The 13th Annual SAG Awards Nominees Revealed

Often considered a key indicator of films and figures vying for Academy Awards, the Screen Actors Guild unveiled yesterday, January 4, 2007 at the Pacific Design Center's SilverScreen Theater the list of contenders competing for honors at its 13th Annual SAG Awards, set to be held on date 28 the same month at the Los Angeles Shrine Exposition Center.

Picking up a range of films of different genres, the union gave three nods apiece to three acclaimed film features of "Dreamgirls", "Little Miss Sunshine", and "Babel", notably that of Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture which the all three are set against ensemble drama "Bobby" and mob saga "The Departed."

In acting categories, Leonardo DiCaprio made a surprise as he scored nominations in both Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role and that in a Supporting Role through his appearances in "Blood Diamond" and "The Departed", respectively.

For the former category, DiCaprio was included alongside Forest Whitaker of "The Last King of Scotland" and Peter O'Toole of "Venus", among others, while being lined up with Jackie Earle Haley of "Little Children" and his fellow "Diamond" star Djimon Hounsou in the latter one.

On the female side, 2006 CFCA Award winner Helen Mirren turned out to extend her success as she, just like DiCaprio, also landed two nods at the event. One was in Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role slot for "The Queen" together with Penelope Cruz of "Volver" plus Meryl Streep of "The Devil Wears Prada" and another in that of Television Movie or Miniseries through "Elizabeth I", accompanied by Annette Bening, Cloris Leachman, Shirley Jones, and Greta Scacchi.

Meanwhile, in small screen slot, nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series went to five notable titles of "24", "Boston Legal", "Deadwood", "Grey's Anatomy", and "The Sopranos" while that of Comedy Series included "Desperate Housewives" and "The Office" to name few. Complete list of nominees is available via the event's official site at http://www.sagawards.com/PR_070104.htm.