SAG spreads annual nominations thin


Actors Cary Elwes, left, and Lucy Liu announce nominations for the 7th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards Tuesday at the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles

(CNN) -- Julia Roberts has received a host of award nominations in her acting career, but she's never been honored by her peers in the Screen Actors Guild -- until now.

In announcing its nominations on Tuesday morning, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) gave a nod to Roberts for her leading role in "Erin Brockovich." This follows Roberts' Golden Globe win for best actress earlier this month.

Roberts will face off against Joan Allen ("The Contender"), Juliette Binoche ("Chocolat"), Laura Linney ("You Can Count on Me"), and Ellen Burstyn ("Requiem for a Dream"), who were also nominated in the best movie actress category.

The awards ceremony, regarded by some as a bellwether for the Academy Awards, takes place on March 11 in Los Angeles. It will be broadcast on TNT. TNT and CNN are both divisions of AOL Time Warner.

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Though the guild nominations usually paint a clearer picture of who will receive nominations from the Oscars, this year's front-runner predictions are still out of focus.

Five movies -- "Gladiator," "Almost Famous," "The Contender," "Chocolat," and "Billy Elliot" -- received three nominations each from SAG; three films -- "Erin Brockovich," "Quills," and "Traffic" -- received two nods.

Best movie actor nominations this year features a wide range of talent, from newcomer Jamie Bell ("Billy Elliot") to veteran nominee Tom Hanks ("Castaway"). Russell Crowe ("Gladiator"), Benicio Del Toro ("Traffic") and Geoffrey Rush ("Quills") round out the category.

For supporting female actor, the contenders are: Judi Dench, "Chocolat"; Kate Hudson, "Almost Famous"; Frances McDormand, "Almost Famous"; Julie Walters, "Billy Elliot"; and Kate Winslet, "Quills."

Nominees for male supporting actor are: Jeff Bridges, "The Contender"; Willem Dafoe, "Shadow of the Vampire"; Albert Finney, "Erin Brockovich"; Gary Oldman, "The Contender"; and Joaquin Phoenix, "Gladiator."

The guild also focuses on the thespian world of television, this year picking nominees from eight categories, including:

Best actor in a drama series: Tim Daly, "The Fugitive"; Anthony Edwards, "ER"; Dennis Franz, "NYPD Blue"; James Gandolfini, "The Sopranos"; Martin Sheen, "The West Wing."

Best actress in a drama series: Gillian Anderson, "The X-Files"; Edie Falco, "The Sopranos"; Sally Field, "ER"; Lauren Graham, "Gilmore Girls"; Allison Janney, "The West Wing"; Sela Ward, "Once and Again."

Robert Downey, Jr., still facing criminal drug charges, received a SAG nomination for best actor in a comedy series. His "Ally McBeal" work will compete with Kelsey Grammer ("Frasier"), Sean Hayes ("Will & Grace"), Peter MacNicol ("Ally McBeal"), David Hyde Pierce ("Frasier").

For best actress in a comedy series, the guild nominated Calista Flockhart ("Ally McBeal"), Jane Kaczmarek ("Malcolm in the Middle"), Debra Messing ("Will & Grace"), Megan Mullally ("Will & Grace"), and Sarah Jessica Parker ("Sex in the City").

The guild's nominations are chosen by 4,200 randomly selected members of the union. The union's full membership of 98,000 is eligible to vote.

SAG's awards are often used to predict the Oscar winners later the same month. Ten of the 12 past SAG winners for best actor or actress went on to capture Academy Awards. In the supporting categories, seven of 13 SAG winners went on to receive Oscars.

This year during the show, husband-wife acting team Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee will receive a lifetime achievement honor from the guild.

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