SEASON THREE FINALE OF SYFY'S "FACE OFF" TO BE BROADCAST LIVE FROM LOS ANGELES, CA ON HALLOWEEN NIGHT, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31 AT 10 P.M. ET

Viewers Will Decide Which Contestant Will Be the Season Three Champion of the Reality Competition Series

Season Three Debuts on Tuesday, August 21 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Syfy

NEW YORK, NY - August 15, 2012 - Syfy's smash hit reality competition series Face Off announces a surprise crowning event for its third season, with plans to broadcast live from Los Angeles, CA on Halloween night 2012, Wednesday, October 31 at 10 p.m. ET. For the first time, America's voice will be heard as viewers will make the final choice for the season three champion via a live voting feature that will be available immediately following the October 30 episode. McKenzie Westmore will host the special event and reunite the contestants, including the three finalists who will find out live if they garnered enough viewer votes to win the season.

The anticipated season three premiere of Face Off airs Tuesday, August 21 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT, in which 12 new contestants must create an original alien character inspired by the classic cantina scene from Star Wars: A New Hope. The episode features a guest appearance by Sean Astin (Lord of the Rings).

Face Off is an authentic depiction of the high creative standards necessary for a special effects make-up artist to succeed in their craft. The series debuted in January 2011 as a new reality competition program to critical and ratings success. The second season finale of Face Off became the most watched unscripted telecast in Syfy's nearly 20-year history, transforming 3.58 million total viewers, based on Live +7 data. This also established a Syfy original series record - for scripted and unscripted programs - for most Adults 18-34 viewers with 1.01 million.

Returning to the lab for the new season is actress and host McKenzie Westmore, along with judges Ve Neill (The Hunger Games, Pirates of the Caribbean) and Glenn Hetrick (Mad Men, Heroes). Patrick Tatopolous will sit on the judges' panel for the premiere episode, before he starts production design on his latest project, 300: Battle of Artemisia. Joining the series as the new judge is Neville Page, Lead Creature Designer on the highest grossing movie of all time Avatar and Character Designer on Ridley Scott's recent blockbuster Prometheus.

The season also boasts an array of prominent guest judge appearances including Academy-Award winning producer Brian Grazer (How The Grinch Stole Christmas, A Beautiful Mind), Kevin Smith (Red State), Gale Anne Hurd (Aliens, The Walking Dead), Sean Astin (Lord of the Rings), LucasFilm collaborator and actor Matthew Wood (Star Wars prequels), Paul WS Anderson (Alien vs. Predator, Resident Evil: Afterlife), boxer Laila Ali and Oscar-nominated makeup artist Barney Burman (Star Trek, Mission Impossible III).

Face Off is a production of Mission Control Media with Dwight D. Smith, Michael Agbabian and Derek Atherton serving as executive producers.

Syfy is a media destination for imagination-based entertainment. With year round acclaimed original series, events, blockbuster movies, classic science fiction and fantasy programming, a dynamic Web site (www.Syfy.com), and a portfolio of adjacent business (Syfy Ventures), Syfy is a passport to limitless possibilities. Originally launched in 1992 as SCI FI Channel, and currently in more than 98 million homes, Syfy is a network of NBCUniversal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies. (Syfy. Imagine greater.)