As we close in on the end of the year, it sure looks like the Best Picture field will be dominated by smaller, art-house movies with limited commercial appeal. The only big-budget, $100-million dollar grossers likely to be nominated are Gone Girl, Interstellar, and maybe the musical Into the Woods.

Gone Girl struck early by winning best picture at something called the Hollywood Film Awards, handed out last Friday.

Depending on who you believe, the likely Oscar nominations include:

Boyhood
The Imitation Game
Birdman
Foxcatcher
The Theory Of Everything
Selma
A Most Violent Year
Interstellar
Gone Girl

A bunch of these haven't even opened yet. Various critics awards will start being handed out in early December.

Add to that list PT Anderson's adaptation of Inherent Vice, American Sniper, and maybe a best actor nod for Marky Mark in The Gambler.

I'm hoping Chef sneaks in as a dark horse in the race.

Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards nominations announced today. These have been the best barometer for predicting the Oscars for the past few years. Acting only, no awards for screenwriting or direction.

Motion Picture Nominees

Outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture (a.k.a. Best Picture)

"Birdman"
"Boyhood"
"The Grand Budapest Hotel"
"The Imitation Game"
"The Theory of Everything"

Outstanding performance by a male actor in a leading role

Steve Carell, "Foxcatcher"
Benedict Cumberbatch, "The Imitation Game"
Jake Gyllenhaal,"Nightcrawler"
Michael Keaton, "Birdman"
Eddie Redmayne, "The Theory of Everything"

Outstanding performance by a female actor in a leading role

Jennifer Aniston, "Cake"
Felicity Jones, "The Theory of Everything"
Julianne Moore, "Still Alice"
Rosamund Pike, "Gone Girl"
Reese Witherspoon, "Wild"

Outstanding performance by a male actor in a supporting role

Robert Duvall, "The Judge"
Ethan Hawke, "Boyhood"
Edward Norton, "Birdman"
Mark Ruffalo, "Foxcatcher"
J.K. Simmons, "Whiplash"

Outstanding performance by a female actor in a supporting role

Patricia Arquette, "Boyhood"
Keira Knightley, "The Imitation Game"
Emma Stone, "Birdman"
Meryl Streep, "Into the Woods"
Naomi Watts, "St. Vincent"

That is a very lilly white group of actors.

Once again I have seen none of the nominated films or the films the best actor/actress nominations are from. Years ago I would have seen all of them by now.

I'm glad Jake Gyllenhaal was nominated for "Nightcrawler".I really enjoyed the atmosphere of that movie.

I've seen 2 of the 5, Boyhood and The Grand Budapest Hotel (my personal favorite of the year). Have no real interest on seeing the other 3 at the movies (will rent though). Overall another eh year.

Why does the Academy hate Tyler Perry SO MUCH???

Of the five nominees I only have interest in The Imitation Game.

I've only seen Gone Girl, but I'm sure the screeners will be out on BitTorrent I'll get a chance to see all of these at my local cinema soon enough

I wonder if Gone Girl will get into the Oscar race since they can have up to 10 but probably not, not indie enough.

I missed that Gone Girl nomination up there, I have seen that one.

Who should have been nominated?

I've seen almost all of those movies. Emma Stone is the only one that sticks out as an "Oh really?"

If I don't have a suggestion, does that nullify the observation?

Chadwick Boseman as James Brown in Get On Up should be in the conversation, at least.

I'm hoping to Aniston's Cake do well as it was produced by a girl I went to school with all K through 12 here in Iowa.

He was good, but it was a pretty boring, by the numbers film.

I could see him possibly getting a nomination.

I haven't seen Foxcatcher yet, but I'd put the other four nominated performances over Boseman's.

Right now I'd give the award to Gyllenhaal.

Last year before the movie opened, I thought that around this time I might be foaming at the mouth if Interstellar didn't get a lot of Oscar nominations. I watched the nominations live, and it took a few minutes after the announcements were made for me to realize that the only major nomination it got was for music. My reaction was, "Oh."

I was more disappointed that Guardians didn't get a Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay nomination. I don't think there were ten movies better than that film. But one of the films that WAS---The Imitation Game---was deservedly nominated, and I hope it wins. Until I see the other nominated films, I'll withhold my judgement.

It was nice to see Rocket get a Best Actor nomination for his role in Raccoon Sniper. I suspect that he'll lose to either Benedict Cumberbatch or Eddie Redmayne. I haven't yet seen The Theory of Everything, and it's wrong for me to assume that Redmayne will win simply because his character will eventually wind up in a wheelchair, but handicapped characters have a good track record with the Academy. Not so much rodents.

P.S. About the Bradley Cooper/Rocket Raccoon joke: Fortunately, somebody with better Photoshop skills than me made this so I don't have to.

3 of the best movies of 2014, The Lego Movie, Interstellar and Gone Girl, didn't get Best Picture nods.

Man, the Oscars suck.