"No Country for Old Men" tops Screen Actors awards

By Jill Serjeant

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Spanish actor Javier Bardem and mob drama "The Sopranos" took early movie and television awards at the Screen Actors Guild ceremony on Sunday, Hollywood's first full-scale awards show in a season marred by a bitter industry strike.

Bardem won for his supporting actor role as a cold-blooded killer in "No Country For Old Men" at a star-studded dinner at the Shrine auditorium in Los Angeles preceded by a red-carpet parade that even wintry rain failed to dampen.

"The Sopranos," which ended after six seasons in June 2007, took the top TV drama prize for best ensemble cast. Stars James Gandolfini and Edie Falco won awards for best actor and actress in a TV drama.

Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Eva Longoria and Tom Cruise provided some much-missed star power at the SAG event. During the three months of the ongoing strike by Hollywood screenwriters, celebrities have boycotted the Golden Globes and People's Choice Awards to honor the Writers Guild of America's picket line.

"The entire town has been going through a very difficult time. So to be able to celebrate something is a wonderful thing," former "Will & Grace" star Debra Messing told Reuters.

The WGA allowed its members to write for the SAG awards show and said it would not protest outside the event because actors have been strong allies of the writers in their bid for higher payments for work distributed over the Internet.

The strike threatens the February 24 Oscars, the movie industry's biggest showcase, although hopes have risen for a settlement after informal talks resumed last week between the WGA and major studios.

OUT OF SYNC WITH OSCARS

Winners at SAG are normally seen as key contenders for an Oscar since actors make up the biggest group of the 6,000 Academy Award voters.

But this year, SAG appears out of sync with the Oscars in the best picture race. The true-life wilderness story "Into the Wild," written and directed by actor Sean Penn, leads the SAG field with four nominations but received a disappointing two Oscar nods.

Britons Daniel Day Lewis, who plays a malicious oil entrepreneur in "There Will Be Blood," and Julie Christie, who plays a woman with Alzheimer's Disease in "Away From Her," as well as France's Marion Cotillard, who played singer Edith Piaf in "La Vie En Rose," are front-runners for SAG's best actor and actress awards. All won Golden Globes and Oscar nominations.

In the supporting actress category, Cate Blanchett, playing Bob Dylan in "I'm Not There," faces Tilda Swinton for her performance in the legal thriller "Michael Clayton" and Amy Ryan as a wayward mother in "Gone Baby Gone."

Reuters/Nielsen