SAG Awards Full of “Doubt”

"Doubt" nabbed five Screen Actors Guild Award nominations, including best actress for Meryl Streep, best supporting actor for Philip Seymour Hoffman, best supporting actress for Viola Davis and best ensemble cast.

Nominees were chosen by two randomly selected panels of 2,100 SAG members. The final ballot was sent to the guild's more than 100,000 members, who choose the winners. The winners will be announced tonight (Sunday, Jan. 25) at the Shrine Auditorium.

Taraji P. Henson earned three nods for the 15th annual SAG Awards -- two for her work on "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and one for her small-screen work on ABC's "Boston Legal."

Along with "Doubt," the nominees for best ensemble cast in a motion picture were two historical dramas -- "Frost/Nixon" and "Milk" -- "Slumdog Millionaire," a romance about a contestant on an Indian version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," starring Brad Pitt.

Pitt also received a best actor nomination for his work on "Benjamin Button," as did Richard Jenkins for "The Visitor," Frank Langella for "Frost/Nixon," and Sean Penn for "Milk."

Nominated for best actress in a motion picture were Anne Hathaway for "Rachel Getting Married," Angelina Jolie for "The Changeling," Melissa Leo for "Frozen River," Meryl Streep for "Doubt" and Kate Winslet for "Revolutionary Road."

As was widely predicted, the late Heath Ledger received a nod for best supporting actor for his role as the Joker in "The Dark Night," one of two nominations for the "Batman Begins" sequel. Leger, who died of a prescription drug overdose in January, was twice nominated in 2006 for his work on "Brokeback  Mountain."

Ledger will face Josh Brolin for "Milk," Phillip Seymour Hoffman for "Doubt," Dev Patel for "Slumdog Millionaire," and Robert Downey Jr. for "Tropic Thunder," a role that ignited some controversy because the actor wore a black face to play the part.

Vying for the best supporting actress in a motion picture are Amy Adams and Viola Davis, both for "Doubt," Penelope Cruz for "Vicky Christina Barcelona," Taraji P. Henson for "Benjamin Button" and Kate Winslet for "The Reader."

On the small screen, HBO came out on top with nine television award nominations, including four best-actor-in-a-miniseries nods -- Ralph Fiennes for "Bernard and Doris," Kevin Spacey for "Recount," and Paul Giamatti and Tom Wilkinson for "John Adams."Kiefer Sutherland will also square off for the award for his role in "24: Redemption."

Nominated for best actress in a miniseries were Laura Dern for "Recount," Laura Linney for "John Adams," Shirley MacLaine for "Coco Chanel," Phylicia Rashad for "A Raisin in the Sun" and Susan Sarandon for "Bernard and Doris."

Nominations for best ensemble cast in a drama went to ABC's "Boston Legal," Showtime's "Dexter," Fox's "House," AMC's "Mad Men" and TNT's "The Closer.

On the comedy side, NBC snagged two best ensemble cast nominations -- for "30 Rock," and "The Office." ABC's "Desperate Housewives," HBO's "Entourage" and Showtime's "Weeds" rounded out the nominations in the category.

The SAG Awards have done a slightly better job at predicting Oscar winners than the Golden Globes. Since the Screen Actors Guild Awards were first presented, honoring films released in 1995, 36 recipients of the Actor, as SAG's award is called, have gone on to win Oscars, compared to 34 Golden Globe winners during the same span.

The awards -- each is called the Actor -- will be presented at the Los Angeles Shrine Exposition Center on Jan. 25 and simulcast live on TNT and TBS at 8 p.m. Eastern time. The 8 p.m. West Coast telecast will be tape-delayed.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
Contact Us