The Screen Actors Guild award nominations were announced today, and Sean Penn's wilderness epic Into The Wild has come out on top, scooping four nods. And frankly we're stumped – we just can't figure out why a bunch of actors have decided that a serious, unpopular film that was directed by a serial award-winning actor about a boy reacting to the majesty of nature is the best-acted film of the year. Come on – haven't any of these actors seen Good Luck Chuck?

So far this awards season, two films have stood out more than any other – No Country For Old Men and There Will Be Blood, with Atonement trotting alongside as the traditional film that gets a lot of nominations because it's British and serious-looking but doesn't actually stand a chance of winning anything.

However, there's a dark horse coming up on the outside, and because it's a horse directed by Sean Penn it's almost murderously intense and compulsively unable to laugh, smile or even look as if it's ever heard the concept of humour in its life. It's Into The Wild.

Into The Wild has already scored a bunch of Critics' Choice award nominations, but now Sean Penn has been recognised by his peers. The Directors Guild? No, although he directed Into The Wild, we're talking about the peers of his passion. The Association Of Grumbling Humourless Self-Important Bastards? No, that doesn't even exist. Play sensibly. We're talking about the Screen Actors Guild.

The Screen Actors Guild has just announced its award nominations ahead of its ceremony next month, and Into The Wild has landed more than anything else, with Emile Hirsch, Hal Holbrook, Catherine Keener and the whole ensemble getting nominated for one thing or another.

Other movies and actors that have left an impression on the Screen Actors Guild include Michael Clayton (George Clooney, Tom Wilkinson and Tilda Swinton), No Country For Old Men (Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem and ensemble) and Cate Blanchett (I'm Not There and Elizabeth: The Golden Age).

We'll discover the winners of the Screen Actors Guild awards when its overlong, backslapping, self-congratulatory ceremony is punctuated the occasional gong on January 27.

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"Into the Wild" leads SAG film nominees – Reuters