Oscar race hots up

Catherine Zeta-Jones emerged as the hot favourite for an Oscar when she was voted best supporting actress by her fellow Hollywood stars.

The British actress opened a night of triumph for the musical Chicago at the prestigious Screen Actors Guild awards. Her husband Michael Douglas led a standing ovation as Zeta-Jones, 33, who is expecting their second child next month, joked that the gruelling song and dance numbers had left her "bruised and iced frequently".

But she added: "If I wasn't pregnant I would do it all over again, I promise you."

With the Academy Awards only two weeks away, the SAG awards are watched closely by Hollywood observers.

Renee Zellweger took the award for best female actor for Chicago and if that is repeated on 23 March she will beat Nicole Kidman, who is widely expected to win the Oscar.

The Bridget Jones star, who plays murderess Roxy Hart, shrieked with joy as her name was read out and was overwhelmed on stage, forgetting the name of Pierce Brosnan who presented the bronze statuette, calling him "Mr Bond" instead. Chicago also took the prize for best cast - the SAG version of best film - beating The Hours, Gangs of New York and Roman Polanski's The Pianist, which took top honours at the Baftas last month.

The award was accepted on behalf of the cast by Richard Gere, who was beaten in the best male actor category by Daniel Day-Lewis for his performance as the murderous 19th century thug Bill the Butcher in the epic Gangs.

Gere said he had "never had so much fun in my life" making Chicago, adding: "I didn't even really know what it meant to be an actor until I did this."

Chicago heads the list of Oscar nominations this year in 13 categories, with Zeta-Jones already claiming a Bafta and Zellweger taking a Golden Globe.

The musical has also taken the top film award from the Directors and Producers Guilds and looks unstoppable at the Oscars.

Almost the only thing that could spoil the night for Chicago is the prospect of war with Iraq, which may force the ceremony to be postponed or severely curtailed for television. Best supporting male actor was Christopher Walken as Leonardo DiCaprio's father in Catch Me If You Can.

The Guild also honoured Clint Eastwood with a lifetime achievement award. Eastwood said: "I hope this doesn't mean I'm supposed to collect my pension and head on down the road.''

In the TV categories, Sopranos stars James Gandolfini and Edie Falco, who play gangster Tony Soprano and his wife Carmela, both took the awards for drama.

Best cast award went to Six Feet Under, the black comedy about a Californian family who run a funeral parlour. In the comedy section, Will & Grace stars Sean Hayes and Megan Mullally took the top prizes along with Everybody Loves Raymond.