Jamie Foxx's rise to the top of the Hollywood tree gained momentum yesterday when he was nominated by his peers for two Screen Actors Guild acting awards.
Foxx was named in both the best actor and best supporting actor categories for, respectively, his turn as Ray Charles in Taylor Hackford's Ray, and as the benighted taxi driver in Michael Mann's Collateral.
His competition in the best actor category includes Johnny Depp for Finding Neverland, Leonardo DiCaprio for The Aviator, Paul Giamatti for Sideways, and Don Cheadle for Hotel Rwanda.
Instead of a best picture or best director award, SAG's most prestigious prize is for best ensemble, and the usual suspects this awards season all feature prominently in this category: The Aviator, Finding Neverland, Million Dollar Baby and Sideways. The odd one out is Hotel Rwanda, a less-hyped but powerful film about the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.
As the movie with the most nominations this year, Alexander Payne's Sideways is the favourite to sweep the board when the awards are handed out on February 5. On top of best ensemble, it also received nods for best actor, as well as best supporting actor and actress, thus consolidating its reputation as the critics' top choice for the Oscars.
Flying the flag for Britain are Kate Winslet and Imelda Staunton, nominated for best actress respectively in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Vera Drake.
