Screen Actors Guild unveils film, TV award nominees

The outrageous Quentin Tarantino flick Inglourious Basterds, big budget musical Nine and harrowing drama Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire will vie for the top film honour from the Screen Actors Guild, the Hollywood group representing performers.

The three high-profile titles landed nominations Thursday morning for best cast of a motion picture SAG's equivalent to a best feature film award withgritty Iraq war drama The Hurt Locker and period coming-of-age portrait An Education rounding out the category.

Jason Reitman's much-laudedUp In The Air was left out of the best movie cast contention, but it earned three nominations. George Clooney scored a lead actor nod, while co-stars Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick will compete in the supporting actress category.

Clooney, who portrays a corporate downsizer in Up in the Air, faces stiff competition from the likes of Morgan Freeman (as former South African president Nelson Mandela in Invictus ) and Jeff Bridges (who plays a washed-up country singer in Crazy Heart). A pair of equally acclaimed performances Colin Firth as a heartbroken gay professor in A Single Man and Jeremy Renner as a bomb-diffusing expert in The Hurt Locker are also in contention.

The lead actress category sets a pair of newcomers Gabourey Sidibe (the titular impoverished teen in Precious) and Carey Mulligan (a precocious 1960s-era British schoolgirl in An Education) against two of the most esteemed female performers working today: Meryl Streep, for her pitch-perfect turn as cooking legend Julia Child in the film Julie & Julia, and Helen Mirren, who stars as Sofya Tolstoy in The Last Station. Also nominated is Sandra Bullock, who portrays a woman who adopts a homeless youth-turned-football star in The Blind Side.

Debut TV shows face favourites

On the television side, debut legal serial The Good Wife landed a nomination for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama series. Its rivals for the honour include crime series The Closer, serial killer thriller Dexter, 1960s period drama Mad Men and lusty vampire series True Blood.

Newbie comedies Modern Family and performance-packed Glee face stalwarts 30 Rock, Curb Your Enthusiasm and The Office in the race for the best comedy ensemble trophy.

Organizers also announced that veteran actress Betty White will be honoured with the SAG lifetime achievement award at the upcoming ceremony.

The 16th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards gala will be broadcast live from Los Angeles on Jan. 23.