Nominating Committees for 17th Annual SAG Awards® Selected and Key Dates and Events Announced

Los Angeles (April 20, 2010) – The Screen Actors Guild members who will select the nominees for the 17th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards® have been selected by random sample from the entire pool of active SAG members nationwide, SAG Awards® Committee Chair JoBeth Williams announced today.  Williams also announced the key deadlines and events leading up to the 17th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards® on Sunday, Jan. 30, 2011, when actors will present the coveted Actor® statuettes for outstanding performances of 2010 in motion pictures and primetime television, including the distinctive ensemble awards which commend the collaborative performance by a cast in a motion picture and by the ensemble casts of both comedy and dramatic television series.

Actor® nominees are selected by separate film and television nominating committees, each consisting of 2,100 SAG members from around the country, randomly selected anew each year.

To enable as many SAG members to participate in the nominating process as possible, actors may not serve on a nominating committee if they have done so in the past five years (up from a gap of three years for previous nominating committee random drawings). All active members of SAG will receive ballots to determine who will receive Actors® for the outstanding performances of 2010.

Submissions for the 17th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards will open Monday, July 12, 2010 at www.sagawards.org/submissions. Nominations for the 17th Annual SAG Awards will be announced Thursday, Dec. 16, 2010 at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood.

The 17th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards ceremony will be held Sunday, Jan. 30, 2011. The Screen Actors Guild Awards are anticipated by audiences as an emotional, memorable evening of live television and are watched closely by the industry as a precursor of possible Oscar® and Emmy® recognition. Of the top accolades presented to performers, only the Screen Actors Guild Awards are conferred solely by members of Screen Actors Guild. The SAG Awards was the first televised awards show to acknowledge the work of union members and the first to annually present ensemble and cast awards.

Key deadlines and events leading to the 17th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards are:

Monday, July 12, 2010
Submissions for Nomination Consideration Open

Tuesday, Sep. 14, 2010
Deadline for Nominating Committee Members to Make Address Changes

Friday, Oct. 1, 2010
Media Nomination and Ceremony Credential Applications Open
Publicists Nomination Announcement Credential Applications Open

Thursday, Oct. 28, 2010
Submissions for Nomination Consideration Close (Due at SAG by 5 p.m. PT)

Friday, Oct. 29, 2010
Media Nomination and Ceremony Credential Applications Close

Friday, Nov. 5, 2010
Publicists Nomination Announcement Credential Applications Close

Wednesday, Nov. 24, 2010
Nominations Ballots Mailed

Monday Dec. 13, 2010
Nomination Ballots Due at the Elections Firm by 5 p.m. PT

Thursday, Dec. 16, 2010
Deadline for Paying November 2010 Dues and/or Changing Address with SAG to be Eligible for Final Balloting

Thursday, Dec. 16, 2010
Nominations Announced

Thursday, Dec. 16, 2010
Publicists Ceremony Credential Applications Open

Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2010
Records Pulled for Final Balloting

Thursday, Dec. 30, 2010
Final Ballots Mailed to Members

Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2011
Publicists Ceremony Credential Applications Close

Friday, Jan. 28, 2011
Final Ballots Due at the Elections Firm by 12 Noon PT

Sunday, Jan. 30, 2011
17th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards®

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.