SAG to Honor Finest Performances of 2010 at the 17th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards(R), Simulcast Live on TNT and TBS on Sunday, Jan. 30, 2011, at 8 p.m. (ET) / 5 p.m. (PT)

Ernest Borgnine to Receive Screen Actors Guild's Life Achievement Award

LOS ANGELES - The 17th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards(R), one of the awards season's premier events, will honor outstanding performances from 2010 in five film categories and eight television categories, including the distinctive ensemble awards. The ceremony will be simulcast live coast-to-coast on TNT and TBS on Sunday, Jan. 30, 2011, at 8 p.m. (ET), 7 p.m. (CT), 6 p.m. (MT) and 5 p.m. (PT) from the Shrine Exposition Center in Los Angeles. An encore presentation will air on TNT at 10 p.m. (ET) 9 p.m. (CT), 8 p.m. (MT) and 7 p.m. (PT).

Prior to the televised ceremony, the SAG Honors for television and film stunt ensembles will be announced by SAG Awards Committee Chair JoBeth Williams and Committee Member Scott Bakula during the live tnt.tv and tbs.com webcasts from the red carpet which begin at 6:30 p.m. (ET)/3:30 p.m. (PT).

The presentation of this year's SAG Awards marks TNT's 14th telecast of this prestigious industry event, the sixth consecutive simulcast on TBS.

Each year at the SAG Awards(R), the red carpet and showroom fill with a who's who of the entertainment industry as the casts of the year's best-acted films and television series come together with industry leaders to meet, mingle and cheer their colleagues. Set within an intimate dinner-party atmosphere, the event is an evening of spirited camaraderie, glamorous fashion, warm reunions, spontaneous laughter and shared respect. Unlike other awards ceremonies, the SAG Awards puts its focus squarely on the actors, from the signature opening montage of "Actors' Stories" to the acceptance speeches in which Actor(R) recipients speak from the heart to their peers. The Screen Actors Guild Awards are closely watched by the industry as a precursor of possible Oscar(R) and Emmy(R) recognition and by viewers as an emotional, memorable night of live television.

A highlight of the evening will be the presentation of Screen Actors Guild's 2010 Life Achievement Award to Ernest Borgnine. The accolade celebrates both career achievement and humanitarian accomplishment. Previous recipients include Betty White, James Earl Jones, Charles Durning, Julie Andrews, Shirley Temple Black, James Garner, Karl Malden, Clint Eastwood, Edward Asner, Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee, Sidney Poitier, Kirk Douglas, Elizabeth Taylor, Angela Lansbury, Robert Redford and George Burns, among others. A complete list of the 46 previous Life Achievement Award recipients can be found at www.sagawards.org.

The 17th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards will also continue the tradition of saluting the Guild's membership. In past years, the awards show has spotlighted stunt performers, child actors, character actors, background singers, dancers, background performers and voice-over artists among others. In 2007, the ceremony featured a tribute to SAG's 75th Anniversary.

An elegant new set reminiscent of a grand lobby will provide an opulent backdrop against which the ceremony will unfold. The most distinguishing features are a pair of monumental lacquered doors, each framed by oversized molding with rococo staff detail, which will lead to the wings on either side of the stage. Gold-leafed vertical pipes will line the perimeter of the stage, rising up from a black and white check lacquered floor, while in the center will float a gold-leafed ornately-framed screen on which the nominated performances and tributes that are at the heart of the event will be showcased. A custom-made crystal chandelier will punctuate the stage lighting, echoed in multiple overhead crystal fixtures throughout the showroom.

Of the top industry honors presented to performers, only the Screen Actors Guild Awards are conferred solely by actors' peers. The SAG Awards was the first televised awards show created by a union to acknowledge the work of actors and the first to establish ensemble and cast awards. The SAG Awards nominees are chosen by separate film and television nominating committees, each consisting of 2,100 SAG members from around the country, randomly selected anew each year.

Nominations for the 17th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards will be announced on Thursday, Dec. 16, 2010 by Rosario Dawson and Angie Harmon, who will be introduced by SAG Awards Committee Chair JoBeth Williams. Williams and SAG Awards Committee Vice Chair Daryl Anderson and will announce nominees for the SAG stunt ensemble honors. The nominations announcement will be carried live on TNT, tnt.tv and tbs.com. All active members of SAG will be mailed voting instructions on Dec. 30. Votes to determine who will receive the coveted bronze Actor statuettes on Jan. 30 must be received by the SAG Awards official teller, Integrity Voting Systems, by Jan. 28.

PEOPLE magazine and the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) will host the Screen Actors Guild Post-Awards Gala for the 15th consecutive year. This exclusive event honors the philanthropic causes and good works of the members of the Screen Actors Guild. The gala, benefiting the Screen Actors Guild Foundation, will immediately follow the SAG Awards on the backlot of the Shrine Exposition Center.

The 17th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards will be telecast internationally, as well as to U.S. military installations overseas through the American Forces Network Broadcast Center.

The Screen Actors Guild Awards(R) is committed to reducing the Awards' environmental footprint and in 2010 was honored for the second consecutive year with the Environmental Media Association (EMA)'s Green Seal, recognizing a production's outstanding efforts to implement sustainable initiatives and promote environmental awareness.

The 17th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards will be produced by Jeff Margolis Productions in association with Screen Actors Guild Awards(R), LLC. Jeff Margolis is the executive producer and director. Kathy Connell is the producer. JoBeth Williams, Daryl Anderson, Scott Bakula, Shelley Fabares and Paul Napier are producers for SAG. Gloria Fujita O'Brien and Mick McCullough are supervising producers. Benn Fleishman is executive in charge of production. More information is available online at www.sagawards.org.

Screen Actors Guild is the nation's largest labor union representing working actors. Established in 1933, SAG has a rich history in the American labor movement, from standing up to studios to break long-term engagement contracts in the 1940s to fighting for artists' rights amid the digital revolution sweeping the entertainment industry in the 21st century. With 20 branches nationwide, SAG represents more than 125,000 actors who work in film and digital theatrical motion pictures and television programs, commercials, video games, industrials, Internet and all new media formats. The Guild exists to enhance actors' working conditions, compensation and benefits and to be a powerful, unified voice on behalf of artists' rights. Headquartered in Los Angeles, SAG is a proud affiliate of the AFL-CIO. More information is available online at www.sag.org.

TNT, one of cable's top-rated networks, is television's destination for drama. Seen in 100.5 million households, the network is home to such original series as "The Closer," starring Kyra Sedgwick; "Rizzoli & Isles," starring Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander; "Leverage," starring Timothy Hutton; ""HawthoRNe," with Jada Pinkett Smith; "Memphis Beat," with Jason Lee; "Men of a Certain Age," with Ray Romano, Andre Braugher and Scott Bakula; and "Southland," from Emmy(R)-winning producer John Wells ("ER"); as well as the upcoming "Falling Skies," starring Noah Wylie, and "Franklin & Bash," with Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Breckin Meyer. TNT also presents such powerful dramas as "Bones," "Supernatural," "Las Vegas," "Law & Order," "CSI: NY" "Cold Case" and "Numb3rs;" broadcast premiere movies; compelling primetime specials, such as the "Screen Actors Guild Awards(R)"; and championship sports coverage, including NASCAR, the NBA and the NCAA men's basketball tournament. TNT is available in high-definition.

TBS, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., is television's top-rated comedy network and is available in 100.8 million households. It serves as home to such original comedy series as "Glory Daze," "Are We There Yet?" and Tyler Perry's "House of Payne" and "Meet the Browns;" the late-night series "CONAN" starring Conan O'Brien, and "Lopez Tonight," starring George Lopez; hot contemporary comedies like "Family Guy" and "The Office;" " specials like "Funniest Commercials of the Year"; special events, including star-studded comedy festivals in Chicago; blockbuster movies; hosted movie showcases and championship sports.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, creates and programs branded news, entertainment, animation and young adult media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world.