VH1.com in Conjunction With the Broadcast Film Critics Association's 'Critics' Choice Awards' Launches 'VH1's eCritic' - An Online Search for the Best Amateur Film Critic

VH1.com in Conjunction With the Broadcast Film Critics Association's 'Critics' Choice Awards' Launches 'VH1's eCritic' - An Online Search for the Best Amateur Film Critic

Winner To Become An Honorary Vote-Casting Critic For The 13th Annual 'Critics' Choice Awards' And Will Attend This Year's Ceremony

'Critics' Choice Awards' Airs Live On VH1 Monday, January 7, 2008 at 9 PM

NEW YORK, Oct. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- The Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) is opening its doors to one lucky aspiring film critic. Beginning today, would-be film critics can upload a video of themselves reviewing a movie of their choice for consideration in "VH1's eCritic" (http://ecritic.vh1.com/), the search for the best amateur film critic.

VH1's top "eCritic" will be given the opportunity to join America's most prestigious group of film critics in the voting process for the 13th annual "Critics' Choice Awards" and will join their fellow BFCA critics, nominees and celebrity attendees as they kick off the upcoming awards season at the "Critics' Choice Awards." VH1 will air the 13th annual "Critics' Choice Awards" gala live from the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on Monday, January 7, 2008 at 9 PM.

Through November 26, contestants can post video of their movie reviews for consideration at http://ecritic.vh1.com/. See site for official rules and guidelines. Three finalists will be selected by the BFCA membership and VH1.com users will decide through online voting which finalist has what it takes to be "VH1's eCritic."

Additional VH1.com and VH1 Mobile programming plans -- in support of the "Critics' Choice Awards" -- will be announced in the coming weeks.

The Broadcast Film Critics Association is the largest film critics' organization in the United States and Canada, representing more than 200 television, radio and online critics. BFCA members are the primary source of information for today's film going public. The very first opinion a moviegoer hears about new releases at the multiplex or the art house usually comes from one of its members.

The Critics' Choice Awards are bestowed annually by the BFCA to honor the finest in cinematic achievement. Since its inception in 1995, the "Critics' Choice Awards" has become a star-studded bellwether event of the movie awards season. The BFCA consistently picks nominees and winners that go on to garner more Academy Award nominations and wins than any other movie awards shows. The "Critics' Choice Awards" is always a hot ticket event for entertainment A- listers. Attending the show in 2007 was a who's who of Hollywood including: Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Forest Whitaker, Helen Mirren, Alan Arkin, Eddie Murphy, Jennifer Hudson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Clint Eastwood, Ryan Gosling, Kate Winslet, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, Penelope Cruz, Spike Lee, Jessica Biel, Sacha Baron Cohen and Dakota Fanning.

In 2007 alone, the "Critics' Choice Awards" foretold 30 of the 35 nominees and six of the seven Oscar(R) winners in the top seven categories including best picture, acting, directing, and writing. In addition, since 1999 the BFCA has correctly chosen 43 of 45 Academy Award nominated movies in the Best

Picture category and this year was the only major film critics group to name "The Departed" (the 2007 Oscar(R) winner) as Best Picture.

The "Critics' Choice Awards" is the first major award show of the year and the only one to air before the Oscar(R) nomination ballots are mailed in. With its history of picking nominees and winners, it provides television viewers with their first opportunity to see all the top awards season contenders in one place.

Bob Bain for Bob Bain Productions and Joey Berlin for Berlin Entertainment are executive producers. Lee Rolontz is the executive producer for VH1.

Flixster, a community for movie fans of all shapes and sizes, is a premiere promotional partner for VH1's eCritic.

VH1's eCritic joins MTVN's global portfolio of targeted websites, which the company recently announced would grow to 300 sites by year's end. In September, these sites attracted nearly 45 million unique visitors in the U.S., and nearly 92 million worldwide, according to comScore Media Metrix. Like VH1's eCritic, many of MTVN's targeted websites, including MTV's Real World casting site, Nickelodeon's iCarly and VH1's The Score, invite audiences to take an active role in programming MTVN's television and online properties by uploading original, user-generated video and audio content.

VH1 connects viewers to the music, artists and pop culture that matter to them most with series, specials, live events, exclusive online content and public affairs initiatives. VH1 is available in 90 million households in the U.S. VH1 also has an array of digital services including VH1 Classic and VH1 Soul. Connect with VH1 at www.VH1.com.

   Contacts:   Erica Cantwell               Scott Acord               212-846-3683                 310-752-8075               Erica.cantwell@vh1staff.com  scott.Acord@VH1staff.com                Lori Hornik               212-846-7131               lori.Hornik@VH1staff.com  

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: VH1

CONTACT: Erica Cantwell, +1-212-846-3683, Erica.cantwell@vh1staff.com,
Scott Acord, +1-310-752-8075, scott.Acord@VH1staff.com, or Lori Hornik,
+1-212-846-7131, lori.Hornik@VH1staff.com, all of VH1

Web site: http://ecritic.vh1.com/
http://www.vh1.com/

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Profile: International Entertainment