Sad to say, “Elle”– starring potential Oscar nominee Isabelle Huppert– is out of the running for Best Foreign Language Film. Nine films have made the latest round, and they will pared to five for final nominations. “Toni Erdmann” is the favorite, from Sony Pictures Classics. But “Elle” is out, and so is France. Huppert can still be nominated for Best Actress, and she should be, so we’ll how that goes. I’m a little surprised that “Elle” was bypassed but the Xavier Dolan film got in. You’d almost like “My Life as a Zucchini” to get in for the title! But we’ll squash that idea now.

Australia, “Tanna,” Bentley Dean, Martin Butler, directors;

Canada, “It’s Only the End of the World,” Xavier Dolan, director;

Denmark, “Land of Mine,” Martin Zandvliet, director;
Germany, “Toni Erdmann,” Maren Ade, director;
Iran, “The Salesman,” Asghar Farhadi, director;
Norway, “The King’s Choice,” Erik Poppe, director;
Russia, “Paradise,” Andrei Konchalovsky, director;
Sweden, “A Man Called Ove,” Hannes Holm, director;
Switzerland, “My Life as a Zucchini,” Claude Barras, director.

The SAG Awards nominations brought another setback for Martin Scorsese’s “Silence.” The stunning film was blanked out again, as with the Golden Globes.

The problem is that “Silence” came too late for proper screening for voters. And there are no screener DVDs that could have been sent around. In retrospect, Paramount may have done better to wait and release “Silence” next year. But the lure of a Scorsese movie– much less a masterpiece– was too much. That’s understandable.

In a proper setting, “Silence” would have picked up a Best Ensemble nomination, and noms for Andrew Garfield and Issay Ogata for lead and supporting actor. But just not enough people have seen it. Now Paramount will have to mobilize (they have a great publicity department) to get all the guilds to see the film fast. I do hope that works.

But what happens now clearly is that by mid fall, all voters start to form an opinion of what the important movies are. By late fall, the “fix” so to speak is in. “Hell or High Water” came from Cannes. “La La Land,” “Manchester,” and “Moonlight” came from Toronto, Telluride and the New York Film Festival. With so many distractions in the real world, Academy voters obviously have trouble processing new ideas late in the game.

Two films I thought would get Best Ensemble and didn’t — “20th Century Women” and “Lion.” The latter at least has been featured on “60 Minutes.” But the former has low visibility. A lot of people I’ve mentioned it to have never heard of it. That’s really a shame.

You may recognize some familiar faces in “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.” After all it’s set just before and around the time of the original “Star Wars” movie.

But one actor from that 1977 film looks a little waxy from the passage of time– and his death some 22 years ago.

Peter Cushing, who played Grand Moff Tarkin, the great villain of the Empire and essentially Darth Vader’s boss, is back. And I don’t mean for a quick cameo or for a minute. Governor Tarkin is really back, as if time has stood still. Director Gareth Edwards has re-animated Tarkin aka Cushing quite convincingly. Tarkin is very busy in scenes with Vader (James Earl Jones) and Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn) as they scheme to take over the galaxy from the Death Star.

Edwards and his team have worked very seriously to re-create Tarkin, and it could lead to a weird trend in movies that want to bringcback dead actors for flashbacks or new scenes. It works here because it’s a one time deal. There’s one other CGI animated character from the “Star Wars” canon in “Rogue One,” but that remains a top top secret.

“Rogue One” opens Friday and could bring in $150 million over the weekend. I have a feeling many fans will see it more than once.

All I can tell you tonight is that “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” is a kickass holiday present to all “Star Wars” fans. It’s really Chapter 3.5 in a sense, what comes between “Revenge of the Sith” and “A New Hope”– and you will love it. The end of this movie has had me smiling for two hours. Also, I can confirm as Kathleen Kennedy said in an interview — this is a standalone movie– sort of. There will not be a sequel. Which is almost too bad. The spirit of “Star Wars” is alive, and George Lucas should be a very happy man that generations have loved his story so much.

UPDATE First of all, the Rogue One story is all about Felicity Jones. Oscar nominated for “Theory of Everything” and maybe known a bit on the indie circuit from movies like “Like Crazy,” this 33 year old British actress kicks ass from beginning to end of the movie. Her Jyn Erso is certainly now part of a “Star Wars” movement from Carrie Fisher’s Princess Leia to Daisy Ridley’s Rey, but even more so. Tomb Raider? Wonder Woman? Girls are going to flock to “Rogue One” to see Jyn turn the galaxy upside down.

The story is that in the years between “Sith” and “New Hope,” Jyn’s dad Galen (Mads Mikkelson)– a genius scientist– has been helping the Empire develop the Death Star. But he’s sworn it all off, and gone missing with his wife and daughter (Jyn). When the Empire comes calling, Jyn is sent into hiding  thanks to Forest Whitaker’s Saw Guerrera. When Jyn reappears as a young lady, she’s wise and tougher than nails. Now everyone wants the plans to the Death Star– and if you remember, “A New Hope” (which we old folk call “Star Wars”) begins with Princess Leia having those plans. The story of “Rogue One” is basically: how did she get ’em?

Because we’ve gone back in time from “A Force Awakens,” some people turn up from “Sith” including Jimmy Smits as Bail Organa (you remember, he adopted Leia after her mom died and her dad became Darth Vader and she was separated from twin Luke) and Genevieve O’Reilly’s Mon Mothma. Darth Vader is also back– and badder than ever–voiced by James Earl Jones as if 40 years haven’t passed since the first movie.

But the really crazy return is Peter Cushing as Grand Moff Tarkin. Cushing died in 1994! Yet, he’s a main player here, back as Darth Vader’s boss and also chief villain. His other henchman is Ben Mendelsohn’s Orson Krennic, who is evil personified. But Cushing– if no one told you he was CGI you wouldn’t think about it. And he’s not the only CGI person from the “New Hope” era running around. Quite something to see!

And so off Jyn goes with a band of rogues (because you know she’s Dorothy, as all “Star Wars” is “The Wizard of Oz” in space). There’s Diego Luna as Cassian, Riz Ahmed as the pilot Bodhi, Alan Tudyk as K2 (their C3PO), and Jiang Wen as Baze Malbus. But the standout, for my money, in this crowd of Jyn’s saviors is Donnie Yen as Chirrut Imwe, a blind samurai Jedi who absolutely shines and nearly steals the movie.

Much more I can’t tell you about the story, or the Easter eggs, or the Christmas present at the end of the movie. But director Gareth Edwards has done George Lucas proud. He’s made the perfect step in between the two original trilogies. It’s a human and humane movie, and while the effects and production design are top notch they also feel analog and warm. The screenplay makes all the characters instantly accessible, and the pay off for all this is huge.

Some people have already started writing analogies between the Vader-Krennic era and the rise of Trump. Me? I was happy to get away from it all for two hours. But the Death Star and its inhabitants seem all the more real right now. And what we really need is a Luke Skywalker ASAP.