Fans Bid for Red Carpet Seats at SAG Awards

(Jan. 4) -- Awards season in Hollywood is right around the corner, but instead of watching the action from your couch this year, you could catch your favorite stars in the flesh -- front and center.

Now through Monday, film and television fanatics can bid for bleacher seats along the red carpet of the 17th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, taking place Jan. 30 at the Shrine Exposition Center in Los Angeles and airing live on TNT and TBS at 8 p.m. ET.

The "Red Carpet Bleacher Auction" -- hosted online by the Screen Actors Guild Foundation at sagawards.org/auction -- is offering 90 perfectly located seats on the sidelines, at a prime spot that all the major stars will walk by, including 2011 SAG Award nominees Jeff Bridges, James Franco, Natalie Portman, Betty White and the ensemble casts of "30 Rock," "Modern Family" and "Glee," just to name a few.

As of right now, 15 sets of two seats and 15 sets of four seats are available to bidders through multiple auctions.

Bids currently range from $35 to $325, a fairly small price to pay for what could be the Tinseltown experience of a lifetime.

SAG Awards producer Kathy Connell told AOL News that the bleacher seats couldn't be any closer to the action.

"Stars have been known to stop and chat with fans in the stands and even sign an autograph or take a picture or two," she said. "I've seen Will Smith, Steve Carell and even Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt do this. A lot of times the stars will bypass the press on the sidelines and head straight for the fans. It's an amazing location -- the perfect place to see all those stars at once."

Connell said the lucky fans who win SAG Award seats through the auction will enjoy an entire afternoon of excitement and stargazing, since their time at the red carpet ceremony will last about four hours.

"They'll get to see 'TV Guide' filming the pre-show and may even wind up on TV themselves. They'll also get to see everything that goes on backstage at the red carpet, including reporters doing live interviews with the stars. It's a very fun way to spend an afternoon," Connell said.

To add even more glitz and glamour to the evening, Connell said each fan in the bleachers will be given a "swag" bag, a package filled with secret goodies for their afternoon on the carpet.

Swag? Now, it really can't get anymore Hollywood than that.

Besides the opportunity to meet and mingle with celebrities, fans who bid on the bleacher seats will also be giving back to a number of great causes.

Proceeds from the auction will go toward the SAG Foundation and its many charitable missions, including public children's literacy programs like BookPALS and Storyline Online.

The auction also supports SAG Foundation programs providing emergency funds for SAG members with catastrophic illnesses.

Some of the money will go toward audio and video preservation of creative works, so the legacies of SAG members will never be forgotten.

Since only 90 seats are available, Connell suggested fans keep a close watch on various auctions and their closing times, and perhaps even bid on a couple sets of seats at once.

If you're unable to snag the coveted seats, don't fret. There's still time to take a priceless piece of the SAG Awards home.

Another online auction will be held Jan. 27 to 31, this time for SAG memorabilia.

The "Ceremony Auction" will boast autographed scripts, posters, clothing and props revolving around the nominated actors, movies and TV shows from this year's SAG Awards.

Even more auction items will be announced later this month, and once again, proceeds will go toward the SAG Foundation.