Nominations for the 79th Academy Awards® will be announced Jan 23 by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Sid Ganis and Oscar-nominated actress and Academy member Salma Hayek.

Ganis and Hayek will unveil the nominations in 10 of the 24 award categories at a 5:30 am news conference at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, where media representatives from around the world will be gathered.

Nominations information for all categories will be distributed simultaneously to news media in attendance and via the Internet on the official Academy Awards Web site, www.oscar.com.

Hayek received a nomination for Best Actress in 2002 for her portrayal of Frida Kahlo in Frida. Hayek’s other film credits include Ask the Dust, After the Sunset, Once upon a Time in Mexico, Dogma and Fools Rush In.

Official screenings for Academy members of all pictures receiving nominations are scheduled to begin Jan 27 at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills and at the Linwood Dunn Theater, located at Center for Motion Picture Study in Hollywood. Screenings in certain award categories also will be held in London, New York and San Francisco.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2006 will be presEditented on Feb 25 at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®.

The Oscars® will be televised live by the ABC Television Network at 5 pm PST (8 pm EST), beginning with a half-hour red carpet arrivals segment, The Road to the Oscars.