The Screen Actors Guild held its gala award ceremony in Hollywood on Sunday, throwing up a few surprises and keeping Oscar watchers guessing as to who will scoop what at the Academy Awards, which are now just two weeks away.
Oscar-favourite Russell Crowe won the best actor gong for his portrayal of Nobel laureate John Forbes Nash in A Beautiful Mind, boosting his chances of winning back-to-back Academy Awards – Russ won for Gladiator last year. But the night’s big surprise was Halle Berry, who won the SAG award for best female actor for her role as a down-and-out waitress in the rural south in Monster’s Ball.
Beating off strong competition from In The Bedroom's Sissy Spacek, Halle was said to be risking her career when she accepted the role in the gritty film. After the awards ceremony, the actress - who is also up for the Oscar - said the risk “has paid off big time”. Britain’s Sir Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren scooped the best supporting actor accolades for Lord of the Rings and Gosford Park respectively. And the guild was giving no clues as to who could be picking the Oscar for best picture, handing the cast of Gosford Park the award for best performers in a film.
The SAG Awards are the last major awards ceremony before the Oscars and are usually considered a good indication of who will win the golden statuettes. But this year, all five films are up for the prestigious best film prize – A Beautiful Mind, The Lord Of The Rings, Moulin Rouge!, In The Bedroom and Gosford Park – have garnered a host of critics' and industry honours and the race is considered to be still wide open. The previous evening the man behind A Beautiful Mind, Ron Howard, was named best director by the Directors Guild of America, which often foreshadows a best picture Oscar – all but five times in the last 54 years the winner has gone on to Oscar success. However, Moulin Rouge!’s Baz Luhrmann picked up the Producers Guild award last week, which is also a strong Oscar indicator. And Gosford Park and A Beautiful Mind split the Writers Guild of America's awards for best screenplays.
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