Witherspoon, Hoffman lead way

The loss by 'Brokeback Mountain' to 'Crash' could prove a speed-bump on the its path toward Oscars history.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Reese Witherspoon as singer June Carter in "Walk the Line" and Philip Seymour Hoffman as author Truman Capote in "Capote" won lead-acting awards Sunday from the Screen Actors Guild, while the ensemble drama "Crash" pulled off an upset win over Brokeback Mountain" for the overall cast award.
Rachel Weisz of the murder thriller "The Constant Gardener" and Paul Giamatti of the boxing drama "Cinderella Man" received supporting-acting honors.
"Oh, my God, y'all. Sometimes, I can't just shake the feeling that I'm just a little girl from Tennessee," said Witherspoon, who plays Carter during her long, stormy courtship with country legend Johnny Cash.
Hoffman, considered the favorite for the best-actor Oscar as Capote amid the author's struggles to research and write the true-crime novel "In Cold Blood," had gushing thanks for his "Capote" co-stars.
"It's important to say that actors can't act alone, it's impossible. What we have to do is support each other," Hoffman said. "Actors have to have each others' backs. It's the only way to act well is when you know the other actor has your back, and these actors had my back, and I hope they know I had theirs."
A speed-bump?
"Brokeback Mountain" has been considered the best-picture front-runner at the Oscars, whose nominations come out Tuesday, with awards presented March 5. Its loss to "Crash" could prove a speed-bump on the film's path toward becoming the first explicitly gay-themed movie to win a best picture award at the Oscars
Adapted from Annie Proulx's short story about old sheepherding buddies who conceal a homosexual affair from their families, "Brokeback Mountain" also has earned top honors from key critics groups and the Producers Guild of America.
"Crash" follows the lives of a far-flung cast of characters over a chaotic 36-hour period in Los Angeles.
"This celebrates the definition of what an ensemble is all about. There's 74 of us," "Crash" co-star Terrence Howard said of the film's huge cast.
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