Samuel L. Jackson, Jessica Biel, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Hugh Laurie, Mariska Hargitay Among Nominees for 11th Annual PRISM Awards

Nominees for the 11th Annual PRISM Awards reflect the entertainment industry's commitment to accurate depiction of health and social issues, according to Melissa Rivers, Entertainment Industries Council, Inc. (EIC) Board Director. The PRISM Awards are for productions and performances featuring the accurate depiction of drug, alcohol and tobacco use and addiction, as well as mental health. Rivers joined EIC President & CEO Brian Dyak in announcing the nominations. Recipients will be announced at a ceremony to be held at the Beverly Hills Hotel on April 24th.

Burbank, CA (Billboard Publicity) March 13, 2006 -- Nominees for the 11th Annual PRISM Awards reflect the entertainment industry's commitment to accurate depiction of health and social issues, according to Melissa Rivers, Entertainment Industries Council, Inc. (EIC) Board Director. The PRISM Awards are for productions and performances featuring the accurate depiction of drug, alcohol and tobacco use and addiction, as well as mental health.

Rivers joined EIC President & CEO Brian Dyak in announcing the nominations. Recipients will be announced at a ceremony to be held at the Beverly Hills Hotel on April 24th and which will air in November on the FX Network. Meanwhile, the network will be airing the 10th Annual PRISM Awards on April 22nd as part of the promotion of the awards ceremony for the 11th two days later. Rivers hosts both the show and the ceremony. The PRISM Awards are presented by EIC in partnership with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and FX.

In making the announcement, Rivers unveiled two new categories to the PRISM Awards this year -- for portrayal of mental health issues in general and bipolar disorder in particular.

NBC led the networks in the number of nominations its programs received with ABC close behind. The distribution of nominations by network was: NBC (13); ABC (11); Fox (7); CBS and A&E (5); Lifetime (4); PBS, E!, CNN and Starz (3); USA, MTV, FX, HBO, Showtime, VH1 and WE (2); and Comedy Central, ABC Family, CW, Oxgen, BET, Sundance, The N and Court TV (1).

Among the studios, NBC Universal lead, followed by 20th Century Fox. The breakdown by studio was as follows: NBC Univeral (11); 20th Century Fox (9); Warner Bros. (8); Disney (7); MGM, CBS Paramount and King World (4); Miramax (3); and IFC, Sony, DreamWorks and Procter & Gamble (2).

"We had a very exciting judging this year because of the sheer volume of submissions this year," said Dyak. There were 430 submissions this year - a record number - exceeding the norm nearly 200. "This is clearly the year that the PRISM Awards has come into its own as an institution of the entertainment industry that is here to stay."

Fox Searchlight's Little Miss Sunshine and Thank You for Smoking are nominated in the Feature Film - Wide Release category, along with MGM's Home of the Brave and Harsh Times. In the Feature Film - Limited Release category, nods went to IFC's Sherrybaby and Warner Independent's A Scanner Darkly, along with Adam & Steve, Clean and Wah-Wah. Feature film performance nominations went to Alan Arkin (Little Miss Sunshine), Jessica Biel and Samuel L. Jackson (Home of the Brave), Aaron Eckhart (Thank You for Smoking), and Maggie Gyllenhaal (Sherrybaby).

Comedy episode nominees are Drawn Together ("The LemonAIDS Walk"), Family Guy ("Deep Throats"), The Office ("Drug Testing"), Ugly Betty ("The Lyin', The Witch and The Wardrobe"), and The War at Home ("I Wash My Hands of You"). For Comedy Multi-Episode Storyline, Desperate Housewives was nominated for a series of episodes focusing on Bree's alcoholism. Comedy performances nominated are Steve Carell (The Office), Marcia Cross and Shawn Pyfrom (Desperate Housewives), Judith Light (Ugly Betty), and Tony Shaloub (Monk).

For drama episode, nominees are Crossing Jordan ("Elephant in the Room"), ER ("Reason to Live"), Falcon Beach ("Pilot"), The O.C. ("Secrets and Lies"), and Smallville ("Rage"). Nominated performers are Mischa Barton (The O.C.), Miguel Ferrer (Crossing Jordan), Mariska Hargitay and Diane Neal (Law & Order: SVU), and Maura Tierney (ER). In the Drama Multi-Episode Storyline category, nominated are story arcs from Boston Legal, The Brotherhood, Heroes, House, and Rescue Me. Corresponding performer nominees are Rene Auberjonois and Jayne Brooks (Boston Legal), Annabeth Gish (The Brotherhood), Hugh Laurie (House), and Denis Leary (Rescue Me).

In the Mental Health Award category, nominees are an episode of American Dad dealing with eating disorders, a pair of CBS Evening News stories on post traumatic stress disorder, an episode of Monk (obsessive compulsive disorder), an episode of Secret Lives of Women (cutters), and an episode of THS Investigates (eating disorders). For the new Bipolar Disorder Award category, nominated are the original DVD Crazy for Life, the feature film Jelly Smoke, an extended General Hospital storyline, and episodes of Law & Order and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

A complete list of 11th Annual PRISM Awards nominees follows below.

EIC, a non-profit organization, was founded in 1983 by leaders of the entertainment industry to bring the power of the industry to bear on health and social issues. The organization is considered to be the grand daddy and chief pioneer of entertainment advocacy outreach and one of the premiere success stories in the field of entertainment education and information resources for entertainment creators, through innovative and time-proven services and methods of "encouraging the art of making a difference" from within the entertainment industry.

Among the issues EIC addresses are: drug, alcohol, and tobacco use and addiction; firearm safety and injury prevention; sun safety and skin cancer prevention; human trafficking; terrorism and homeland security; mental health and mental illness, including bipolar disorder, depression and suicide; diabetes; seat belt use and traffic safety; and HIV/AIDS prevention. EIC's website is located at www.eiconline.org.

SAMHSA is a public health agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The agency is responsible for improving the accountability, capacity and effectiveness of the nation's substance abuse prevention, addiction treatment, and mental health services delivery system.

FX is the flagship general entertainment basic cable network from Fox. Launched in June of 1994, FX is carried in more than 88 million homes. The diverse schedule includes a growing roster of distinctive original series and movies, an impressive roster of acquired hit series, an established film library with box-office hits from 20th Century Fox and other major studios, and marquee sports such as NASCAR.

11th Annual PRISM Awards Nomination List

Feature Film - Wide Release

Harsh Times

Home of the Brave

Little Miss Sunshine

Thank You for Smoking

Feature Film - Limited Release

Adam and Steve

Clean

A Scanner Darkly

Sherrybaby

Wah-Wah

Film Festival Award

Broken Rhyme

Shelf Life

Somebodies

Original DVD

Little Fish

Most High

Performance in a Feature Film

Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine

Jessica Biel, Home of the Brave

Aaron Eckhart, Thank You for Smoking

Maggie Gyllenhaal, Sherrybaby

Samuel L. Jackson, Home of the Brave

TV Comedy Series Episode

Drawn Together - "The LemonAIDS Walk"

Family Guy - "Deep Throats"

The Office - "Drug Testing"

Ugly Betty - "The Lyin', the Witch and the Wardrobe"

The War at Home - "I Wash My Hands of You"

TV Comedy Series Multi-Episode Storyline

Desperate Housewives

(Episodes: "One More Kiss"/"We're Gonna Be All Right"/"Thank You So Much"/"There's Something About a War"/"Silly People"/"There is No Other Way"/"Could I Leave You?"/"Everybody Says Don't"/"Don't Look at Me")

Performance in a Comedy Series

Steve Carell, The Office

Marcia Cross, Desperate Housewives

Judith Light, Ugly Betty

Shawn Pyfrom, Desperate Housewives

Tony Shaloub, Monk

TV Drama Series Episode

Crossing Jordan - "The Elephant in the Room"

ER - "Reason to Live"

Falcon Beach - "Pilot"

The O.C. - "The Secrets and Lies"

Smallville - "Rage"

Performance in a Drama Series Episode

Mischa Barton, The O.C.

Miguel Ferrer, Crossing Jordan

Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Diane Neal, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Maura Tierney, ER

TV Drama Series Multi-Episode Storyline

Boston Legal

(Episodes: "Live Big"/"Shock and Owww!"/"Stick It"/"Word Salad Days"/"Squid Pro Quo"/"Spring Fever")

Brotherhood

(Episodes: "Samyutta 11:10"/"Genesis 27:39"/"Job 31:5-6")

Heroes

(Episodes: "Genesis"/"Don't Look Back"/"One Giant Leap"/"Collision"/"Hiro's"/"Seven Minutes to Midnight"/"Better Halves"/"Fallout")

House

(Episodes: "Fools for Love"/"Que Sera Sera"/"Finding Judas"/"Merry Little Christmas")

Rescue Me

(Episodes: "Devil"/"Discovery"/"Torture"/"Sparks"/"Chlamydia")

Performance in a Drama Series Multi-Episode Storyline

Rene Auberjonois, Boston Legal

Jayne Brooks, Boston Legal

Annabeth Gish, The Brotherhood

Hugh Laurie, House

Denis Leary, Rescue Me

TV Daytime Drama Series Multi-Episode Storyline

All My Children: JR's Alcoholism

As the World Turns: Luke's Alcohol Abuse

The Bold and the Beautiful: Hunters Battle with Alcoholism

General Hospital: Lucky's Drug Addiction

The Guiding Light: Gus' Addiction

TV Movie or Miniseries

Augusta, Gone

Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Diff'rent Strokes

Fatal Desire

Mrs. Harris

Our Very Own

Performance in a TV Movie

Annette Bening, Mrs. Harris

Keith Carradine, Our Very Own

Tamara Hope, Augusta, Gone

Allison Janney, Our Very Own

Sharon Lawrence, Augusta Gone

TV Talk Show Episode

Dr. Phil - "Addicted Twins Pts. 1 - 3"

Dr. Phil - "Living on the Edge"

Dr. Phil - "Generation Rx"

The Montel Williams Show - "Anything to Protect My Child"

The Tyra Banks Show - "Meth Faces"

TV Biographical Series Episode or Special

American Experience - "Eugene O'Neill"

Biography - "Ozzy Osbourne"

The E! True Hollywood Story - "Kate Moss"

The E! True Hollywood Story - "Naomi Campbell"

TV Unscripted Non-Fiction Series Episode or Special

Bad Girls Club - "Episode #103"

Breaking Bonaduce - "The Mother of All Daddies"/"Crossroad"

Intervention: Season 2

Keyshia Cole: The Way It Is - "Finale Episode"

The Real World: Key West

TV Documentary Series Episode or Special

The Drug Years

The First 48 - "Pack of Lies"

Frontline - "The Meth Epidemic"

Meth in the City

Secret Lives of Women - "Meth Addicts"

TV News Magazine Segment

Al Roker Investigates - "Meth, Murder and Madness"

Anderson Cooper 360: Hiding in Plain Sight - Alcoholism

Inside Edition - "Wine Tasting"/"Cruise Booze"/"Liquid Lunches"

Showbiz Tonight - "Meth Ads on TV"

Showbiz Tonight - "Jane Velez Mitchell Interview"

TV Teen Series Episode or Special

A Question of Life or Meth

South of Nowhere

(Episodes: "The Morning After"/"Dad Went to Heaven and All I Got Was This Stupid Half Sister"/"Behind the Music"/"Guess Who's Coming (Out) to Dinner"/"Rules of Engagment"/"That is So Not Mom"/"That's the Way the World Crumbles"/"Love, Child and Videotape")

True Life - "I'm Addicted to Crystal Meth"

Interactive Media

It's My Life

Community Service Effort

CBS Cares

Dying for Meth

NBC's The More You Know

Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four in Hard Choices

Three Days Grace: Three Days to Change

Mental Health Award

American Dad - "The American Dad After School Special"

CBS Evening News - "Vets Suffering With Mental Health Problems"/"U.S. Soldiers Diagnosed With Post Traumatic Stress Disorder"

Monk - "Mr. Monk Gets a New Shrink"

Secret Lives of Women - "Cutters"

THS Investigates - "Starving for Perfection"

Bipolar Disorder Award

Crazy for Life

General Hospital: Sonny's Bipolar Disorder

Jelly Smoke

Law and Order - "Heart of Darkness"

Law and Order: Special Victims Unit - "Influence"

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