LOS ANGELES, February 8, 2000 - Nominations for PRISM Awards™ 2000 were announced today at Le Meridien Hotel in West Hollywood by the Entertainment Industries Council, Inc. (EIC). Fifty-one nominees were selected from among a total of 158 submissions - a 50% increase in submissions over last year. The awards will be presented March 21, 2000, at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
PRISM Awards™ 2000, which is presented in partnership with The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse/National Institutes of Health, is the entertainment industry's annual recognition for the accurate depiction of drug, alcohol and tobacco use and addiction in movies, television, video, music, interactive and comic book entertainment. This year's awards will be taped for later airing.
EIC President and CEO Brian Dyak said, "It's gratifying to see such growth again this year. We are encouraged by the number of past PRISM honorees returning to the PRISM family, as well as the number of new entrants joining the fold. Clearly, the majority in our industry take their role in society very seriously."
Among the television networks, NBC led the pack with 12 nominations, followed by CBS (5); ABC (4); The WB and Showtime (3 each); UPN and PBS (2 each); and Fox, HBO, Lifetime, The Learning Channel and The History Channel (one each).
The major studios and productions companies' nominations ranked as follows: Paramount dominated with 9 (including a feature film nod for "Angela's Ashes"); Warner Bros. had 5; Peter Engel Productions and Disney each had 4 (including Touchstone Pictures nominee "The Insider"); Leeza Gibbons Enterprises had 3; Columbia TriStar, Spelling Television, Mountain Mover Prods., Industry Entertainment/Dave Hack Prods., Amblin/Constant c Prods., and 20th Century Fox each had 2 (including Fox 2000's "Brokedown Palace"); and MGM and Universal (for Golden Globe winner "Man on the Moon") had one each. Marvel Comics also raked in three nominations.
Veteran PRISM honorees among the nominees include "Clueless" (1999 Commendation & Certificate of Merit); "Sports Night" (1999 Award); "Beverly Hills 90210" (1998 Commendation); "E.R." (1999 Award, Commendation & Certificate of Merit, 1998 Commendation); "7th Heaven" (1999 Certificate of Merit, 1997 & 1998 Commendations); "City Guys" (1999 Commendation, 1998 Certificate of Merit); "Hang Time" (1998 & 1999 Awards, 1997 Commendation); "One World" (1999 Award); "Saved By the Bell" (1998 & 1999 Commendations); "Leeza" (1999 Award & Certificate of Merit, 1998 Commendation & Certificates of Merit); "The Montel Williams Show" (1998 Commendations, 1998 & 1999 Certificates of Merit); NBC's "The More You Know" (1997 & 1999 Awards); and Marvel's "Iron Man" (1999 Award).
Multiple PRISM 2000 nominees are "Leeza" (3) and "E.R.," "Becker," and "The Montel Williams Show" (2 each).
The nominees for PRISM Awards 2000 are:
TV Comedy Series Episode
- Becker - "Blind Curve"
- Becker - "Imm-Oral Fixations"
- Clueless - "None for the Road"
- Friends - "The One Where Rachel Smokes"
- Smart Guy - "Never Too Young"
TV Comedy Series Storyline
- Beggars and Choosers - My Name is Julius & I'm a TV Star
- Sports Night - Kyle Whitaker
- Suddenly Susan - Maddie's Intervention
TV Drama Series Episode
- Family Law - "Pilot"
- Law and Order - "Merger"
- NYPD Blue - "Judas Priest"
- Once and Again - "Outside Hearts"
- 7th Heaven - "Who Nose"
- The West Wing - "Five Votes Down"
TV Prime Time Drama Series Continuing Storyline
- Beverly Hills 90210 - Jerk Women Love/Trials & Tribulations/Withdrawal
- E.R. - Hathaway's Choice
- E.R. - How the Finch Stole Christmas
- The Practice - Eugene's Custody Battle
TV Daytime Drama Series Episode or Continuing Storyline
- As the World Turns - Episode #10,927
- Days of Our Lives - Episode #8685
TV Movie, Miniseries or Dramatic Special
- Introducing Dorothy Dandridge
- That Championship Season
TV Children's Live Action Series Episode or Special
- City Guys - "Raise the Roofie"
- Hang Time - "Beer Pressure"
- One World - "Tough Love"
- Saved By the Bell: The New Class - "Party Animals"
- Student Bodies - "Victor Gets Drunk"
TV Reality Series Episode or Special
- Getting High: A History of LSD
- In the Mix - "Drug Abuse: Altered States"
- Intimate Portraits - "Natalie Cole"
- Tobacco Wars - "Lighting Up"/"Smokescreen"/"Smoke Out"
- Robert Zemeckis on Smoking, Drinking and Drugging in the 20th Century: The Pursuit of Happiness
- Scared Straight! 20 Years Later
TV Talk Show Series Episode
- Leeza - "Back from the Brink: One Woman's Journey"
- Leeza - "Heroin: From Hollywood to Hardcore"
- Leeza - "Heroin on the Homefront"
- The Montel Williams Show - "Drugs Your Children are Using"
- The Montel Williams Show - "Drug Addicted Identical Twins: Can They Be Saved?"
Theatrical Feature Film
- Angela's Ashes
- Brokedown Palace
- The Insider
- Joe the King
- Man on the Moon
- Naturally Native
Comic Book Issue or Continuing Storyline
- Iron Man Vol. 3, #24-25 - Carol Danvers' Story II
- X-Force #91 - Siryn: Fallout
Community Service Effort
- CBS Eye on Health
- Fast Lane (Marvel Comics)
- NBC's The More You Know
- Safe Night USA (PBS/Wisconsin Public Television)
- Think About It (The WB)
EIC is a non-profit organization founded in 1983 by the entertainment industry to lead the industry in bringing its power and influence to bear on health and social issues.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, based in Princeton, New Jersey, is the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to health and health care.