Film Life's 2005 BLACK MOVIE AWARDS

Crash Named Outstanding Motion Picture of the Year at Film Life's 2005 BLACK MOVIE AWARDS – A Celebration of Black Cinema: Past, Present & Future

Terrence Howard ( Hustle & Flow ) Takes Prize for Outstanding Actor in a Leading Role, While Kimberly Elise ( Diary of a Mad Black Woman ) Wins for Outstanding Actress in a Leading Role

TNT Set to Telecast 2005 BLACK MOVIE AWARDS Wednesday, Oct. 19, at 10 p.m.

Complete List of Winners Attached

Crash was named Outstanding Motion Picture of the Year during Film Life's 2005 BLACK MOVIE AWARDS – A Celebration of Black Cinema: Past, Present & Future , which taped on October 9th at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles and aired on Turner Network Television (TNT) Wednesday, Oct. 19, at 10 p.m. (ET/PT) . Other top winners include Terrence Howard, who was honored as Outstanding Actor in a Leading Role for his performance in Hustle & Flow , and Kimberly Elise, honored as Outstanding Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in Diary of a Mad Black Woman.

Cedric “The Entertainer” ( Madagascar ) hosted the gala awards show that recognizes creative achievement by persons of African descent in feature-length motion pictures, both in front of and behind the camera, and honors outstanding films portraying the Black experience. Film Life's 2005 BLACK MOVIE AWARDS are executive-produced by Jeff Friday, CEO of Film Life, Inc., and Suzanne de Passe, CEO of de Passe Entertainment.

The 2005 BLACK MOVIE AWARDS also honored Anthony Anderson as Outstanding Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance in Hustle & Flow and Taraji P. Henson as Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role for her performance in Hustle & Flow . Thomas Carter was awarded for Outstanding Achievement in Directing for his work on Coach Carter , and Tyler Perry took the prize for Outstanding Achievement in Writing for the movie Diary of a Mad Black Woman .

The 2005 BLACK MOVIE AWARDS also honored HBO's Lackawanna Blues as Outstanding Television Movie, while Rodney Evans was honored with the HBO Director To Watch Award, given to an independent filmmaker.

In addition to the competitive awards, several honorary awards were given. Legendary actor/director/producer Sidney Poitier received the Distinguished Career Achievement Award, recognizing his trailblazing work as actor/writer/director for such films as Lilies of the Field, In the Heat of the Night, Stir Crazy, For Love of Ivy and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner . And Kimberly Elise, a nominee for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role for Diary of a Mad Black Woman , received the Rising Star award.

The 1985 adaptation of Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Color Purple became the first film inducted into the Black Movie Awards Classic Cinema Hall of Fame. Producer Quincy Jones was on-hand to accept the honor on behalf of the film's cast and crew.

Nominees for and recipients of the 2005 BLACK MOVIE AWARDS were chosen by a prominent committee of film critics, entertainment editors and prestigious members of the artistic committee. This year's eligible films were released in the U.S. between January 1 and July 31, 2005.

Cedric “The Entertainer” is best known for his crowd-pleasing roles in such films as The Honeymooners, Madagascar, Johnson Family Vacation, Barbershop, Intolerable Cruelty, The Original Kings of Comedy and Be Cool . His other big-screen credits include Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, Man of the House and Big Momma's House . He lent his voice to Dr. Dolittle 2 and Ice Age and is currently working on The Cleaner with Lucy Liu and Mr. Lucky with Bruce Willis.

His award-winning career spans television, live performances and film. Among Cedric's many accolades are the AFTRA Award of Excellence in Television Programming for his series “Cedric ‘The Entertainer' Presents” and a record-setting four consecutive NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for The Steve Harvey Show . In 1994, he received the Richard Pryor Comic of the Year Award from BET for his work as host of Def Comedy Jam and BET's Comic View . Now helming his own production company, A Bird and A Bear Entertainment, Cedric develops and produces feature films . Johnson Family Vacation was the first under the company's banner, which grossed over $30 million. The name “Cedric” is fast joining the ranks of other one-name celebrities as an iconic symbol of high caliber performance.

Since 1997, Jeff Friday, founder of the Black Movie Awards and the American Black Film Festival, has made a name in the film industry by providing opportunities for independent Black filmmakers to showcase their work to an ever-broadening audience through the Acapulco Black Film Festival, which relocated to Miami and expanded to become the American Black Film Festival in 2002. The Festival will celebrate its 10-year anniversary in 2006 as it continues to spearhead the global distribution of quality Black films as the leading American brand marketing and distributing Black movies and related entertainment content.

