The 17th SAG Awards on Velvet

MANILA, Philippines - Velvet, the fun, sexy party channel, rolls out the red carpet anew with the exclusive and complete coverage of the much-awaited 17th Annual Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards, live and exclusive today. The biggest gathering of stars in Hollywood begins at 7 a.m. with the Live from Red Carpet special, followed by the main awards show at 9 a.m. Same-day primetime telecast starts at 8 p.m. Velvet also rolls out the red carpet for a special hour-long Fashion Police: SAG Awards edition on Feb. 3, 7:30 p.m with encore telecasts on Feb. 4, 2 p.m.

Leading this year’s nomination for the movie categories are The King’s Speech and The Fighter with four nominations apiece, followed by The Kids are All Right and Black Swan with three nominations each. The Social Network tops off the category for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.

Colin Firth (The King’s Speech), whose portrayal of King George VI has made him a favorite in the Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role category, is up against 2010 SAG winner Jeff Bridges (True Grit), seasoned actor Robert Duvall (Get Low), three-time nominee James Franco (127 Hours) and dark horse Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network).

Sentimental favorite Annette Bening (The Kids Are All Right) faces stiff competition in frontrunner and first-time SAG nominee Natalie Portman (Black Swan). Nicole Kidman (Rabbit Hole and Hilary Swank (Conviction), as well as indie darling Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone), round out the Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role category.

Playing washed-up boxer Dicky Eklund in The Fighter, Christian Bale is the critics’ favorite in the Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role category. He’s challenged by John Hawkes (Winter’s Bone), Jeremy Renner (The Town), Mark Ruffalo (The Kids Are All Right) and Geoffrey Rush (The King’s Speech).