10 Things You Gotta Know About Tonight's SAG Awards

George Clooney's (probably) gonna win! Modern Family's (possibly) gonna win, too! Mary Tyler Moore's (definitely) gonna get honored!

By Joal Ryan Jan 29, 2012 5:03 PMTags
Mary Tyler Moore, George Clooney, Sofia Vergara John Shearer/Getty Images; Tammie Arroyo/AP; Jeff Vespa/WireImage

The 2012 Screen Actors Guild Awards are—wait for it no more—tonight!

We'll be all over the red carpet (starting at 6 p.m. ET/3 PT), so consider that the first thing you have to know about the latest stop in the awards-season tour.

As an added bonus, here are 10 more amazing facts about tonight's surprisingly influential awards gala:

1. George Clooney Is (Probably) Going to Win: We couldn't find any oddsmakers issuing odds on the SAGs, but if you operate under the assumption that the SAGs are the Oscars, and vice versa, then Clooney, the concensus favorite of professional handicappers for the Best Actor Academy Award, should be viewed as the SAG favorite, as well.

2. Meryl Streep Is (Possibly) Not Going to Win: The Oscar odds for Best Actress are tighter than they are for Best Actor. One Vegas sports book has the race between Streep and The Help's Viola Davis as a dead even heat. The bottom line for the SAG Awards? No one, not even Streep, is going to be surprised if Davis takes the Actor.

3. Octavia Spencer and Christopher Plummer Are (Definitely) Going to Win: Are the supporting-acting categories still in contention? Officially, yes. Unofficially, no. 

4. The Best Picture Race Is Going to Be Clear as Mud: Let's say The Artist or The Descendants wins the SAG ensemble award, which is the closest thing to a Best Picture tonight. What does that mean for the Oscars when Hugo, the top nominee going into next month's show, isn't even in contention tonight? Let's say The Help cleans up, as the pundits at Gold Derby predict, what does that mean for the Oscars when The Help is a hopeless Best Picture contender, having been shut out of the Best Director, screenplay and editing categories? The SAG Awards are usually a tad more clarifying.

5. Boardwalk Empire and Modern Family Are the TV Shows to Beat: That is, if last weekend's Producers Guild of America Awards are any indication. (And they are.)

6. The Harry Potter Revolution Will Not Be Televised: If you want to see the franchise compete for its first (and last) SAG nomination, then you're going to have to log onto the offical preshow webcast, offered via TNT.tv, TBS.com and People.com, at 6:15 p.m. ET/3:15 p.m. PT. That's when the stunt winners are scheduled to be announced.

7. Lisbeth Salander Will Not Be Televised (or even Webcast): The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, which pulled out a Best Actress Oscar nomination for Rooney Mara, is not up for anything on Sunday night, so stop trying to adjust your set: That really is Betty White up for all those awards.

8. Three Words: Mary. Tyler. Moore.: The beloved star, last seen feting White on the elder actress' prime-time birthday special, is set to receive the Guild's Lifetime Achievement Award. Dick Van Dyke, Moore's TV husband from The Dick Van Dyke Show, will present. (We trust Mr. Grant, Moore's office-husband from The Mary Tyler Moore Show, is OK with that.)

9. Brad Pitt and Dallas: Together Again! Well, sort of. The Moneyball nominee, who got his start looking fidgety and mullet-y on the 1980s soap, will serve as a presenter, as will J.R. Ewing's Larry Hagman, set to hype the upcoming Dallas reboot alongside Linda Gray and Patrick Duffy.

10. You Get a Do-Over: The two-hour show is scheduled to air live on TBS and TNT starting at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. If you miss it then, first, you should be ashamed, and, second, you should sit down because TNT will be reairing the whole shebang (10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT).