THE 17TH ANNUAL "CRITICS' CHOICE MOVIE AWARDS" WILL AIR LIVE ON THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2012 AT 9:00 PM ET/PT ON VH1

Telecast Serves as First Major Movie Awards Presentation of the Season

LOS ANGELES, CA - May 13, 2011 - VH1 announced today that it will air the 17th annual "Critics' Choice Movie Awards" on Thursday, January 12 at 9:00 PM ET/PT. This year marks the first year that the show will be held on a Thursday and the fifth straight year the network will televise the event. In addition, Den of Thieves will produce for the second year with Jesse Ignjatovic serving as executive produce for the third year.

The "Critics' Choice Movie Awards" are bestowed annually by the Broadcast Film Critics Association to honor the finest in cinematic achievement. Since its inception in 1995, the "Critics' Choice Movie Awards" has been a star-studded bellwether event of the movie awards season. The BFCA consistently picks nominees and winners that go on to garner more Academy Award(R) nominations and wins than the Golden Globes(R) or any other movie awards shows. All four major acting category winners at the Academy Awards(R) in 2011 were first "Critics' Choice Movie Awards" winners in the same categories and were present at the January 14, 2011 ceremony to graciously give their first major acceptance speeches of the awards season.

The "Critics' Choice Movie Awards" is the first televised movie awards show of the year. With its notable history of picking the most deserving nominees and winners, it provides television viewers with their first opportunity to see all the top awards season contenders in one place. Nominations for the 17th annual "Critics' Choice Movie Awards" will be announced on Tuesday, December 13, 2011.

Nominees and presenters in attendance at the 2011 "Critics' Choice Movie Awards" included: Amy Adams, Hank Azaria, Ben Affleck, Christian Bale, Annette Bening, Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, Helena Bonham Carter, Ice Cube, Robert Duvall, Jesse Eisenberg, Elle Fanning, Colin Firth, Jane Fonda, Andrew Garfield, Ryan Gosling, Jon Hamm, Ed Helms, Rob Huebel, Khloe Kardashian, Kim Kardashian, Nicole Kidman, Jimmy Kimmel, Greg Kinnear, Mila Kunis, Jennifer Lawrence, Melissa Leo, Julianne Moore, Mandy Moore, Jeremy Renner, Joan Rivers, Sam Rockwell, Tim Roth, Mark Ruffalo, Paul Scheer, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sarah Silverman, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Aaron Sorkin, Kevin Spacey, Steven Spielberg, Hailee Steinfeld, Emma Stone, Sofia Vergara, Jacki Weaver and Michelle Williams.

The following dates apply for the 17th annual "Critics' Choice Movie Awards," honoring the finest in cinematic achievement among the 2011 film releases.

Monday, December 5, 2011 - Nominating ballots go out to the BFCA members

Sunday, December 11, 2011 - Deadline for returning nominating ballots

Tuesday, December 13, 2011 - The 17th annual "Critics' Choice Movie Awards" nominees announced

Sunday, January 8, 2012 - Final ballots go out to the BFCA members

Tuesday, January 10, 2012 - Deadline for returning final ballots

For more information on the "Critics' Choice Movie Awards" visit CriticsChoice.VH1.com. Additional online and mobile elements for the show will be announced in the coming months.

The 17th annual "Critics' Choice Movie Awards" is executive produced by Jesse Ignjatovic for Den of Thieves, Joey Berlin for Berlin Entertainment and Lee Rolontz for VH1.

About The Broadcast Film Critics Association:

The Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) is the largest film critics organization in the United States and Canada, representing more than 250 television, radio and online critics. BFCA members are the primary source of information for today's film going public. The very first opinion a moviegoer hears about new releases at the multiplex or the art house usually comes from one of its members. criticschoice.com

About Den of Thieves:

Founded in 2007 by Jesse Ignjatovic and Evan Prager, Den of Thieves has quickly emerged as a force for ambitious event shows and uniquely stylized reality television series. Using their extensive experience working with talent, Ignjatovic and Prager launched Den of Thieves as the TV arm of the Warner Music Group in 2007. After a successful three year partnership there, they branched out and are now fully independent. With an array of formats ranging from Comedy Central's stand-up special "Russell Brand in NYC" to VH1's "The T.O. Show" to the MTV Video Music Awards, Den of Thieves continues to create, develop and produce original television.

About VH1:

VH1 connects viewers to the music, artists and pop culture that matter to them most with TV series, specials, live events, exclusive online content and public affairs initiatives. VH1 is available in 98 million households in the U.S. VH1 also has an array of digital channels and services including VH1Classic, VH1 Soul, VH1 Mobile, VH1Games and extensive broadband video on VH1.com. Connect with VH1 at VH1.com.