Celebrities galore expected at SAG Awards
Finally, an awards show with some pizzazz.
Unlike the People’s Choice Awards and the Golden Globes that were decimated by the Writers Guild strike, the 14th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards show Sunday night is scheduled to feature many of the top stars from TV and film, including Tom Cruise, Matthew McConaughey and Denzel Washington. The program will be simulcast at 8 p.m. EST on TNT and TBS.
The guild granted a waiver to the Screen Actors Guild, so the stars won’t have to worry about crossing any picket lines. In addition to Cruise, McConaughey and Washington, among the other celebrities expected to appear are Steve Carell, Russell Crowe, Ruby Dee, Zac Efron, Kate Hudson, Emile Hirsch, Tommy Lee Jones, Debra Messing, SAG President Alan Rosenberg and Vanessa Williams.
Some stars may pop up on-stage at the Los Angeles Shrine Exposition Center more than once Sunday night.
Three actors are nominated for awards in more than one film. Cate Blanchett is a contender for outstanding performance by a female actor in a leading role in the film “Elizabeth: The Golden Age,” and for her supporting role in “I’m Not There.”
Josh Brolin is nominated in the category of outstanding performance by a cast in two movies, “American Gangster” and “No Country For Old Men.” Crowe was also part of the nominated cast of “American Gangster,” plus he was nominated with the cast of “3:10 To Yuma.”
John Slattery is nominated for his work in an ensemble cast in two TV shows, “Mad Men” in the drama category, and “Desperate Housewives” in comedy.
Finally, Queen Latifah could be the only actor Sunday night to win SAG Awards for film and TV work. She is nominated for being part of the cast in the film “Hairspray” and for her role in the HBO TV movie “Life Support.”
The awards have often served as a bellwether for the acting categories at the Academy Awards. Last year, three SAG Award winners — Forrest Whitaker for “The Last King of Scotland,” Helen Mirren for “The Queen” and Jennifer Hudson in “Dreamgirls” — went on to win Oscars.
Among the other expected highlights Sunday night, Burt Reynolds will present Charles Durning with the 44th annual Life Achievement Award. Past recipients of the Life Achievement Award include Julie Andrews, Clint Eastwood, Sidney Poitier, Elizabeth Taylor and Robert Redford.
(E-mail David Nielsen at nielsend(at)shns.com. Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)
AP-NY-01-25-08 1447EST