Julia and Tom Aside, SAG Awards Bag Wide Open

So, for those of you expecting the Screen Actors Guild to help solidify an odds-on Oscar favorite this year--it ain't happening. (Unless, of course, your name is Julia Roberts or Tom Hanks.)

Five films led the nominations Tuesday for the Seventh Annual SAG Awards, as thespians from the swordplay epic Gladiator, rock nostalgia trip Almost Famous, political thriller The Contender, sweet-tooth tale Chocolat and Brit ballet heart-warmer Billy Elliot picked up three nods apiece.

Among the lead females, Golden Globe winner Roberts was nominated for Erin Brockovich alongside a handful of other no-brainer choices: Joan Allen for The Contender, Juliette Binoche for Chocolat, Ellen Burstyn for Requiem for a Dream and Laura Linney for You Can Count on Me.

Another Globe winner, Hanks, was nominated for best actor for Cast Away, as was Russell Crowe for Gladiator, Jamie Bell for Billy Elliot, Geoffrey Rush for Quills, and Traffic's Benicio Del Toro--who, up to this point, had been seen as an Oscar contender in the supporting category.

With Del Toro bumped up to the lead category, supporting actor honors will be a battle among Jeff Bridges and Gary Oldman for The Contender, Willem Dafoe for Shadow of the Vampire, Albert Finney for Erin Brockovich and Joaquin Phoenix for Gladiator.

In the best supporting actress race: Judi Dench for Chocolat, Kate Hudson and Frances McDormand for Almost Famous, Julie Walters for Billy Elliot and Kate Winslet for Quills.

The SAGs also singled out the casts of Almost Famous, Billy Elliot, Chocolat, Gladiator and Traffic for best ensemble honors.

Surprisingly absent from the nominations were the stars of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The critically acclaimed martial-arts romance was submitted on the SAG ballot for several categories, including best ensemble, but it failed to pick up a nomination Tuesday.

The SAG Awards, honoring both film and TV, are the last major awards announcements before Oscar nominations on February 13. Nominees were determined by 4,200 randomly selected members of the actors union, with the final awards voted on by all 98,000 members.

The honors will be handed out March 11 in Los Angeles and telecast live on TNT.

The SAG Awards are usually good, though not perfect, indicators of Oscar glory when it comes to lead actors and actresses: Ten of the last 12 SAG winners went on to pick up an Academy Award.

In the TV categories, key nominees Tuesday included Golden Globe winner Martin Sheen for The West Wing (lead actor in a drama), first-timers Tim Daly (dramatic lead nod for CBS' The Fugitive) and Lauren Graham (dramatic lead for the WB's Gilmore Girls) and return comedic actress nominee Sarah Jessica Parker for Sex and the City.

Also of note: Golden Globe winner Robert Downey Jr., still facing drug charges in Palm Springs, picked up a nomination for best actor in a comedy for Ally McBeal. And Sally Field landed her fourth and fifth SAG nominations Tuesday--one for her guest stint on ER, and another for best actress in a TV movie or miniseries, for TNT's David Copperfield.

Nominated for best ensemble performance in a drama: ER (NBC), Law & Order (NBC), The Practice (ABC), The Sopranos (HBO) and The West Wing (NBC).

Nominees for best ensemble acting in a comedy series: Ally McBeal (Fox), Frasier (NBC), Friends (NBC), Sex and the City (HBO) and Will & Grace (NBC).

Tune to E! for complete live red-carpet coverage of the SAG Awards
March 11 from 4 p.m.-8 p.m. ET/PT