UCLA Student Wins Paramount Pictures' KNOW HIV/AIDS Short Screenplay Competition

UCLA Student Wins Paramount Pictures' KNOW HIV/AIDS Short Screenplay Competition

'Black Book,' Written by Darren J. Guttenberg, Chosen From Nearly 50 Entries, to Be Produced on the Paramount Lot for Air on CBS Corporation's Showtime Networks, and Viacom's mtvU, and mtvU Uber

HOLLYWOOD, Calif., April 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Darren J. Guttenberg, a junior at UCLA, has been awarded the Grand Prize in the KNOW HIV/AIDS Short Screenplay Competition, it was announced today Carl Folta, Executive Vice President, Office of the Chairman of Viacom Inc.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19991206/PARLOGO )

In addition to winning a cash prize of $7,500, Guttenberg will have the opportunity to work with a team of industry professionals and mentors to produce his winning screenplay, "Black Book," on the Paramount lot. "Black Book" is about a young man as he confronts the reality and responsibilities of his HIV-positive diagnosis, and it offers a wry perspective on dating in the continuing age of HIV/AIDS. The movie will premiere on CBS Corporation's Showtime Networks and on Viacom Inc.'s mtvU cable channel; and on mtvU Uber -- the channel's broadband network at mtvU.com. Guttenberg is from San Rafael, California.

Created and announced in November 2005 to increase awareness and understanding about the epidemic, Paramount Pictures' KNOW HIV/AIDS competition offers undergraduate students at Southern California colleges and universities the opportunity to submit screenplays for a short film focusing on the impact of HIV/AIDS on young Americans. The competition is a new addition to the Emmy and Peabody award-winning KNOW HIV/AIDS campaign, a multi-media, multi-platform awareness effort created by Viacom, CBS Corporation and the Kaiser Family Foundation. Paramount Pictures and mtvU are part of the entertainment operations of Viacom Inc. Showtime Networks is part of the operations of CBS Corporation.

"We were delighted to see so many creative and diverse perspectives on this complex and vitally important subject of HIV/AIDS," Mr. Folta said. "We also had the opportunity to preview the work of some talented future filmmakers who are now students at some of the best public and private colleges and universities in our local community. Darren's screenplay was selected from a very competitive field of nearly 50 different entries, and our team is looking forward to working with him to bring his story to life."

Two Runners-Up, who have also been awarded cash prizes of $7,500, were named: Zachary J. Miller, a freshman at Pitzer College from Newton, Massachusetts, for "Six Names," in which a high school-aged boy faces the pain and stigma associated with telling the people in his life that he is HIV-positive; and Ian M. Swartz, a freshman at Loyola Marymount University from Tacoma, Washington, for "Pascal," in which a teenager finds compassion for people living with HIV/AIDS through his friendship with an older man.

Seven additional entries were cited for Honorable Mention; in alphabetical order by title: "a love story (with hiv)" by Mark R. Hammer, Chapman University; "Anna's Story," by Peter J. Lima, Los Angeles City College; "Eshe na Matarajio," by Devon G. Dickau, UCLA; "Graduation Day," by Eric J. Olague, California State University, Fullerton; "Old News is Good News," by Joseph N. Caro, Los Angeles City College; "One Day at A Time," by Jesse L. Grce, UCLA; and "Vampire Awareness" by Erik Lynch, CSU Fullerton.

Focusing on the impact of HIV/AIDS among young people in the U.S. today, competitors were required to tell one story in two different lengths: a five minute version, and a 15 minute version. The five minute short will premier on mtvU and mtvU's broadband channel, Uber. The 15 minute version will be shown on Showtime Networks. Both versions will make their debut on World AIDS Day, December 1, 2006.

Nearly 50 qualifying entries were received from undergraduate students at 11 participating Southern California colleges and universities. Film industry and communications professionals from Paramount Pictures Corporation, CBS Corporation, Viacom Inc., the Kaiser Family Foundation, mtvU, and Showtime Networks Inc. served as judges. Entries were evaluated for their creativity, effectiveness, adherence to the topic, factual accuracy, and production feasibility on the Paramount Lot, among other factors.

The competition was open to students age 18 years and older registered as undergraduates in specific film and television departments at selected colleges and universities in the Los Angeles area: the California Institute of the Arts; the California State Universities at Fullerton, Long Beach, Los Angeles and Northridge; Chapman University; the Claremont Consortium of Colleges; Los Angeles Community College; Los Angeles Valley College; Loyola Marymount University; San Bernardino Valley College; the University of California at Los Angeles; and the University of Southern California.

For further information about the details of the Competition, please refer to the contest website, www.knowhivaids.org/screenplaycontest.html.

About KNOW HIV/AIDS

KNOW HIV/AIDS combines the powerful media brands and unmatched audience relationships of CBS Corporation and Viacom with the public health expertise of the Kaiser Family Foundation to foster awareness of the disease and its prevention. Every CBS Corporation and Viacom division is involved in the campaign, and 123 messages have been placed on CBS and Viacom television, radio and outdoor properties to date. Many of the PSAs are offered rights- free and cost-free to other television or radio networks. Additionally, CBS Corporation and Viacom properties, including CBS, UPN, MTV, BET, VH1 and Showtime, have produced more than 75 television shows with HIV/AIDS themes seen by millions worldwide.

ABOUT THE HENRY J. KAISER FAMILY FOUNDATION

The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation is a non-profit, private operating foundation dedicated to providing information and analysis on health issues to policymakers, the media, and the general public. It is not associated with Kaiser Permanente or Kaiser Industries. Information on HIV/AIDS is available at www.kff.org, and a daily news summary report on developments in HIV/AIDS is available on www.kaisernetwork.org, the Foundation's free health information service.

Contact: Jessica Rovins

323/956-8265

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19991206/PARLOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: Paramount Pictures

CONTACT: Jessica Rovins of Paramount Pictures, +1-323-956-8265

Web site: http://mtvu.com/

Web site: http://kff.org/

Web site: http://www.kaisernetwork.org/

Web site: http://www.knowhivaids.org/screenplaycontest.html

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