LOS ANGELES – Hundreds of stars toasted their peers at the 15th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards. AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen reports from the trophy table inside the Shrine Auditorium.
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Meryl Streep's trophy for best-actress in a film stood alone on the table at the end of the ceremony. The winner for her performance in "Doubt" signed her name and said, "I don't know what I signed."
• "We each get our own award!?" an incredulous Dev Patel exclaimed after the "Slumdog Millionaire" ensemble won for outstanding cast in a motion picture. He was even more excited when he was told that the children in the film would also receive trophies. "They're all going to have one of these in Mumbai?! They don't even weigh as much as this!"
• Lifetime achievement honoree James Earl Jones stopped backstage to chat with
Forest Whitaker, who presented the award to the legendary star of theater, film and television. "We haven't talked for a long time," said Jones, who saluted the late Paul Newman during his acceptance speech.
• Winners had to sign for their trophies backstage, but Hugh Laurie seemed a bit confused by the process after the "House" leading man won his award for male actor in a drama series. "So this just goes on my credit card, right?" he joked as he signed his name.
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Sally Field was caught off-guard when she won the award for female actor in a drama series ("Brothers & Sisters"). Field said she was chatting and having a glass of wine at her table in the audience when she won. "I have a habit of doing things people talk about, so I have to think," she said backstage, clutching the winner's envelope with her name inside.
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Kate Winslet still hadn't caught her breath when she went backstage after winning the supporting-actress prize Sunday for her performance as a former concentration camp guard in "The Reader." "I'm too emotional to lose and too emotional to win. I need lessons in awards season," said Winslet, who won double at the Golden Globes earlier this month for her roles in "Revolutionary Road" and "The Reader" and is nominated for an Oscar.
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Tracy Morgan entered the trophy area, talking on his phone and sharing the news that "30 Rock" swept the TV comedy honors, including the ensemble cast award. Then, he claimed his prize from the table and was wowed by its weight. "This is heavy," he said. "It's good hardware. It's the first thing I've ever won in my life." Then, to no one in particular, he added, "I think I won musical chairs one time in kindergarten."
• The ceremony had started, but the trophy table wasn't set up backstage yet. Tuxedoed workers arranged more than a dozen trophies — those hefty bronze statuettes that weigh 12 pounds each — on a long table covered with a black cloth while the night's first awards (female and male actor in a comedy series) were being announced.
Source: AP