The 2012 Screen Actors Guild Awards live on Velvet

MANILA, Philippines - Velvet, the home of the biggest red carpet events, kicks off the glamorous awards season with the live telecast of the much-awaited 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards today at 9 a.m. with a same-day primetime replay at 9 p.m.

Once a year, actors stop and pause for a while to put on a judge’s hat and select who among their fellow actors deserve recognition for their excellent work in film and television. It is the only award-giving body created by actors solely for actors. This year’s show is produced by award-winning director/producer Jeff Margolis.

In the film categories, George Clooney and Meryl Streep lead the nominations in the Best Actor and Best Actress categories, respectively. Clooney, nominated for his portrayal of a single father in The Descendants, is joined by Hollywood heavyweights Leonardo Dicarpio (J. Edgar) and Brad Pitt (Moneyball), along with Jean Dujardin (The Artist) and Demian Bichir (A Better Life). Streep is notable in The Iron Lady as Dame Margaret Thatcher, but pits her against equally powerful performances by Viola Davis (The Help), Glenn Close (Albert Nobbs), Tilda Swinton (We Need To Talk About Kevin) and Michelle Williams (My Week With Marilyn). Apart form Davis’ nomination, civil rights-themed drama The Help topped the SAG nominations with four nods including best ensemble cast in a motion picture and Best Supporting Actress. Other nominees for best ensemble cast were The Artist, Bridesmaids, The Descendants and Midnight In Paris.

In the television arena, Emmy award-winning Modern Family, created by Christopher Lloyd and Steve Levitan, topped the nominees, collecting five nominations for best comedy ensemble and acting citations for Ty Burrell, Julie Bowen, Eric Stonestreet and Sofia Vergara. Dexter and 30 Rock, on the other hand, garnered three nods apiece — both series scoring mentions in their respective comedy and acting series categories as well as noms for leads Tina Fey and Michael C. Hall.

Julianna Margulies was also nominated, for the third time, for Best Actress in a Drama Series for her role as lawyer Alicia Florrick on The Good Wife which is in the running for Outstanding Performance by An Ensemble in a Drama Series. Nurse Jackie star Edie Falco also makes the list for the category Best Actress In a Comedy Series. The Good Wife can be seen on Sunday nights at 10 and Nurse Jackie on Tuesday nights, 9:30, on Velvet.

Catch the prestigious SAG Awards as it airs on Velvet for the fourth year in a row. Velvet (SkyCable Channel 53), the home of the biggest red carpet events, is now available on SkyCable Platinum, SkyCable Gold, SkyCable Silver and other quality cable operators nationwide.