PRESS RELEASE
May 2008
The wildly popular "Chocolate Rain" and Onion News Network will be saluted alongside lesser-known gems like "Hometown Baghdad", "Wainy Days", and "You Suck at Photoshop" at The Webby Film and Video Awards on June 9th in New York City, organizers announced.
In addition, nearly half a million votes were cast by people around the world for their favorite films and videos in The Webby People's Voice Awards presented by Nokia. A full list of both Webby Film and Video Awards and People's Voice Awards winners can be found at http://webbyawards.com/webbys/current.php?media_id=97&season=12.
Organizers also announced an initial list of recipients of Webby Film and Video Special Achievement awards, including:
Person of the Year: Michel Gondry - From his legendary music videos to his pioneering work in film, Michel Gondry's inventive visual style and storytelling consistently set new motion picture standards. His latest film, "Be Kind Rewind," in itself a celebration of low-budget, do-it-yourself filmmaking, introduced "sweding" to the internet, inspiring filmmakers to follow his lead in recreating scenes from their favorite films and sharing them online. His Rubik's Cube videos, showing Gondry solving the puzzle with both his feet and nose, have become a viral hit of their own.
Best Actors: Tim and Eric - Comedy heroes Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim will be honored for their cult hit timanderic.com. Poster children for the kind of weirdness that could only take off online, their skits won them a rabid fan base and a contract with Adult Swim on the Cartoon Network.
Hailed as the "Internet's highest honor" by the New York Times, The Webby Film and Video Awards are the leading industry awards honoring original film and video premiering on the Internet. The Webby Film & Video Awards are judged by more than 80 entertainment industry leaders, including Showtime chief Matt Blank, 20th Century Fox Chairman Jim Gianopoulos, "Simpsons" creator Matt Groening, and Harvey Weinstein.
The winners will be honored at a star-studded awards ceremony hosted by "30 Rock" star Judah Friedlander. In keeping with Webby tradition, winners will be limited to five-word acceptance speeches. Past speeches include Jessica Rose of "lonelygirl15" ("Being traditional and saying thanks."), The Office Webisodes' Angela Kinsey ("Accounting is such a riot."), and the creators of The Extreme Diet Coke and Mentos Experiment ("18,000,000 views. Still no dates.")
"The Webby Film and Video Awards winners reflect how the Internet has leveled the playing field, giving everyone from major media companies to indie filmmakers an opportunity to reach and interact with audiences in an exciting new way," said David-Michel Davies. "These films and videos are shaping the future of entertainment."
Highlights of the Webby Film and Video Awards winners include:
Multiple winners include: Onion News Network (5), Hometown Baghdad (3); My Damn Channel (4), NYTimes.com (2), PBS' Frontline World (2), and Revision3 (2).
Achieving both critical and popular consensus, seven films and videos won both Webby Awards and Webby People's Voice Awards: 30-Second Bunnies Theatre: "Brokeback Mountain" (Animation); Onion News Network: "American Heroes" (Comedy: Individual or Short Episode); "Coney Island: An Uncertain Future" (Documentary: Individual Episode); Current TV's "From Russia with Hate" (Drama: Individual Episode); Crimeface (Experimental); "You Suck at Photoshop" (How-To and DIY), and Onion News Network (Best Writing).
The judges and public parted ways in the ever-popular Viral Video category. Web phenomenon "Chocolate Rain" earned the public's top votes, while "Here Comes another Bubble", a dotcom bust spoof, was selected by the judges.
Online video continues to be a breeding ground for comedy innovation. Notable winners include: "Wainy Days" by director David Wain ("Wet Hot American Summer") featuring Paul Rudd, Rashida Jones, and Jonah Hill; "Tom Green's House Tonight"; Onion News Network; and "You Suck at Photoshop". "Wainy Days" and "You Suck at Photoshop" both appear on My Damn Channel.
"Hometown Baghdad", a web series about the lives of three young Iraqis in Baghdad, won three awards for News & Politics: Series, Public Service and Activism, and Reality.
Other winners range from established media brands like National Geographic's "WildCam Africa" (Events and Live Broadcast) and Discovery's "Mike's Got Mail" (Reality), to emerging filmmakers and networks like "The West Side" (Best Drama - Series), Heavy.com's "The Big Burly Show" (Sports), and "Drawn by Pain" (Best Use of Animation/Motion Graphics).
In addition to winning a Webby, all Webby Film and Video winners will receive a Nokia Nseries multimedia device. The winners will use the devices to document their experience at The Webby Film and Video Awards in June. The footage will be featured in "We Shot the Webbys," an online video campaign to appear after the awards.
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