Contest Promoting THIS CHRISTMAS Rewards Antenica N. Smith With Singing Championship Award

Contest Promoting THIS CHRISTMAS Rewards Antenica N. Smith With Singing Championship Award

Atlanta Native Wins Competition in Support of the Upcoming Holiday Theatrical Release

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- In support of the November 21st theatrical release of the holiday drama, THIS CHRISTMAS, Screen Gems has announced that Antenica N. Smith has won the grand prize in the THIS CHRISTMAS National Singing Challenge. The contest was inspired by one of the film's plot lines in which Chris Brown, two-time Grammy(R) nominated R&B sensation and star of THIS CHRISTMAS, sings the Otis Redding hit, "Try a Little Tenderness" and Donny Hathaway's "This Christmas." Smith received an all-expense paid trip to New York to perform on BET's THIS CHRISTMAS Holiday Special with the cast of the film including Brown, Delroy Lindo, Idris Elba, Columbus Short, Sharon Leal, Lauren London, David Banner and Keith Robinson. The one hour special will air on BET beginning Friday, November 16th at 7:30pm, with 2 repeats the following week.

The contest, which was held in 35 markets across the nation, called upon singers to perform one minute versions of either "Silent Night" or "This Christmas" before a panel of local celebrity judges. Those judges selected winners in their respective markets. The taped performances of all 35 local winners were posted on AOL Black Voices, where the public voted for their favorite singer. The three singers with the most online votes were announced on BET as semi-finalists and flown to New York to appear on the cable network's show "106 & Park" this past Wednesday, October 31st. Each semi-finalist performed a one minute version of Chris Brown's hit song, "Say Goodbye," and at the end viewers went online to vote for their favorite performance, which ended up being Antenica Smith's.

THIS CHRISTMAS centers on the Whitfield family and a holiday season they will never forget. All the siblings have come home for the first time in years and they have brought plenty of baggage with them. As the Christmas tree is trimmed and the lights are hung, secrets are revealed and family bonds are tested. As their lives converge, they join together and help each other discover the true meaning of family.

The promotion held for THIS CHRISTMAS marks the third such competition which Screen Gems has designed in support of its films. The studio successfully developed fan competitions in conjunction with its previous hit films YOU GOT SERVED and STOMP THE YARD.

About Screen Gems

Screen Gems is the genre production division at Sony Pictures Entertainment, which was created to finance and produce moderately budgeted films that are marketed to targeted audiences.

Upcoming Screen Gems' releases include FIRST SUNDAY, starring Ice Cube and Tracy Morgan; UNTRACEABLE, starring Diane Lane; PROM NIGHT, starring Brittany Snow; and LAKEVIEW TERRACE, starring Samuel L. Jackson, Patrick Wilson and Kerry Washington.

About Sony Pictures Entertainment

Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America (SCA), a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production and distribution; television production and distribution; digital content creation and distribution; worldwide channel investments; home entertainment acquisition and distribution, operation of studio facilities; development of new entertainment products, services and technologies; and distribution of filmed entertainment in 67 countries. Sony Pictures Entertainment can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.sonypictures.com/.

   Contact   Paul Pflug   Principal Communications   323-655-1555  

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CONTACT: Paul Pflug of Principal Communications, +1-323-655-1555, for
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Profile: International Entertainment