Oscar â nominee Suzanne de Passe's long list of award-winning, high-profile shows and specials includes the Emmy â -winning Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever and Motown Returns to the Apollo . Additionally, she executive-produced The Essence Awards in 2002 and 2003, as well as the annual NAACP Image Awards over a three-year period, concluding in 2003. She has also executive-produced such memorable television miniseries as Lonesome Dove , The Jacksons: An American Dream , Buffalo Girls , Small Sacrifices and The Temptations . Her Academy Award â nomination came for co-writing the screenplay for Lady Sings the Blues.

Turner Network Television (TNT), television's destination for drama and one of cable's top-rated networks, offers original movies and series, including Into the West , an epic six-week television event from DreamWorks Television and master storyteller and executive producer Steven Spielberg; the detective drama series The Closer , starring Kyra Sedgwick, and the action-packed crime series Wanted , with Gary Cole; powerful one-hour dramas, such as Law & Order , Without a Trace , Alias , Las Vegas , Cold Case , ER , NYPD Blue, Charmed and Judging Amy ; broadcast premiere movies; and championship sports coverage, including NASCAR and the NBA. TNT is also available in high-definition.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, is a major producer of news and entertainment product around the world and a leading provider of programming for the television industry.

2005 BLACK MOVIE AWARDS

OUTSTANDING MOTION PICTURE
Are We There Yet?  (Producers Matt Alvarez, Ice Cube, Dan Kolsrud), Columbia Pictures
Coach Carter  (Producers David Gale, Brian Robbins, Michael Tollin), Paramount Pictures
Crash  (Producers Don Cheadle, Paul Haggis, Mark R. Harris, Robert Moresco, Cathy Schulman, Bob Yari), Lions Gate Films
Diary of a Mad Black Woman (Producers Reuben Cannon, Tyler Perry), Lions Gate Films
Hustle & Flow  (Producers Stephanie Allain, John Singleton), Paramount Pictures

OUTSTANDING TELEVISION MOVIE
Lackawanna Blues (Executive producers Halle Berry, Vince Cirrincione, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Shelby Stone. Producer Nellie Rachel Nugiel), HBO|
Sometimes in April (Executive Producers Raoul Peck, Joel Stillerman. Producer Daniel Delume), HBO 
Their Eyes Were Watching God (Executive producers Kate Forte, Quincy Jones, Oprah Winfrey. Producer Matthew Carlisle), ABC

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Don Cheadle ( Crash ), Lions Gate Films
Cedric “The Entertainer” ( The Honeymooners ), Paramount Pictures
Terrence Howard ( Hustle & Flow ), Paramount Pictures
Samuel Jackson ( Coach Carter ), Paramount Pictures
Will Smith ( Hitch ), Paramount Pictures

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Anthony Anderson ( Hustle & Flow ), Paramount Pictures
Chris “Ludacris” Bridges ( Crash ), Lions Gate Films
Morgan Freeman ( Batman Begins ), Warner Bros.
Steve Harris ( Diary of a Mad Black Woman ), Lions Gate Films
Terrence Howard ( Crash ), Lions Gate Films

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Kimberly Elise ( Diary of a Mad Black Woman ), Lions Gate Films
Meagan Good ( D.E.B.S. ), Screen Gems
Queen Latifah ( Beauty Shop ), Screen Gems

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Loretta Devine ( Crash ), Lions Gate Films
Taraji P. Henson ( Hustle & Flow ), Paramount Pictures
Thandie Newton ( Crash ), Lions Gate Films
Zoe Saldana ( Guess Who ), Columbia Pictures
Cicely Tyson ( Diary of a Mad Black Woman ), Lions Gate Films

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN WRITING
Tyler Perry ( Diary of a Mad Black Woman ), Lions Gate Films
Angela Robinson ( D.E.B.S. ), Screen Gems
Norman Vance, Jr. Kate Lanier ( Beauty Shop ), Screen Gems

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING
Thomas Carter ( Coach Carter ), Paramount Pictures
Darren Grant ( Diary of a Mad Black Woman ), Lions Gate Films
F. Gary Gray ( Be Cool ), MGM
Tim Story ( Fantastic Four ), Twentieth Century Fox
Kevin Rodney Sullivan ( Guess Who ), Columbia Pictures

HBO DIRECTOR TO WATCH (Independent Filmmakers)
Rodney Evans
Frank E. Flowers
Rob Hardy