Nickelodeon Commences Production on All-New Original TV Movie Best Player Starring iCarly's Jerry Trainor and Jennette McCurdy

Nickelodeon Commences Production on All-New Original TV Movie Best Player Starring iCarly's Jerry Trainor and Jennette McCurdy

Nick Movie About Superstar Online Gamers to Shoot in Vancouver, BC

NEW YORK, Oct. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Jerry Trainor and Jennette McCurdy, stars of Nickelodeon's hit series iCarly, will headline the cast of an all-new, original television movie, Best Player. The Nickelodeon movie centers on two cyber athletes who inadvertently learn that the real world can be just as exciting and rewarding as a virtual one. Shooting will begin Oct. 24 in Vancouver, BC, for a 2010 premiere on Nickelodeon.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20091019/NY94578 )

"Best Player is a funny and compelling story about online gaming taken to the extreme," said Marjorie Cohn, Executive Vice president, Original Programming and Development, Nickelodeon. "This movie gives Jerry Trainor and Jennette McCurdy a new platform in which to showcase their talent and our audience will love seeing them star in these new comedic roles."

In Best Player, Quincy (Jerry Trainor) is a thirty-something baggage handler by day and online video game master (known simply as "Q") by night. Perfectly happy to live in a tricked-out basement in his parents' home, Quincy has dedicated his life to being the best cyber multi-player athlete online. But Quincy's world gets turned upside down when his parents decide to sell their house and move to Florida. His only chance to maintain his "perfect" life is to enter a tournament introducing a brand-new video game -- Black Hole -- and win the prize money to buy his parents' house. As the current multi-player champion, Quincy thinks it's a done deal... until he encounters "Prodigy" (Jennette McCurdy), who threatens to annihilate him.

Best Player is executive produced by Jessica Horowitz, Lauren Levine and Marjorie Cohn, the team behind Nickelodeon's Spectacular! Damon Santostefano directs from Rich Amberg's screenplay, which includes a rewrite from Justin Ware. Scott McAboy serves as Producer. Executive Producers also include Sandy Climan and Christine Foy.

Nickelodeon's two-hits-in-one, iCarly (sitcom/website), converges the web and TV screen for kids as never before and is the fastest growing tween hit on the air. The series follows Carly Shay (Miranda Cosgrove) and her two best friends, Sam (Jennette McCurdy) and Freddie (Nathan Kress), as they create a webcast for and about kids their age while grappling with everyday tween problems and adventures. Carly lives with her older brother and guardian Spencer (Jerry Trainor) and produces her web show from a makeshift studio in the loft upstairs. Due to Carly and Sam's hilarious banter and great chemistry, iCarly becomes an internet sensation and a pop phenomenon blooms with the weekly webcasts featuring everything from comedy sketches and talent contests to interviews, recipes and problem-solving.

The series recently hit a series best with its "iFight Shelby Marx" movie special (Aug. 8, 8 p.m. ET/PT), which drew 7.9 million viewers (P2+) and set a series record as the most watched iCarly special with viewers (P2+). Year-to-date, iCarly is television's top-rated show for Tweens 9-14, Kids 2-11, Kids 6-11 and total viewers on cable television on Saturday nights. Nearly 26 million total viewers tune in to watch the hit series each week, including 6.6 million adults. iCarly is created and executive produced by Dan Schneider's (Zoey 101, Drake & Josh) Schneider's Bakery. iCarly is filmed at Nick On Sunset Studios in Hollywood, CA.

Nickelodeon, now in its 30th year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books, magazines and feature films. Nickelodeon's U.S. television network is seen in more than 99 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 15 consecutive years. For more information or artwork, visit http://www.nickpress.com/. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NYSE:VIA)(NYSE: VIA.B).

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20091019/NY94578
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
AP PhotoExpress Network: PRN14
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: Nickelodeon

CONTACT: Jennifer Musselman, +1-310-752-8205,
jennifer.musselman@MTVstaff.com, or Maggie Wang, +1-212-846-6381,
maggie.wang@nick.com, both of Nickelodeon

Web Site: http://www.nick.com/

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