SAG plays starring role in awards season

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-01-28 10:00

If it also wins the cast prize from the actors guild, "No Country for Old Men" could emerge as the favorite to win best-picture at the Oscars.

As with the Golden Globes, the Writers Guild has made it clear that its members would not be allowed to work on the Oscars. While stars generally have said they would skip the show rather than cross picket lines, Oscar organizers insist their telecast will take place as scheduled.

Amy Ryan, a SAG and Oscar supporting-actress nominee for "Gone Baby Gone," said at the Directors Guild awards Saturday that she would not cross a picket line to attend the Oscars.

"I hope it ends but, more, I hope the writers get their due," Ryan said. "I think that, at the end of the day, is more important than a party. But I really hope it works out because I'd like to go to the party."

Many in Hollywood hope a new contract recently negotiated by the Directors Guild of America might help jump-start a deal between producers and writers, who went on strike Nov. 5 over their share of revenue from programming on the Internet and other new media.

The SAG awards generally have been a solid forecast for who wins at the Oscars. Three of the four guild victors a year ago — Helen Mirren for "The Queen," Forest Whitaker for "The Last King of Scotland" and Jennifer Hudson for "Dreamgirls" — went on to receive Oscars.

SAG's prize for overall-cast performance, the show's equivalent of a best-picture honor, has been a less-reliable Oscar barometer, with only 5-of-12 guild winners going on to receive the top Academy Award. Last year's SAG winner, "Little Miss Sunshine," lost for best picture at the Oscars to "The Departed."

This time, only one of the SAG nominees — "No Country for Old Men" — scored a best-picture nomination for the Oscars.

Airing live on TNT and TBS, plans for the SAG ceremony included a life-achievement honor for Charles Durning.

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