Slumdog Millionaire, adapted from Vikas Swarup's novel Q&A, won the Screen Actors Guild's top prize for ensemble cast. Variety reported that "the awards season's feel-good favorite picked up serious momentum" with this latest honor.
Other book adaptations coming up SAG winners were The Reader, based upon Bernhard Schlink's novel, which won the award for best supporting actress (Kate Winslet); and HBO's John Adams, based on the book by David McCullough, which earned prizes for best actor (Paul Giamatti) and actress (Laura Linney) in a television movie or miniseries.
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The Sundance Film Festival honored Push: Based on the Novel by Sapphire with three major awards--the Grand Jury Prize: U.S. Dramatic, the Audience Award: U.S. Dramatic and a Special Jury Prize for Acting (Mo'Nique).
Variety noted that "director Lee Daniels' unflinching look at the parental abuse and self-redemption of a teenage girl in 1980s Harlem was the big winner" at the annual festival. U.S. dramatic competition jurors were Virginia Madsen, Scott McGehee, Maud Nadler, Mike White and Boaz Yakin.