Producers' Guild Awards hail Hurt Locker, snub Avatar

Jan 25, 2010, 5:57 GMT

   Los Angeles - The Producers' Guild of America named Iraq war drama The Hurt Locker as the year's best film Sunday, snubbing blockbuster Avatar a week after the sci-fi epic dominated the Golden Globes.

   It was the second setback of the weekend for Avatar's Oscar chances after Quentin Tarantino's World War II drama, Inglourious Basterds, won the Screen Actors Guild's biggest award Saturday night for movie ensemble acting. Jeff Bridges, for his performance in Crazy Heart, and Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side) walked off with the top individual trophies at the SAG awards.

   The Hurt Locker portrays the experiences of a US bomb squad in Iraq when it gets a reckless commander at the end of its tour of duty. It was directed by Kathryn Bigelow and had already been recognized as the best picture by the Broadcast Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Award.

   The Producers Guild named Up as the best animated feature, while The Cove, about the exploitation of dolphins was named best documentary.

   The SAG awards established both Bridges and Sarandon as Academy Award front-runners since members of the Screen Actors Guild dominate the voting for the Oscar acting awards. Nominations for the Oscars are to be announced in early February with the awards coming a month later.

   In the supporting acting category, Christoph Waltz won for his role as a comically vicious Nazi in Basterds, while Eli Roth, speaking for the Basterds ensemble, praised Tarantino for 'plucking actors from around the globe and giving them a chance to shine.'

   The best supporting actress award went to Mo'Nique for her role as a cruel, abusive mother of a teenage girl in Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire.