LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "Brokeback Mountain," the film about a gay romance between two cowboys, earned multiple award nominations on Thursday from major actor and director groups, distancing it from rivals in Hollywood's Oscar race.
The Screen Actors Guild gave "Brokeback Mountain" four award nominations, more than any film, including best cast, best actor for Heath Ledger and supporting actor and actress for Jake Gyllenhaal and Michelle Williams, respectively.
Also on Thursday, the movie's Ang Lee was nominated for best film director by the Directors Guild of America (DGA).
Joining Lee on the DGA list were George Clooney for "Good Night, and Good Luck," Paul Haggis with "Crash," Bennett Miller for "Capote" and Steven Spielberg with "Munich."
Dramas "Good Night," "Capote," and "Crash" have scored well in this year's awards race but no other film has met with the amount of critical, media and industry attention as "Brokeback Mountain," leading industry watchers to consider it a shoo-in for Oscar nominations, which will be announced on January 31.
Still, some experts said the film could fail to win many Oscars, which are the U.S. film industry's top awards, if conservative voters at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences fail to look beyond its gay subject matter.
"It's out front early ... and sometimes it can hurt to be too far out front, too early," said Tom O'Neil, veteran Oscar watcher and columnist for TheEnvelope.com.
In fact, "Crash," which focus on race relations, has rebounded in the race in recent days with several nominations, including SAG nods for best ensemble cast and supporting actor for both Don Cheadle and Matt Dillon.
"It now looks like ("Crash") will be a strong best picture contender," O'Neil said. "It's that little independent film everybody is cheering on."
CLOONEY CAN DO
But the experts said Clooney and "Good Night," a look at television journalist Edward R. Murrow's work during Sen. Joseph McCarthy's anti-Communist crusade in the 1950s, also has a strong shot at Oscars after picking up its DGA nod and SAG nominations for best cast and David Strathairn as best actor.
Only six DGA winners in 57 years have failed to win the best director Oscar, and SAG also has a history of picking Oscar winners.
Spielberg's "Munich" has been one major surprise for its lack of guild nominations, including being shut out of SAG, categories, but the DGA nod may help get it back in the race.
SAG, which represents film and television actors, also nominated the actors of "Capote" and hip-hop drama "Hustle & Flow" for best ensemble cast.
Joining Ledger and Strathairn among nominees for best actor were Joaquin Phoenix as singer Johnny Cash in "Walk the Line," Philip Seymour Hoffman in the title role in "Capote" and Russell Crowe playing a boxer in "Cinderella Man."
Best film actress nominees were Judi Dench portraying a theater owner in "Mrs. Henderson Presents," Felicity Huffman as a transgender character in "Transamerica," Charlize Theron as a sexually harassed mine worker in "North Country," Reese Witherspoon as singer June Carter in "Walk the Line" and Ziyi Zhang in "Memoirs of a Geisha."
Along with Gyllenhaal, Cheadle and Dillon, supporting actor nominations went to Clooney in "Syriana" and Paul Giamatti in "Cinderella Man."
Williams was joined in the supporting actress category by Catherine Keener in "Capote," Frances McDormand in "North Country," Rachel Weisz in the thriller "The Constant Gardener," and Amy Adams for the independent film "Junebug."
The SAG awards will be given out in Los Angeles on January 29. DGA winners will be named on January 28. Oscars will be given out on March 5.
