COEN BROTHERS - NO COUNTRY ON OSCAR MARCH

NO COUNTRY ON OSCAR MARCH

No Country For Old Men has become the clear frontrunner for this year's Oscars after success at the 2008 Producers' Guild awards.

The Coen brothers' crime epic - an adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel of the same name - took the Darryl F Zanuck trophy for best film at the ceremony on Saturday, sealing a hat-trick of awards season approval from the influential Hollywood guilds.

The Coens were named best directors by the Directors' Guild of America (DGA) last week, before Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin and Javier Bardem were acknowledged for their part in the best ensemble performance by the Screen Actors Guild (SAG).

The Producers' Guild of America (PGA) named HBO series The Sopranos as the best drama, while NBC's 30 Rock was awarded the best comedy production prize, adding to its Emmy success.

And after a hugely impressive box office performance, Disney/Pixar's Ratatouille was named best animated film, with producer Brad Lewis accepting the award.

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, a dramatic adaptation of Dee Brown's book about the subjugation of the Native American racer, was rewarded in the long-form television category, while Michael Moore and Meghan O'Hara were named best producers of a documentary for Sicko, an expose of the US healthcare system.

Planet Earth took the non-fiction television prize while The Colbert Report nabbed the trophy in the live entertainment/competition category.