THE PASSION Wins $50,000 Prize from John Templeton Foundation

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 25, 2005 – The winners for the prestigious $50,000 John Templeton Foundation Epiphany Prizes for Inspiring Movies & TV were announced last evening at the 13th Annual Movieguide® Faith & Values Awards Gala in Beverly Hills, with Dr. John Templeton, Jr., presenting THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST with the $50,000 Epiphany Prize for the Most Inspirational Movie of 2004.

The $50,000 Epiphany Prize for the Most Inspirational Television Program of 2004 was awarded to the “Happy Trails” episode of DOC, broadcast by PAX-TV.

“This is a very special night for us,” said Jim Caviezel, star of THE PASSION. “This is one time you’ll forgive me for saying, Thank you, Jesus.”

“We’re very honored and grateful,” said David Allen Johnson, co-creator and producer of DOC. “At some point in our lives, goodness went out of style. We’re just happy to do a show where goodness is cool again.”

Rounding out the nominees for the film category were AMERICA’S HEART AND SOUL, Louis Schwartzberg’s collection of stories featuring the real people who make America what it is; I AM DAVID, based on the book “North to Freedom” by Anne Holm and featuring Jim Caviezel in a secondary role; LADDER 49, the fire/rescue drama starring John Travolta and Joaquin Phoenix; and THE RECKONING, featuring Paul Bettany and based on novelist Barry Unsworth's “Morality Play.”

Other television shows nominated for the prize included A CHRISTMAS CAROL, made into a musical starring Kelsey Grammar and brought to the small screen by NBC and Hallmark; LOVE’S ENDURING PROMISE, a Hallmark original movie based on the novel by Janette Oke; PATRICK, the story of Saint Patrick, narrated by Liam Neeson; THE QUESTION OF GOD, a documentary debate between the perspectives of C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud; and REDEMPTION: THE STAN TOOKIE WILLIAMS STORY, a Fox made-for-TV movie starring Jamie Foxx as the reformed gang leader.

Each year at Oscar time, the Templeton Foundation bestows Epiphany Awards to films and television programs that are both well-crafted and have redeeming, uplifting, spiritual content that, above all, help increase man’s understanding and love of God. With a prize of $50,000 in each category, the Epiphany Award is designed to encourage producers to create more movies and television that have a positive and values-based message.

The Templeton Foundation has awarded the Epiphany Prize for more than eight years now, with a similar focus as that of the esteemed Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion. The foundation chooses to reward filmmakers and television producers who create movies and shows that help increase man’s understanding and love of God. Sir John Templeton conceived of the prizes with Dr. Ted Baehr, president and founder of the Christian Film and Television Commission, which administers the prizes.

Other awards given at the gala included the Grace Award for most inspirational acting in movies and television. These awards went to:

Jim Caviezel for THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST and Jamie Foxx for REDEMPTION: THE STAN TOOKIE WILLIAMS STORY.

1) THE INCREDIBLES 2) MIRACLE 3) SHREK 2 4) A CINDERELLA STORY 5) TWO BROTHERS 6) WIN A DATE WITH TAD HAMILTON 7) AMERICA’S HEART AND SOUL 8) THE POLAR EXPRESS 9) I AM DAVID 10) PRINCESS DIARIES 2

1) SPIDER-MAN 2 2) THE TERMINAL 3) THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST 4) COLLATERAL 5) HOTEL RWANDA 6) RAISING HELEN 7) LADDER 49 8) THE RECKONING 9) ROSENSTRASSE 10) THE LADYKILLERS

AMERICA'S HEART AND SOUL won the award for Best Movie Documentary, and THE QUESTION OF GOD, broadcast by PBS, won the award for Best Television Documentary.

The Faith & Values Awards Gala is sponsored by the Christian Film & Television Commission.

Adding to Mr. Gibson's awards. Here is this article:
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http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/s05020107.htm

ASSIST News Service (ANS) - PO Box 2126, Garden Grove, CA 92842-2126 USA
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Monday, February 21, 2005

MEL GIBSON ACCEPTS PRESTIGIOUS AWARD AT NRB CLOSING BANQUET
Broadcasters Convention takes place at Anaheim Convention Center -- Feb. 11-16, 2005

For Immediate Release

Contact: Bob Powers
(703) 331-4513

MANASSAS, VA (ANS) -- At the NRB closing banquet on Tuesday night (February 16), Mel Gibson was honored with the Board of Directors Award for his work on “The Passion of the Christ.” (Pictured: Mel Gibson at NRB 2005 - Photo by Jim Whitmer/NRB).

Gibson surprised those in attendance with his appearance. He thanked NRB members for helping to make the film so well seen. The NRB Board of Directors Award honors a Christian who demonstrates integrity, displays creativity and makes a significant impact on society. In recognition that broadcasting is not the only way to witness the power of the Gospel, the award winner may or may not be in the field of electronic communications.

The National Religious Broadcasters’ 62nd annual convention/exposition took place at the Anaheim Convention Center, where technology proved to be at the forefront. The first-ever NRB Tech Lab showcased many of the most high-end, multi-revolutionary products in side-by-side comparisons from some of the best-known broadcast manufacturing companies in the world. Products from Panasonic, Sony, Grass Valley, Apple, and Yamaha were among those featured at the convention. This is an extremely exciting opportunity that allowed broadcasters to see side-by-side comparisons of cameras, video editing suites, and other systems. The Tech Lab is a partnership between NRB and noted systems integrator TV Magic.

NRB President Dr. Frank Wright stated, “For Christian broadcasters, technical quality and innovation are essential to fulfilling our mission of proclaiming the good news of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ We believe that the addition of the Tech Lab is a very beneficial way to highlight some of the latest advances in technology.”

NRB is an association of over 1600 organizations representing radio, television, film and internet. TV Magic agreed that the Tech Lab focused some of the on the Digital Television (DTV) transition, the new tapeless revolution (These cameras record onto a hard drive, instead of a tape.) and products like Sony’s Blue-violet Laser certainly proved to be making an impact on the most savvy, technologically advanced professionals. In other news, Dr. Ron Harris was also elected as Chairman of the Board, along with other newly elected board members, which include: Jim Gwinn (Vice Chair), Janet Parshall (Second Vice), Rich Bott (Secretary), Roger Kemp (Treasurer), Stu Epperson, Bill Skelton, Michael Little, Bill Blount and Robin Jones.

Dr. James Kennedy and the late Dr. Steven Olford were inducted into the NRB Hall of Fame. Former NRB Chairman, Glenn Plummer was also honored by the NRB for his three years of outstanding service.

For the second consecutive year the NRB exposition has been named by TradeShow Weekly as one of the 50 Fastest Growing Industry Expositions in the nation. More than 6,000 broadcasters attended NRB 2005.

For more information on NRB 2005, or to schedule limited interviews, contact NRB Director of Media Relations, Bob Powers, at 703-331-4513 or by email at bpowers@nrb.org. For all the details about NRB 2005, visit www.nrb.org.

NRB is a non-partisan, international association of Christian communicators with more than 1,600 member organizations representing millions of listeners, viewers and readers. NRB’s three-fold vision is to 1) proclaim the Good News of eternal life through Jesus Christ, 2) transform the culture through the application of sound biblical teaching, and 3) preserve religious freedom by keeping the doors of electronic media open for the spread of the Gospel.

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