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SAG to Honor Finest Performances of 2008
At the 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards®,
Simulcast Live Sunday, Jan. 25, 2009 at 8 p.m. (ET/PT) on TNT and TBS
You can also check how to watch the SAG Awards online
James Earl Jones to Receive Screen Actors Guild’s Life Achievement Award
The 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards®, one of the awards season’s premier events, will honor outstanding performances from 2008 in five film categories and eight television categories, including the distinctive ensemble awards. The ceremony will be simulcast live on TNT and TBS on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2009 at 8 p.m. (ET/PT), 7 p.m. (CT) and 6 p.m. (MT) from the Shrine Exposition Center in Los Angeles.
The presentation marks TNT’s 12th telecast of this prestigious industry event and the fourth consecutive simulcast
on TBS. An encore presentation will air on TNT at 11 p.m. (ET/PT). For satellite and HD viewers, the live
presentation can be seen on TBS and TNT at 8 p.m. (ET)/5 p.m. (PT), while the encore can be seen on TNT at 11
p.m. (ET)/8 p.m. (PT).
Each year at the SAG Awards®, 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® 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® and Emmy®
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 45th Life Achievement Award to James
Earl Jones. The accolade celebrates both career achievement and humanitarian accomplishment. Previous
recipients include 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.
The 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards will also continue the tradition of saluting the Guild’s membership.
Last year, the event commemorated the founding of the Screen Actors Guild on June 30, 1933. In past years, the
awards show has spotlighted stunt performers, commercial actors, child actors, character actors, background
singers, dancers, background performers and voice-over artists.
The SAG Awards’ focus on actors inspires the ceremony’s production design and décor. At center stage, floating
against a twinkling background, a gold-framed silver screen showcases the nominated performances and tributes
to the SAG membership that are at the heart of the event. A luminous sunburst radiates out from the screen to
encompass the entire stage, which is punctuated by art deco references harkening back to the Guild’s founding
years. The crystal chandeliers that accent the stage lighting are echoed in overhead fixtures throughout the
showroom.
The simulcast of last year’s 14th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards® on TBS and TNT scored the ceremony’s
best performance among adults 18-34, adults 18-49, viewers and households since coming to cable in 1998.
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 to acknowledge the work of union members
and the first to present 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 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards were announced Thursday, Dec. 18, 2008, by
Angela Bassett and Eric McCormack, who were introduced by SAG President Alan Rosenberg. The nominations
announcement was carried live on TNT, tnt.tv and tbs.com. All active members of SAG began receiving ballots
beginning Dec. 26 to vote to determine who will receive the coveted bronze Actor statuettes on Jan. 25.
PEOPLE magazine and the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) will host the Screen Actors Guild Post-
Awards Gala for the 13th 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 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards will be produced by Jeff Margolis Productions in association with
Screen Actors Guild Awards®, LLC. Jeff Margolis is the executive producer, and Kathy Connell is the producer.
Yale Summers, Daryl Anderson, Shelley Fabares, Paul Napier and JoBeth Williams are producers for SAG.
Gloria Fujita O’Brien and Mick McCullough are supervising producers. Benn Fleishman is executive in charge of
production.
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 120,000 actors who work in film,
television, industrials, commercials, video games, music videos and all other 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. SAG is a proud affiliate of the AFL-CIO. More information is available online at www.sag.org.
TBS, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., is television’s top-rated comedy network. It serves as home
to such original comedy series as My Boys, The Bill Engvall Show, Tyler Perry’s House of Payne and Meet the
Browns; original late-night series like 10 Items or Less and Frank TV; hot contemporary comedies like The Office,
My Name is Earl, Sex and the City, Everybody Loves Raymond, Family Guy, King of Queens, Seinfeld and
Friends; specials like Funniest Commercials of the Year; special events, such as TBS Presents A “Very Funny”
Festival: The Comedy Festival in Las Vegas and Just For Laughs: A “Very Funny” Festival in Chicago;
blockbuster movies; and hosted movie showcases.
Turner Network Television (TNT), one of cable’s top-rated networks, is television’s destination for drama and
home to such original series as the acclaimed and highly popular detective drama The Closer, starring Kyra
Sedgwick; Saving Grace, starring Holly Hunter; Raising the Bar, with Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Gloria Reuben and
Jane Kaczmarek; Leverage, starring Timothy Hutton; and Trust Me, with Eric McCormack and Tom Cavanagh.
TNT also presents such powerful dramas as Bones, Cold Case, Law & Order, Without a Trace, ER and Charmed;
broadcast premiere movies; compelling primetime specials, such as the Screen Actors Guild Awards®; and
championship sports coverage, including NASCAR and the NBA. TNT is available in high-definition.
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.