved artist. He has a huge, cult-like fan base who will absolutely adore this documentary.

Even if you aren’t familiar with Rufus’ work, this documentary is very much worth checking out. I can’t put myself in the group of his biggest fans, I am more of a casual listener, but this documentary is great regardless. Rufus has had an incredibly interesting life and career, and this documentary truly showcases his journey to become the person he is now.

Be sure to tune in tonight at 9 pm on the Sundance Channel.

ADVANCE REVIEW: The Closer Season Finale

TNT decided to have a three episode arc of The Closer a few months after the season “ended,” and I am enjoying the episodes so much. I love this show a lot. It is both funny and serious, and focuses much more on the relationships and the characters than most procedural shows out there.

The season finale titled “Dead Man’s Hand,” airs tonight, and it is fantastic. It centers around a domestic abuse case that Major Crimes is asked to investigate and “tread lightly” because it involves an officer. Returning to the show in her role as Captain Raydor is Mary McDonnell who is really a powerhouse. If you remember from previous episodes, she butts heads quite a bit with Deputy Chief Johnson (Kyra Sedgwick), and this episode is no exception. The domestic abuse case involves one of Capt. Raydor’s subordinates, and there are twists and turns that were hard to see coming.

Another part of this episode involves Brenda and Fritz’s (played by Jon Tenney) relationship. Her job is always getting in the way of their dinners, their discussions…other things. In this episode, Fritz is angry about something but Brenda can’t figure out what it was or what she may have done. I don’t want to spoil too much but the ending between them is great. Brenda shows him — once and for all — that their relationship is her priority, and not her job. This is a big move for her (and them), and I was glad to see it. I have to admit, I wasn’t the biggest fan of that relationship at first (I love Pope, played by JK Simmons) and it seemed that Brenda was reluctant to get into a relationship with Fritz. As it has developed, however, I have become a big fan. I think he’s a good yin to her yang, and I enjoy when they bring him in to work side by side with her and her officers.

As far as season finales go, I really enjoyed this one. The case was interesting, and the return of Capt. Raydor was great. There was an amazing scene where Capt. Raydor and Chief Johnson admit that they don’t like each other. A simple exchange perhaps, but it was a wonderful scene. I hope she returns in the future. I wish I didn’t have to wait so long to see more new episodes, but I’m sure it will be worth it.

Be sure to tune in tonight at 9 pm on TNT for the season finale of The Closer.

SAG Awards: TV Nominations

The Awards season is clearly upon us. On Monday, the Golden Globe nominations were announced, and today, the SAG Awards. The choices were a bit different from the Globes, with a few surprises.

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble – Drama Series

• The Closer
• Dexter
• The Good Wife
• Mad Men
• True Blood

I am glad to see The Closer, The Good Wife and True Blood getting some attention, but where is Lost?

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble – Comedy Series

• 30 Rock
• Curb Your Enthusiasm
• Glee
• Modern Family
• The Office

All the usual choices here. Rooting for Glee or Modern Family (obviously), but it’s a tough category. I would have loved to see How I Met Your Mother nominated, because if any show is about its ensemble, it’s that one.

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor – Drama Series

• Simon Baker, “The Mentalist”
• Bryan Cransten, “Breaking Bad”
• Michael C. Hall, “Dexter”
• Jon Hamm, “Mad Men”
• Hugh Laurie,”House”

All strong choices and nominees…it’s nice to see Breaking Bad get some attention. But again, where is Lost? Such a great show with nomination-worthy performances.

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor – Drama Series

• Patricia Arquette, “Medium”
• Glenn Close, “Damages”
• Mariska Hargitay, “Law and Order: SVU”
• Holy Hunter, “Saving Grace”
• Julianna Margulies, “The Good Wife”
• Kyra Sedgwick, “The Closer”

I guess the SAG Awards can differ in terms of how many nominees for each category. It’s a bit strange, but there are a lot of strong female leads out there, and I think all of these nominees are good choices.

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor – Comedy Series

• Alec Baldwin, “30 Rock”
• Steve Carell, “The Office”
• Larry David, “Curb Your Enthusiasm”
• Tony Shaloub, “Monk”
• Charlie Sheen “Two and a Half Men”

All of these nominations seem decent, but where is Neil Patrick Harris for “How I Met Your Mother?”

