Time for ‘Wicked’ to grab the spotlight?

They killed James Bond in the last 007 movie, so the news that Jeff Bezos is taking over the franchise feels a bit like overkill. How many years before Amazon drains the life from the series? Or are we past that point already? Perhaps we should let the old man rest. He always did have an inflated opinion of himself.

I’m Glenn Whipp, columnist for the Los Angeles Times and host of The Envelope’s Friday newsletter. Here’s one thing that never gets old. Let’s look at the week’s news.

SAG Awards coming Sunday

Late last year, I went to see “Wicked” again at the Academy Museum just to experience how awards voters responded to the film. The audience was largely members of the Screen Actors Guild Awards’ nominating committee, and, let me tell you, those people did not disappoint, applauding after every musical number and, on occasion, even singing along. It was, mostly, more endearing than annoying. I still couldn’t figure out why people in Oz were freaked out by a girl with green skin when there was a talking goat teaching at their university. But that’s beside the point.

I mention this because I think “Wicked” might finally have its awards-season moment Sunday at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, taking the group’s prize for film ensemble. That honor could also go to “Anora,” which would further cement its chances to win best picture at the Academy Awards. And if “Conclave” pulls off an upset, then we might have reason to consider (but not fully believe) that the movie could prevail at the Oscars as a consensus pick on the preferential ballot.

As for the individual SAG Awards film honors:

Lead actress: Mikey Madison, “Anora”? Has Mikey Madison overtaken Demi Moore as the Oscar favorite? We’re about to find out. If Madison wins for her commanding turn in “Anora,” she’s going to win the Oscar. If Moore prevails, a nod to both her legacy and her excellent work in “The Substance,” then we have a real race on our hands. And if Cynthia Erivo wins for “Wicked,” then that woman sitting next to me at the Academy Museum, singing at the top of her lungs, must have a lot of friends.

Lead actor: Adrien Brody, “The Brutalist.” Last call for Timothée Chalamet. If he doesn’t win with this group, a less snobby bunch than the academy with some 125,000 voters, then the party’s over and his loyal fans will be crying buckets of rain.

Supporting actress: Zoe Saldaña, “Emilia Pérez.” She’s winning everything.

Supporting actor: Kieran Culkin, “A Real Pain.” Him too.

And if you want an early peek at my Oscar predictions, check out The Times’ Buzzmeter panel, which includes our film critic Amy Nicholson along with awards-season institutions Anne Thompson and Dave Karger, two people who have been covering the Oscars as long as I have. I mean, we all picked “Cimarron” when everyone else thought “The Front Page” was going to win. Trust us! We know what we’re doing.

Mikey Madison, SAG Awards nominee for “Anora.”

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)