'Chicago' leads SAG Awards field

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 28 (UPI) -- "Chicago" had the most nominations with five, as the Screen Actors Guild announced nominees Tuesday for the ninth Annual SAG Awards in Los Angeles.

The screen adaptation of Bob Fosse's Broadway musical earned nominations for outstanding performance by male and female actors in a leading role for Richard Gere and Renée Zellweger, female actors in a supporting role for Queen Latifah and Catherine Zeta-Jones, and cast of a theatrical motion picture.

SAG refers to both men and women performers as actors.

"The Hours" had four nominations, "Adaptation" had three and three other films had two each.

"The Hours" earned nominations for female actor in a leading role for Nicole Kidman, male and female actors in a supporting role for Ed Harris and Julianne Moore and an ensemble nomination.

"Adaptation" was nominated for outstanding performance by a movie cast. Nicolas Cage was nominated for male actor in a leading role and Chris Cooper was nominated for male actor in a supporting role.

The other nominees for male actor in a leading role are Adrien Brody for "The Pianist," Daniel Day-Lewis for "Gangs of New York" and Jack Nicholson for "About Schmidt." The other nominees for female actor in a leading role are Salma Hayek for "Frida," Diane Lane for "Unfaithful" and Julianne Moore for "Far from Heaven."

The SAG Awards have become a fairly reliable indicator of Oscar voting outcomes. When Halle Berry won the best actress Oscar last year for "Monster's Ball", she was the sixth actress in the eight-year history of the SAG Awards to receive an Academy Award after winning the Actor -- the name that the actors union has given to its statuette.

Last year's Actor winner for male actor in a leading role, Russell Crowe, watched Denzel Washington walk off with the Oscar. Still, six of the previous eight SAG winners for male actor in a leading role have gone on to win the Oscar.

In addition to "Adaptation," "Chicago" and "The Hours," the other nominees for this year's Actor for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture are "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" and "My Big Fat Greek Wedding."

The Actor for outstanding ensemble has not been a very reliable indicator of Oscar results. In the seven years that SAG has presented the award -- there was no ensemble category at the first SAG Awards -- the winning movie has only won the best picture Oscar twice.

There were a few surprises, including the absence of Meryl Streep's name from both leading and supporting role categories. Streep has been receiving critical acclaim for her performances in "The Hours" and "Adaptation" and is widely regarded as an Oscar contender this year.

Julianne Moore received three nominations -- one for her leading role in "Far from Heaven," one for her supporting role in "The Hours" and one as a member of the cast of "The Hours."

In the TV categories, "The Sopranos" and "The West Wing" led the field with four nominations each, followed by "Everybody Loves Raymond," "Friends" and "Will & Grace" with three nominations apiece. "24" and "Sex and the City" each had two nominations.

Michael Chiklis of "The Shield," James Gandolfini of "The Sopranos," Martin Sheen of "The West Wing," Kiefer Sutherland of "24" and Treat Williams of "Everwood" were nominated for outstanding performance by a male actor in a TV drama series.

Lorraine Bracco and Edie Falco of "The Sopranos," Amy Brenneman of "Judging Amy," and Allison Janney and Lily Tomlin of "The West Wing" were nominated for outstanding performance by a female actor in a drama series.

The nominees for male actor in a comedy series are Sean Hayes of "Will & Grace," Matt LeBlanc of "Friends," Bernie Mac of "The Bernie Mac Show," Ray Romano of "Everybody Loves Raymond" and Tony Shalhoub of "Monk." Shalhoub recently won a Golden Globe for lead actor in a TV comedy series for his portrayal of a compulsive-obsessive detective.

Jennifer Aniston of "Friends," Kim Cattrall of "Sex and the City," Patricia Heaton of "Everybody Loves Raymond," Jane Kaczmarek of "Malcolm in the Middle" and Megan Mullally of "Will & Grace" were nomination for outstanding performance by a female actor in a comedy series.

Many observers in Hollywood were surprised that Debra Messing of "Will & Grace" and Sarah Jessica Parker of "Sex and the City" were not nominated.

The nominees for outstanding acting ensemble in a drama series are "24," "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," "Six Feet Under," "The Sopranos" and "The West Wing." The nominees for outstanding ensemble in a comedy series are "Everybody Loves Raymond," "Frasier," "Friends," "Sex and the City" and "Will & Grace."

NBC had more nominations than any other network with 12. HBO had 10, followed by CBS with eight, Fox with four and TNT with three.

Actor-director-producer Clint Eastwood will receive the 39th Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award.

The ninth Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards will be presented March 9 in ceremonies in Los Angeles, to be televised live by TNT.