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Doubt Tops SAG Award Film Nominees

Friday, December 19th, 2008

Doubt movie poster

“Doubt” has earned five nominations for the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Film drama “Doubt” on Thursday earned five nominations for Screen Actors Guild awards, including for best ensemble cast, as Hollywood continued its march toward the Oscars.

Joining “Doubt,” about a Catholic priest and nun engaged in a battle of wits over charges of sexual abuse, in the race for best ensemble cast were “Milk,” about slain gay rights leader Harvey Milk, and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” which tells of a man who ages backward. Those movies each earned three SAG award nods.

“Slumdog Millionaire,” a tale of romance and money set in India, and “Frost/Nixon,” which recounts the interviews of disgraced former U.S. President Richard Nixon by British TV host David Frost, also saw their actors land in the race for best ensemble cast and pulled down two nominations apiece.

The Screen Actors Guild represents some 120,000 film and television actors, and winning a SAG award at the group’s January 25 ceremony can give actors momentum heading toward February’s Oscars, the world’s top film honors which are given out by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

The race for best actor in a movie will see Brad Pitt, who plays Benjamin Button, competing against Frank Langella for his portrayal of Richard Nixon and Sean Penn as Harvey Milk.

Joining them are Mickey Rourke, who is enjoying a comeback in his career as a faded sports star in “The Wrestler,” and Richard Jenkins in the low-budget immigration drama “The Visitor.”

The best leading actress race has Meryl Streep, who plays the nun in “Doubt,” up against Kate Winslet as a frustrated housewife in “Revolutionary Road” and Angelina Jolie as a mother fighting to find her lost son in “Changeling.”

Along with those three in the best actress race are Anne Hathaway in “Rachel Getting Married” and Melissa Leo for the independent film “Frozen River.”

Nominees for supporting actor in a film included Philip Seymour Hoffman as the priest in “Doubt,” the late Heath Ledger for “The Dark Knight” and Dev Patel in “Slumdog Millionaire. They were joined by Josh Brolin in “Milk” and Robert Downey Jr. in the comedy “Tropic Thunder.”

Rounding out the nominees for best supporting actress were Amy Adams and Viola Davis in “Doubt,” Spanish actress Penelope Cruz for “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” Kate Winslet for “The Reader” and Taraji P. Henson in “Benjamin Button.”

SAG also gives out awards for television and, as in the film arena, SAG split its nominations among a variety of shows.

Competing for best cast in a TV drama will be the actors in “Boston Legal,” “Dexter,” “House,” “Mad Men” and “The Closer,” and nominated for best comedy casts were the actors in “30 Rock,” “Desperate Housewives,” “Entourage,” “The Office” and “Weeds.”

The ceremony airs on TNT Jan. 25. Here is the full list of nominations:

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role

Richard Jenkins, THE VISITOR

Frank Langella, FROST/NIXON

Sean Penn, MILK

Brad Pitt, THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN