'The Help' leads SAG Award movie nominations

The Help is leading the movie nominations at the 18th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards.

The civil rights drama, which centres on a young writer who exposes mistreatment of African American maids in '60s America, has earned nominations for stars Viola Davis, Jessica Chastain and Octavia Spencer.

The Artist, Michel Hazanavicius's black-and-white tribute to silent cinema, is close behind with three nominations. Stars Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo picked up nods for 'Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role' and 'Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role' respectively.

The films face competition from Bridesmaids, The Descendants and Midnight in Paris in the 'Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture' category.

George Clooney (The Descendants), Demian Bichir (A Better Life), Leonardo DiCaprio (J. Edgar) and Brad Pitt (Moneyball) are nominated alongside Dujardin for 'Male Actor in a Leading Role'.

Meryl Streep's performance as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady and Michelle Williams's turn as Marilyn Monroe in My Week with Marilyn earned nominations for 'Female Actor in a Leading Role'.

The pair are joined by Glenn Close (Albert Nobbs), Viola Davis (The Help) and Tilda Swinton (We Need to Talk About Kevin) in the category.

The 18th Annual SAG Awards will be held in Los Angeles on January 29.

> In Full: The 18th Screen Actors Guild Awards - Movie Nominees
> In Full: The 18th Screen Actors Guild Awards - TV Nominees

Watch the trailer for The Help below: