2006 BLACK MOVIE AWARDS

[MissAshley]

nothing major but it's Will related so:

Tyler Perry to Host Film Life's 2006 BLACK MOVIE AWARDS - A Celebration of Black Cinema: Past, Present & Future, Premiering Wednesday, Oct. 18, on TNT

Cicely Tyson to Receive Distinguished Career Achievement Award

Laurence Fishburne Honored Excellence in Arts Award

Lady Sings the Blues Slated to be Inducted into Classic Cinema Hall of Fame

Nominations for Outstanding Motion Picture of the Year Include Akeelah &

the Bee, ATL, Four Brothers, Inside Man, Madea's Family Reunion and Tsotsi

Suzanne de Passe and Jeff Friday to Executive-Produce Event

Complete List of Nominations Attached

ATLANTA, Aug. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Tyler Perry - who has wowed audiences

with such blockbuster movies as Diary of a Mad Black Woman and Madea's

Family Reunion, as well as the popular syndicated series Tyler Perry's

House of Payne - has signed on to host Film Life's 2006 BLACK MOVIE AWARDS

- A Celebration of Black Cinema: Past, Present & Future, presented by

Turner Network Television (TNT). The gala awards show, which launched on

TNT last year, recognizes creative achievement by persons of African

descent in feature-length motion pictures, both in front of and behind the

camera, and honors outstanding films portraying the Black experience. This

year's top award nominees include Akeelah & the Bee and ATL, each of which

earned four nominations, including Outstanding Motion Picture of the Year,

and Inside Man, Madea's Family Reunion, Something New and Waist Deep, each

of which earned three nominations.

Film Life's 2006 BLACK MOVIE AWARDS, executive produced by Suzanne de

Passe, CEO of de Passe Entertainment and Jeff Friday, CEO of Film Life,

Inc., will premiere Wednesday, Oct. 18, at 10 p.m. (ET/PT), exclusively on

TNT.

Award-winning actress Cicely Tyson will receive the Distinguished

Career Achievement Award, recognizing a career that includes such films as

The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, A Woman Called Moses and TNT's Heat

Wave. And Laurence Fishburne, a nominee for his work this year in Akeelah &

the Bee, will receive the Excellence in Arts Award.

Sidney J. Furie's 1972 biographical movie Lady Sings the Blues, which

features Diana Ross as jazz legend Billie Holiday, will be inducted into

the Black Movie Awards Classic Cinema Hall of Fame. The film, which marked

Ross' motion picture debut, also stars Billy Dee Williams and Richard

Pryor.

Tyler Perry's movie Madea's Family Reunion, is a triple-nominee, for

Outstanding Achievement in Screenwriting (Tyler Perry), Outstanding

Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role (Lynn Whitfield) and

Outstanding Motion Picture. Other Outstanding Motion Picture nominees

include Akeelah & the Bee, ATL, Four Brothers, Inside Man and Tsotsi.

Nominees for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

include Presley Chweneyagae (Tsotsi), Chiwetel Ejiofor (Kinky Boots),

Tyrese Gibson (Waist Deep), Cuba Gooding Jr. (Shadowboxer) and Denzel

Washington (Inside Man).

Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role nominees

include Halle Berry (X-Men: The Last Stand), Meagan Good (Waist Deep),

Sanaa Lathan (Something New), Queen Latifah (Last Holiday) and Keke Palmer

(Akeelah & the Bee).

The 2006 BLACK MOVIE AWARDS will be taped at the Wiltern Theatre in Los

Angeles on Sunday, Oct. 15. A prominent committee of film critics,

entertainment editors and prestigious members of the artistic community

choose nominees and recipients of the awards from a list of eligible films

released in the U.S. between Aug. 1, 2005, and July 31, 2006. Press

credentials for the ceremony can be obtained at

http://www.turner.com/press/2006_BMA_Credential_Form.doc.

Host Tyler Perry, whose screenplay for Diary of a Mad Black Woman was

honored last year in the Outstanding Achievement in Writing category,

emerged from the poverty-stricken streets of New Orleans in a remarkable

rags-to- riches story. His younger days were troubled, and he suffered from

endless abuse from his father. In 1992, inspired by Oprah to write it down,

he wrote a series of letters to himself in an effort to find a catharsis

for his own childhood pain. Those same letters would eventually evolve to

become Perry's first stage production, the hit musical I Know I've Been

Changed.

Perry followed that production with Woman, Thou Art Loosed and Behind

Closed Doors, both collaborations with Bishop T.D. Jakes. In 2000, he wrote

I Can Do Bad All By Myself and introduced 68-year-old Mable "Madea"

Simmons, making her a household name across the country. He reprised the

character in Diary of a Mad Black Woman, Family Reunion and Class Reunion.

In 2004, he wrote and produced Madea's Christmas Play for Trinity

Broadcasting Network, netting huge ratings.

Perry defied the odds in 2005 when the film version of Diary of a Mad

Black Woman opened as the #1 movie in America. He followed it in 2006 with

equally successful film Madea's Family Reunion, as well as the stage

production Madea Goes to Jail, which sold out for every performance.

Perry continued to set new heights for African-Americans in the

entertainment industry this year with the debut of his syndicated comedy

series House of Payne, which has scored huge ratings during its ground-

breaking test run this summer.

Perry has appeared twice on The Oprah Winfrey Show, where he talked

about his childhood and the power of forgiveness. He was nominated for the

prestigious Helen Hayes Award for Excellence in Theatre and for MTV's

Breakthrough Man of the Year. He was also named 2004 Black Business

Professionals Entrepreneur of the Year.

Jeff Friday, creator of the BLACK MOVIE AWARDS and the American Black

Film Festival, has made a name in the film industry by providing

opportunities for independent Black filmmakers to showcase their work to an

ever-broadening audience through the American Black Film Festival (ABFF).

Since its inception, the ABFF has explored, rewarded and redefined artistic

excellence in international Black cinema. It has grown to be recognized as

the #1 film market for Black and urban content. In addition to its film

showcases, the ABFF is committed to nurturing artists in a variety of

disciplines and offers educational workshops and seminars for actors,

filmmakers and writers throughout the week.

The ABFF, founded in 1997, is a property of Film Life, Inc., a New

York- based marketing, media and production company. Its mission is to

spearhead the global distribution of quality Black films and be the leading

American brand producing Black movies and related entertainment content.

Back for the second year, Oscar® nominee Suzanne de Passe will again

serve as Executive Producer and Head Writer. Her long list of

award-winning, high-profile shows and specials includes the Emmy®-winning

Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever and Motown Returns to the Apollo.

Additionally, she executive-produced The Essence Awards in 2002 and 2003,

as well as the annual NAACP Image Awards over a three-year period,

concluding in 2003. She has also executive-produced such memorable

television miniseries as Lonesome Dove, The Jacksons: An American Dream,

Buffalo Girls, Small Sacrifices and The Temptations.

Her Academy Award® nomination came for co-writing the screenplay for

Lady Sings the Blues.

Turner Network Television (TNT), a division of Turner Broadcasting

System, Inc., is television's destination for drama and one of cable's

top-rated networks. It offers original movies and series, including the

blockbuster detective series The Closer, starring Emmy®, Golden Globe®

and Screen Actors Guild Awards® nominee Kyra Sedgwick; Saved, a new

character-driven drama starring Tom Everett Scott; and this summer's

four-week television event Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of

Stephen King. TNT is also home to powerful one-hour dramas, such as Without

a Trace, Law & Order, Las Vegas, Cold Case, ER, Charmed and Judging Amy;

broadcast premiere movies; compelling prime-time specials, such as the

Screen Actors Guild Awards®; and championship sports coverage, including

NASCAR and the NBA. TNT is also available in high-definition.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, is a major

producer of news and entertainment product around the world and a leading

provider of programming for the television industry.

This information can also be accessed on TBS, Inc.'s press site at

http://www.turnerinfo.com.

Nominations list attached.

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Presley Chweneyagae (as Tsotsi) - Tsotsi Miramax Films

Chiwetel Ejiofor (as Lola ) - Kinky Boots Miramax Films

Tyrese Gibson (as O2) - Waist Deep Rogue Pictures (Focus)

Cuba Gooding, Jr. (as Mikey) - Shadowboxer Freestyle Releasing

Denzel Washington (as Keith Frazier) - Inside Man Universal Pictures

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Mos Def (as Eddie Bunker) - 16 Blocks Warner Bros. Pictures

Laurence Fishburne (as Dr. Larabee)

- Akeelah & the Bee Lionsgate

Jamie Foxx (as Staff Sgt. Sykes) - Jarhead Universal Pictures

Hubert Kounde (as Arnold Bluhm)

- The Constant Gardener Focus Features

Jeffrey Wright (as Bennett Holiday) - Syriana Warner Bros. Pictures

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

Halle Berry (as Ororo Munro/Storm)

- X-Men: The Last Stand 20th Century Fox

Meagan Good (as Coco) - Waist Deep Rogue Pictures (Focus)

Sanaa Lathan (as Kenya McQueen) - Something New Focus Features

Queen Latifah (as Georgia Byrd) - Last Holiday Paramount/Universal

Keke Palmer (as Akeelah) - Akeelah & the Bee Lionsgate

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Angela Bassett (as Tanya Anderson)

- Akeelah & the Bee Lionsgate

Rosario Dawson (as Mimi Marquez) - Rent Sony Pictures

Lauren London (as New New) - ATL Warner Bros. Pictures

Lynn Whitfield (as Victoria)

- Madea's Family Reunion Lionsgate

Alfre Woodard (as Joyce McQueen) - Something New Focus Features

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN SCREENWRITING

Tina Gordon Chism - ATL Warner Bros. Pictures

Rob Hardy - The Gospel Screen Gems

Tyler Perry - Madea's Family Reunion Lionsgate

Kriss Turner - Something New Focus Features

Norman Vance, Jr. - Roll Bounce Fox Searchlight

Pictures

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING

Vondie Curtis-Hall - Waist Deep Rogue Pictures (Focus)

Malcolm D. Lee - Roll Bounce Fox Searchlight

Pictures

Spike Lee - Inside Man Universal Pictures

Chris Robinson - ATL Warner Bros. Pictures

John Singleton - Four Brothers Paramount Pictures

OUTSTANDING MOTION PICTURE

Akeelah & the Bee (Producers: Laurence Fishburne,

Nancy Hult Ganis, Sid Ganis, Danny Llewelyn,

Michael Romersa) Lionsgate

ATL (Producers: Dallas Austin, Jody Gerson,

James Lassiter, Will Smith, Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins)Warner Bros. Pictures

Four Brothers (Producer: Lorenzo di Bonaventura) Paramount Pictures

Inside Man (Producer: Brian Grazer) Universal Pictures

Madea's Family Reunion (Producers: Reuben Cannon,

Tyler Perry) Lionsgate

Tsotsi (Producer: Peter Fudakowski) Miramax Films

SOURCE TNT

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