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor – Comedy Series

• Christina Applegate, “Samantha Who”
• Toni Colette, “United States of Tara”
• Edie Falco, “Nurse Jackie”
• Tina Fey, “30 Rock”
• Julia Louis-Dreyfus, “The New Adventures of Old Christine”

These nominations don’t make a ton of sense. If you look at the Ensemble nominations, only Tina Fey represents one of the shows. None of the other shows represented in this Best Actress category were nominated for Best Comedy Series Ensemble. I think all of them are great actors, but where is the nomination for Jane Lynch or Lea Michele? I understand there is no “Supporting Actress” category, but if Glee, Modern Family and The Office are nominated as shows, where is the recognition for the actresses that make up that ensemble?

Overall thoughts: While I understand that the SAG Awards are primarily focused on movies, if they are going to include television, I think there should at least be the addition of a couple more categories. I was glad to see Glee and Modern Family get nominated, but they were left off in the acting categories. Lost is definitely a fan-favorite, but has not gotten much critical recognition this year. Hopefully after its last season, the show will get what it deserves. I will be watching the SAG Awards regardless. Will you? What are your thoughts on this awards show and the nominations.

2010 Screen Actors Guild Awards Nominations List

December 17, 2009

by:

Ani Esmailian

Nominees for the 16th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards® for outstanding performances in 2009 in five film and eight primetime television categories and for the SAG honors for film and television stunt ensembles were announced this morning in Los Angeles at the Pacific Design Center’s Silver Screen Theater in West Hollywood.

“Up in the Air,” “Precious” and “Inglourious Basterds” each have three nominations for the Screen Actors Guild Awards, among them honors for George Clooney, Diane Kruger and Mo’Nique.

“Inglourious Basterds” and “Precious” are competing for the guild’s overall cast prize, along with “An Education,” “The Hurt Locker” and “Nine.”

Check out the full list of Movie and TV show nominees and tell us if you agree!

MOTION PICTURE NOMINEES
Actor
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
George Clooney, Up In the Air
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Morgan Freeman, Invictus
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker

Actress
Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Helen Mirren, The Last Station
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
Meryl Streep, Julie and Julia

Supporting Actor
Matt Damon, Invictus
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

Supporting Actress
Penelope Cruz, Nine
Vera Farmiga, Up In the Air
Anna Kendrick, Up In the Air
Diane Kruger, Inglourious Basterds
Mo’Nique, Precious

Ensemble Cast
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Nine
Precious

Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture
Public Enemies
Star Trek
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

TELEVISION NOMINEES

Actor in a Telefilm or Miniseries
Kevin Bacon, “Taking Chance”
Cuba Gooding Jr., “Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story”
Jeremy Irons, “Georgia O’Keeffe”
Kevin Kline, “Great Performances Cyrano de Bergerac”
Tom Wilkinson, “A Number”

Actress in a Telefilm or Miniseries
Joan Allen, “Georgia O’Keeffe”
Drew Barrymore, “Grey Gardens”
Ruby Dee, “America”
Jessica Lange, “Grey Gardens”
Sigourney Weaver, “Prayers for Bobby”

Actress in a Drama Series
Patricia Arquette, “Medium”
Glenn Close, “Damages”
Mariska Hargitay, “Law & Order: SVU”
Holly Hunter, “Saving Grace”
Julianna Marguilies, “The Good Wife”
Kyra Sedgwick, “The Closer”

Actor in a Drama Series
Simon Baker, “The Mentalist”
Bryan Cranson, “Breaking Bad”
Michael C. Hall, “Dexter”
Jon Hamm, “Mad Men”
Hugh Laurie, “House“

Actor in a Comedy Series
Alec Baldwin, “30 Rock”
Steve Carell, “The Office”
Larry David, “Curb Your Enthusiasm”
Tony Shaloub, “Monk”
Charlie Sheen, “Two and a Half Men”

Actress in a Comedy Series
Christina Applegate, “Samantha Who”
Toni Colette, “United States of Tara”
Edie Falco, “Nurse Jackie”
Tina Fey, “30 Rock”
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, “The New Adventures of Old Christine”