LOS ANGELES (Reuters) ? Hollywood's actors began picking the best performances of 2011's movies when the curtain came up on the annual Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday with Christopher Plummer taking home the first film honor for supporting actor.
Plummer, 82, who plays an elderly man who comes out of the closet as a gay man much to the chagrin of his family, thanked his fellow actors from the stage, calling them a wacky but wonderful bunch of artists.
"I just can't tell you what fun I've had being a member of the world's second oldest profession," Plummer joked on stage. "When they honor you, it's like being lit by the holy grail. Thank you, thank you, thank you."
The second film award went to Octavia Spencer for supporting actress in a movie, "The Help," that proved to be a surprise over Berenice Bejo of silent film romance, "The Artist."
Many of Hollywood's biggest film stars including George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and Michelle Williams turned out on the red carpet, as did TV's Julianna Margulies, Lea Michelle and other TV actresses and actors.
As with previous Hollywood honors programs, many of the women showed off low-cut or strapless gowns. Some wore vintage or sequined dresses. Colors -- violets, reds and teals -- proved popular. The men wore tuxedos or stylish suits with bow ties.
The SAG honors are closely watched in the race for Oscars, and this year they followed Golden Globe, Critics' Choice and other awards from media watchers, as well as acknowledgements from U.S. producer and director guilds that represent their respective professional groups in industry matters.
Because actors make up the biggest branch of voters at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which gives out the Oscars, the SAG awards are closely watched. And coming on the heels of so many other programs, this year's SAG winners could help solidify frontrunner status of silent movie "The Artist" or possibly turn the voting tide in favor of other hopefuls.
TOP CATEGORIES TO COME
Awards in top film categories will be given out later, and "The Artist," a romantic tale of a fading actor in the slumping silent movie era whose career is eclipsed by the woman he loves, aims to do well with actors in two more groups, ensemble cast and lead actor.
But it faces stiff competition from civil rights-era drama "The Help," which has four nominations, more than any movie, as well as from George Clooney-starring "The Descendants".
The actors in all three of those movies, along with the performers in Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris" and the ladies of comedy "Bridesmaids," will compete for the night's top honor, best ensemble cast in a film.
In other SAG races, Clooney, playing a father struggling to keep his family together, squares off against Jean Dujardin of "Artist" fame and Brad Pitt for his role as a numbers-crunching baseball executive in "Moneyball." The other two nominees in that category are Demian Bichir in the little seen "A Better Life" and Leonardo DiCaprio for "J. Edgar."
The SAG race for best actress is seen as a tight one among Meryl Streep playing former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady," Viola Davis as a maid in "The Help" and Michelle Williams for her turn as Marilyn Monroe in "My Week with Marilyn."
Rounding out that category are Glenn Close in a gender-bending role as a butler in "Albert Nobbs" and Tilda Swinton as a troubled mother in dark drama, "We Need to Talk about Kevin."
SAG also hands out awards for performances in TV dramas, comedies and mini-series. But because of SAG's importance in the Oscar race, the film categories are most closely followed.
The Oscars will be given out on February 26 in Hollywood.
(Reporting By Bob Tourtellotte and Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Sandra Maler and Stacey Joyce)
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