100 YEARS...100 HEROES AND VILLAINS "will countdown America's 50 greatest heroes and 50 greatest villains in film, as chosen by experts of the motion picture community, in a three-hour television event on the CBS Television Network in June 2003," according to an AFI press release. Hosted by action star Arnold Schwartzenegger, the latest AFI special will span all of Hollywood history, from 1915's A FOOL THERE WAS to 2001's LORD OF THE RINGS.

The ballot of nominees includes 400 characters from 'James Bond' to 'Hannibal Lecter'. Among them are the quintessential STAR TREK hero and villain: William Shatner's 'Captain James T. Kirk' and Ricardo Montalban's 'Khan Noonien Singh'. Kirk is nominated in STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE (1979), the character's first trip to the big screen, and Khan--naturally--in STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN (1982).

The top 100 list will be chosen by a jury of 1,500 film artists, historians and critics, who were asked to consider heroes thusly: "sometimes mythic figures, sometimes ordinary people who prevail in extreme circumstances, heroes dramatize a sense of morality, courage and purpose often lacking in our everyday world"; while villains are described as "characters whose wickedness of mind, selfishness of character and will to power are sometimes masked by beauty and nobility. Others rage unmasked."

Other criteria to be considered in the selection as well, including cultural impact, "characters who have a made a mark on American society in matters of style and substance"; and legacy, "characters who elicit strong reactions across time, enriching America’s film heritage while continuing to inspire contemporary artists and audiences." Only feature-length films with a significant portion of their financial or creative production from the United States are included.

Film actor John Wayne is nominated seven times, while Harrison Ford, Gary Cooper, and Henry Fonda are noticed six times each. Director Alfred Hitchcock has the most nominated films (11) and legendary writer/director John Huston has the most nominated screenplays (7).

The special airs June 3rd on CBS. For more information and facts about the AFI Top 100 Heroes & Villains nominees, as well as the complete list of nominees, visit this page.

Thanks to 'David Donald Dorton' for the tip.