Meryl Streep to go Supporting for Into the Woods

Meryl Streep will be run in Supporting, not lead, while Emily Blunt will be the lead actress contender for Into the Woods, a rep from Disney confirmed. Sometimes the “category confusion” as my friend Nat calls it can lead to odd happenings when the award nominations come down. There was Kate Winslet getting a supporting nod for The Reader but then winning for Lead in that category. There was Jennifer Connelly for supporting in A Beautiful Mind being nominated for Lead by SAG then going for and winning in Supporting at the Oscars. It happens sometimes as voters (Academy or SAG) are not required to put any actor in any category. They do what they want. But much of the time, if it’s done early enough, ducks get put in a row and things line up as expected, especially lately with so much publicity around the Oscars now.

When there are so many contenders in one film it becomes harder to decide where to put them, especially when there are kind of gray areas. For instance, Channing Tatum is actually lead for Foxcatcher, along with Steve Carell, where Mark Ruffalo is Supporting.

In this case, both Meryl Streep and Anna Kendrick will be in supporting for Into the Woods, which could also be in line for a SAG ensemble nod given the talent involved.

Right now the Supporting Actress category is led by Patricia Arquette for her astonishing work in Boyhood. She is joined by Laura Dern for her heartbreaking turn in Wild, Keira Knightley who is ferocious in The Imitation Game, Emma Stone hard hitting in Birdman, Viola Davis paying against type in Eleanor Rigby, and Kristen Stewart who is said to be great in Still Alice. Melissa McCarthy for St. Vincent, and Naomi Watts for Birdman AND St. Vincent.

Kendrick and Streep, Anne Hathaway in Interstellar, yeah, it’s going to be a crowded year for Supporting Actress.