Chicago storms SAG awards

Chicago's seemingly unstoppable Oscar progress continued last night when it picked up the ensemble award - the nearest thing to best picture - at the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) awards.

Rob Marshall's high-stepping musical also bagged both the actress awards for Renee Zellweger as lead and Catherine Zeta-Jones supporting. The men's awards went to Daniel Day-Lewis, named best actor for his performance as Bill the Butcher in Gangs of New York, and Christopher Walken, who won best supporting actor for his turn as Leo DiCaprio's small-time conman father in Catch Me If You Can.

With the exception of Zellweger's best actress award, in which category Nicole Kidman is favourite to win the Oscar, the awards are a fairly close reflection of the current odds for the Academy Awards, where Chicago is expected to win at least one major award, and Day-Lewis increasingly looks unassailable for best actor.

The Oscars are announced on March 23.