"Doubt" leads SAG Awards race with five nominations

Miramax's period drama "Doubt" received five Screen Actors Guild Award nominations Thursday, more than any other films, for honors in the acting field presented by Hollywood's largest actors organization.

Nominations earned by "Doubt," which tells a story about a nun who confronts a priest after suspecting him of molesting a new black student, included best actress for Meryl Streep, best supporting actor for Phillip Seymour Hoffman and best ensemble cast.

Actress Meryl Streep poses at a screening of her film "Doubt" during the opening night of the AFI Fest 2008 in Hollywood, California in this Oct. 30, 2008 file photograph.

The SAG Awards have done only slightly better in predicting Oscar winners than the Golden Globe Awards, which are handed out by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, since the guild first presented the awards in 1995.

A total of 36 recipients of the SAG Awards have gone on to win Oscars since 1995, compared to 34 Golden Globe winners during the same period.

Along with "Doubt," the nominees for best ensemble cast in a motion picture were period dramas "Frost/Nixon" and "Milk," romance comedy "Slumdog Millionaire," and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," starring Brad Pitt.

Actors Brad Pitt (L) and Cate Blanchett are shown in a scene from the Paramount Pictures film "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" in this undated publicity photo released to Reuters Nov. 25, 2008.

Pitt also received a best actor nomination for his title role in "Benjamin Button," as did Richard Jenkins for "The Visitor," Frank Langella for "Frost/Nixon," and Sean Penn for "Milk."

Nominees for best actress in a motion picture included Anne Hathaway for "Rachel Getting Married," Angelina Jolie for "The Changeling," Melissa Leo for "Frozen River," Meryl Streep for "Doubt" and Kate Winslet for "Revolutionary Road."

Meanwhile, nominations for the 15th annul SAG Awards' television category were also announced by organizers at a press conference in West Hollywood. The nominations are determined by panels of more than 2,100 actors randomly selected by the guild from its 120,000 members.

This year's SAG Awards ceremony is scheduled for January 25 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.