MTV AND YAHOO! WORKING WITH MARK BURNETT PRODUCTIONS JOIN FORCES TO SHINE THE SPOTLIGHT ON FANS & ASPIRING FILMMAKERS WITH �MTV MOVIE AWARDS ON YAHOO!� LAUNCHING APRIL 23RD
New Interactive Experience Will Showcase User Generated Creations throughout the �2007 MTV Movie Awards,�
And Culminate With The All-New �Best Movie Spoof� User Generated Category Live On Stage
�2007 MTV Movie Awards� Will Broadcast Live From Gibson Theatre in Universal City, CA on June 3
March 12, 2007, New York, NY & Santa Monica, CA � MTV: Music Television and Yahoo! Movies today announced a partnership, working with Mark Burnett Productions, to enhance the �2007 MTV Movie Awards� experience like never before by giving fans the opportunity to participate in the show via a new website on Yahoo! Movies. This year, fans will be given the chance to realize their dreams of standing on stage at the "2007 MTV Movie Awards" to accept the legendary golden bucket of popcorn in front of Hollywood�s movers and shakers. Through "MTV Movie Awards on Yahoo!," aspiring filmmakers will be offered the platform to showcase their twisted genius and story-telling talent. The interactive site, launching April 23, will allow them to submit their own original movie shorts parodying films from the past year for consideration in the first ever �BEST MOVIE SPOOF� User Generated Category. The undiscovered talent will be revealed to the world during MTV�s live June 3 broadcast from the Gibson Theater in Universal City, Calif.
In addition to the movie spoof award, MTV, Yahoo! Movies and Mark Burnett Productions are developing a section on this new interactive site where viewers can create their own culture of sorts � whether it's commenting on the user-generated submissions or posting photos and videos. Select content from the site will also take center stage at the awards on a �World Wide Web Wall� that will be integrated into the live broadcast, giving a voice to all the those up-and-coming filmmakers or those who simply like to quarterback from the sidelines.
�How many of us have seen a movie and thought, �I could produce something better, something funnier, something cooler?�� asked Christina Norman, President of MTV. �MTV and Yahoo! Movies attract the world�s most creative minds and we know that somewhere out there is an imaginative filmmaker with a fresh take on today�s movies. Together, we�re giving them a chance to share their inspiring, weird or hilarious work and reward their personal sacrifices and countless hours of filming and editing with�a cheesy bucket of gold-plated popcorn.�
�This competition breaks new ground in changing the way we discover talent, giving amateur movie makers an opportunity to walk away with the Golden Popcorn, � said Vince Broady, head of Entertainment for Yahoo!. �This is part of Yahoo�s continued commitment to give our users the chance to participate in the biggest entertainment events of the year. It�s not enough to put them in the front row � we want them on the stage.�
All aspiring content creators are encouraged to upload their submissions via Yahoo! Movies while other visitors to the site can rate and discuss the submissions. The final five nominees will be flown to the �2007 MTV Movie Awards� in Los Angeles. The fans will then vote on which of the five nominees takes home the new �Best Spoof MTV Movie Award.�
�One of my first actions, after agreeing to produce the MTV Movie Awards was to set up conversations between Yahoo! and MTV. It was a natural fit considering Yahoo!�s enormous reach and MTV�s ultra cool brand,� said Mark Burnett, Executive Producer. �The ability to create and interact with User Generated Content is so important to today's audience that this show simply had to include UGC as a major element in the creative experience of the 2007 awards.�
On the �MTV Movie Awards on Yahoo!� site, each award category will be featured and fans can then vote on MTV.com for their favorites in MTV�s infamously irreverent categories including �Best Kiss� and �Best Villain.� Also, as MTV announces nominees and performers fans can look to Yahoo! Movies for the exclusive news.
With the "World Wide Web Wall" and the new "Best Movie Spoof" categories, the audience will get more opportunities to engage with the show, both in the weeks leading up to it and on the actual live telecast.
This year�s experience builds on �MTV�s 2006 Movie Awards� online success last year which delivered over 2 million streams, up over 50% from the year before.
Mark Burnett serves as Executive Producer for the �2007 MTV Movie Awards.� Salli Frattini is Executive Producer for MTV. Audrey Morrisey and Ted Smith are Producers, Joe DeMaio is the Director and Kathy Flynn will serve as Event Producer.
About MTV Networks
MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), is one of the world�s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. MTV Networks, with more than 120 channels worldwide, owns and operates the following television programming services � MTV: MUSIC TELEVISION, MTV2, VH1, mtvU, NICKELODEON, NICK at NITE, COMEDY CENTRAL, TV LAND, SPIKE TV, CMT, NOGGIN, VH1 CLASSIC, LOGO, MTVN INTERNATIONAL and THE DIGITAL SUITE FROM MTV NETWORKS, a package of 13 digital services, all of these networks trademarks of MTV Networks. MTV Networks connects with its audiences through its robust consumer products businesses and its more than 95 interactive properties worldwide, including online, broadband, wireless and interactive television services and also has licensing agreements, joint ventures, and syndication deals whereby all of its programming services can be seen worldwide.
About Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is a leading global Internet brand and one of the most trafficked Internet destinations worldwide. Yahoo!'s mission is to connect people to their passions, their communities, and the world's knowledge. Yahoo! is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California.
Yahoo! and the Yahoo! logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Yahoo! Inc. All other names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
About Mark Burnett Productions
Mark Burnett Productions (MBP) is a leading production company in content for both primetime television and the internet. MBP revolutionized television with hits such as Eco-Challenge, Survivor, The Apprentice, The Contender, Rock Star: INXS, Rock Star: Supernova and its upcoming co-production with Steven Spielberg and DreamWorks Television, On The Lot (FOX). Other upcoming MBP projects include: Pirate Master (CBS) and Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader (FOX). MBP also partnered with AOL on the highly successful adventure Gold Rush, the first-ever unscripted project to be produced exclusively for the internet. MBP also successfully reintroduced product placement as an integral part of each of its shows and has garnered a total of 42 Emmy nominations since 2001.
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