SAG honors Benigni, Paltrow

USA Today  12/17/99- Updated 01:37 PM ET


LOS ANGELES (AP) — An exuberant Roberto Benigni captured a lead
actor prize for Life is Beautiful and Gwyneth Paltrow took home
an actress award that she dedicated to her mother at the Screen
Actors Guild awards Sunday night. Robert Duvall and Kathy Bates
also received honors.

Benigni, the Italian director-actor-writer who created the
comic-tragic story of a father trying to shield his son from the
horrors of Holocaust, lifted award presenter Helen Hunt and spun
her around, then said in broken English he was so happy that
"every organ of my body is moving in a very bad way."

Benigni's award was the biggest surprise of the night and
suggested the best actor Oscar later this month is a toss-up. He
beat such strong nominees as Joseph Fiennes (Shakespeare in
Love), Tom Hanks (Saving Private Ryan), Ian McKellen (Gods and
Monsters) and Nick Nolte (Affliction.)

Paltrow, awarded for her role as the heiress who falls in love
with a young William Shakespeare in Shakespeare in Love, paid
tribute to her mother Blythe Danner as "the most brilliant,
beautiful, profound actress I know" and dedicated the award to
her. Paltrow also won a Golden Globe.

"This is just such an honor to be recognized by my peers. You'll
never know quite what this means to me," said Paltrow, nominated
along with Cate Blanchett in Elizabeth, Jane Horrocks in Little
Voice, Meryl Streep in One True Thing and Emily Watson in Hilary
and Jackie.''

Shakespeare in Love also won the ensemble acting prize for a
film.

The ceremony, honoring actors in both film and television, was
broadcast on cable's TNT from the Shrine Exposition Center.

In other film categories, Bates, the politically savvy campaign
troubleshooter in Primary Colors, and Duvall, the tough,
baseball-loving corporate attorney in A Civil Action, won awards.

"I'm just thrilled, absolutely thrilled," supporting-actress
winner Bates said backstage, making no secret of her desire to
go on to win a second Academy Award on March 21 for the same
role. "It's been on my mind ever since the nomination."

The other supporting actress nominees were Brenda Blethyn for
Little Voice, Judi Dench for Shakespeare in Love, Rachel
Griffiths for Hilary and Jackie and Lynn Redgrave for Gods and
Monsters.

Duvall won for supporting actor, beating David Kelly for Waking
Ned Devine, Geoffrey Rush for Shakespeare in Love and Billy Bob
Thornton for A Simple Plan.

Although the SAG awards are still young — in their fifth year —
they are becoming a strong predicator of Oscar winners because of
a significant overlap of the membership of the actors' union and
the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Last year, four of those receiving SAG awards went on to pick up
Oscars: Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Robin Williams and Kim
Basinger. Only Gloria Stuart, who shared the supporting actress
SAG award with Basinger, didn't get an Academy Award.

Two years ago, three of four SAG winners picked up Oscars.

The SAG awards were determined by voting open to the rank-and-file
members of the union.

In the guild's television categories, Sam Waterston won for lead
actor in a drama series for Law & Order, Julianna Margulies
picked up her second prize for actress in a drama for ER, while
the ensemble prize for drama went to the cast of ER, its fourth
award in the five years the show has been on the air.

The ensemble award for comedy series was given to the cast of
Ally McBeal.

Michael J. Fox picked up an award for actor in a comedy series
for Spin City and Tracey Ullman won for actress in a comedy
series for Tracey Takes On.

Christopher Reeve won for actor in a TV movie or miniseries for
Rear Window. Angelina Jolie got the actress award for movie or
miniseries for Gia.

Kirk Douglas was given the guild's Lifetime Achievement Award.