Actor ALEC BALDWIN is calling on the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) to allow its members to attend next month’s (Feb08) Academy Awards ceremony - because it is more important than the Golden Globe Awards.

Organisers of the Golden Globe Awards were forced to cancel its annual ceremony on Sunday (13Jan08) because SAG pledged its members would not cross the Writers Guild Of America’s picket line.

But Baldwin is hoping they will not boycott the Oscars ceremony, due to take place on 22 February (08), because it is an important occasion for Hollywood’s actors.

He says, "The Globes appear to be dead. The Oscars are next. And there is a monumental difference between those two.

"One is a pleasant evening hosted by a fraternity of international journalists who choose to recognise the work of those they admire. The other is an evening of history. To accept an Oscar is to take one’s place among the greatest actors of all time."