Eric McCormack & Angela Bassett Announce SAG Nominees 12/18

"ER" star Angela Bassett, whose political thriller "Nothing But the Truth" premieres December 19, and Eric McCormack, an Actor® recipient for "Will & Grace" and star of the new TNT series "Trust Me," which premieres January 26, will join Screen Actors Guild President Alan Rosenberg to announce the nominees for the 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards®, Executive Producer Jeff Margolis announced today.

The SAG Awards® nominations in five film and eight television categories will be revealed at 6 a.m. PT / 9 a.m. ET on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2008, in the SilverScreen Theater at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood. The nominations announcement will be telecast live on TNT and webcast live on TNT.TV and TBS.COM. Nominations for the SAG honors for film and television stunt ensembles will also be announced on Dec. 18, at 5:50 a.m. by SAG Award Committee members Daryl Anderson and JoBeth Williams, webcast live on TNT.TV and TBS.COM.

Angela Bassett joined the cast of NBC's "ER" this fall as tough new ER head Dr. Cate Banfield. December 19 brings the premiere of her latest film, Rod Lurie's political thriller "Nothing But The Truth," with Bassett starring opposite Alan Alda and Kate Beckinsale. Also upcoming is her portrayal of Voletta Wallace, mother of slain rapper Christopher "Notorious B.I.G." Wallace in "Notorious," due out January 2009, and a starring role opposite Danny Glover in Giancarlo Esposito's directorial debut, "Gospel Hill." Bassett was last seen starring opposite Rick Fox in Tyler Perry's romantic family comedy "Meet the Browns." An Academy Award nominee for her portrayal of Tina Turner in "What's Love Got to Do With It," Bassett received a SAG Award nomination in 2002 for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries for the title role of Louisiana juke joint owner Ruby Delacroix in "Ruby's Bucket of Blood."

Eric McCormack's comic portrayal of title character Will Truman in NBC's long-running "Will & Grace" earned him an Emmy® and five Golden Globe® nominations. Along with his fellow "Will & Grace" cast members, McCormack was honored with an Actor and four nominations for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. McCormack next stars in the new TNT drama, "Trust Me," as a responsible art director and family man partnered in a high-pressure Chicago ad agency with an impulsive copywriter played by Tom Cavanagh. McCormack was seen earlier this year in the Emmy-nominated A&E miniseries "The Andromeda Strain." Also upcoming for McCormack are the indie sci-fi thriller "Alien Trespass" and the romantic comedy "My One and Only," opposite Renee Zellweger and Kevin Bacon.

The 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards®, the only industry accolades devoted solely to actors honoring actors, will be simulcast live on TNT and TBS on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2009, at 8 p.m. ET/PT, 7 p.m. CT, 6 p.m. MT, from the Shrine Exposition Center in Los Angeles.

The 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards will be produced by Jeff Margolis Productions in association with Screen Actors Guild Awards. 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 nearly 127, 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," "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 "The Comedy Festival" in Las Vegas and "Just For Laughs: A Very Funny Festival" in Chicago; blockbuster movies; and hosted movie showcases. TBS is available in high-definition.

Turner Network Television (TNT), television's destination for drama and one of cable's top-rated networks, offers original movies and series, including the acclaimed and highly popular detective drama "The Closer," starring Kyra Sedgwick; "Saving Grace," starring Holly Hunter; "Raising the Bar," starring Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Gloria Reuben and Jane Kaczmarek; "Leverage," starring Timothy Hutton; and "Trust Me," starring Eric McCormack and Tom Cavanagh. TNT is also home to powerful one-hour dramas, such 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.