The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES - A studio mistake left Meryl Streep competing against herself for the Screen Actors Guild awards, possibly costing her one if not two nominations.

A Sony spokesman said a studio employee incorrectly submitted Streep's name in the lead-actress category for Adaptation, in which she plays author Susan Orlean. The studio considers it a supporting-actress role and has been pushing Streep in that category for other film awards.

The mistake may have split Streep's votes between Adaptation and her other contending role for The Hours, which Paramount also had submitted in the lead-actress category.

Streep was not nominated for either part when guild nominations came out last week. For the Golden Globes, Streep won the supporting-actress prize for Adaptation and was nominated as lead actress for The Hours, along with co-star Nicole Kidman, who won the lead-actress award.

For Academy Awards nominations that come out Feb. 11, Streep is considered a strong contender for a best-actress nomination for The Hours and a supporting-actress nomination for Adaptation.

Academy voters are free to cast ballots for an actor in the lead or supporting categories as they see fit. But the guild requires studios to designate actors in a particular category, and Sony discovered its mistake when ballots went out in December.

"It was an unfortunate clerical error," said Sony spokesman Steve Elzer said. "She is one of the most extraordinary actresses in the history of film, and we don't believe that this accident will affect the outcome of the Academy race."