Publicists, Great Publicity Efforts Feted at 42nd Annual Publicists Awards

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Julie Andrews will receive the
Lifetime Achievement Award

The publicity teams behind high-profile studio films and exciting new TV series are among the nominees at the 42nd annual Publicists Awards luncheon Feb. 22 at the Beverly Hilton.

Finalists for the Maxwell Weinberg Feature Film kudos are the publicists who worked on Fox's The Day After Tomorrow, Disney/Pixar's The Incredibles, Paramount's Mean Girls, Warner Bros.' The Polar Express, Universal's Ray and Sony's Spider-Man 2.

Nominees for the award in the Maxwell Weinberg TV category are Fox's Arrested Development, CBS' Cold Case, ABC's Desperate Housewives, King World/Harpo/Paramount TV's Dr. Phil and Warner/FX's Nip/Tuck.

"Over the years we have become a stronger group and our prestige has grown," said Warner Bros. Pictures Photo Editor Jess Garcia. "The luncheon has become a reflection of this new status. It is now more of an event where the industry salutes publicists and our work."

Nominees for the prestigious Les Mason Award, which recognizes individual publicists for high professional standards, are Warren Betts (Warren Betts Communications), Sharon Black (DreamWorks), Mary Hunter (Warner Bros.), Tim Menke (Paramount), Eileen Peterson (unit publicist) and Annett Wolf (Wolf-Kasteler & Associates).

Other honorees for this year’s awards include Julie Andrews, who will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award. She is being honored for her unparalleled successes in theater, movies and television, as well as her unwavering commitment to promoting the projects in which she appears.

Fox Filmed Entertainment Chairmen Jim Gianopulos and Tom Rothma will receive the Motion Picture Showmanship Award in recognition of their accomplishments in marketing a program of movies that have performed so exceptionally well throughout the world in the past two years.

The executive producers and co-creators of CBS-TV's CSI franchise, Carol Mendelsohn (CSI), Ann Donahue (CSI: Miami) and Anthony E. Zuiker (CSI: NY), will receive the Television Showmanship Award. Together, they have built a franchise that wins ratings and awards, while maintaining a unique creative synergy.

"Publicists always make sure to put their client out front and often times their work goes unnoticed," says Disney Publicity Director Arlene Ludwig. "The Awards luncheon represents the rare opportunity to bask in the spotlight for the work we do and the invaluable contribution we make to the overall process of marketing movies and TV shows."

The Publicists Directory of Members will be dedicated to veteran publicist Esme Chandlee. Still going strong in a career that's lasted more than 60 years, her integrity and no-nonsense style have earned her the respect of fellow publicists, the media and, above all, her clients.

Nominees have been selected for Press and International Media, which honor outstanding journalists who cover the entertainment industry; and Excellence in Still Photography, which recognizes a photographer's significant contributions to the craft of unit still photography, as well as to the publicity campaigns for movies and television shows.

Nominees for the Press Award are Scott Bowles, USA Today; Sean Smith, Newsweek; Stacy Jennell Smith, Beck-Smith Hollywood; Bob Strauss, Los Angeles Daily News; and Tim Swanson, Premiere Magazine.

Nominees for the International Media Award are Paola Abou-Jouade, Telecine/ SBT-TV, Brasil; Didier Allouche, Canal +, France; Philip Berk, Filmink, Australia/ Galaxie, Malaysia and Singapore/former President of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association; Simon Braund, Sunday Times/Empire Magazine/Observer/ Time Out, UK; and Jenny Cooney, TV Week/TV Guide/Harper's Bazaar, Australia/ Total Film, UK/ TV Guide, New Zealand.

Nominees for Excellence in Unit Still Photography are Francois Duhamel (recent credits: The Brothers Grimm, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Polar Express); Bob Marshak (recent credits: Spanglish, Silver City, Mona Lisa Smile, Something's Gotta Give); Ralph Nelson (recent credits: Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, Ocean's Twelve, Bruce Almighty); Zade Rosenthal (recent credits: XXX: State of the Union, Christmas with the Kranks, Big Fish) and Stephen Vaughan (credits: The Last Boy Scout, The Fugitive and Lethal Weapon 3).