``The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring'' and ``Monsters, Inc.'' Lead 2003 Home Entertainment Awards Nominations; Competition for Home Video Awards Spans 20 Categories.

Entertainment Editors

VSDA Home Entertainment 2003

ENCINO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 9, 2003

"The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" and "Monsters, Inc." tied for the most nominations -- four apiece -- for this year's Home Entertainment Awards, Bo Andersen, President of the Video Software Dealers Association (VSDA), announced today. Other titles leading the list of nominees, with three nominations each, are "Band of Brothers," "Frailty," and "Ice Age." The Home Entertainment Awards, presented annually by VSDA, recognize outstanding achievement in home video.

A total of 75 recent DVD, VHS, and video game releases were nominated for awards in 20 categories. The complete list of categories and nominees is available online at www.vsda.org/Resource.phx/vsda/marketing/homeentnominees2003.htx.

Buena Vista secured the most nominations for a major studio with a total of 15, including the four for "Monsters, Inc." Artisan Home Entertainment led the independent studios with 11 nominations, receiving two each for "National Lampoon's Van Wilder" and the DVD re-release of "Reservoir Dogs." Columbia TriStar followed, garnering seven nominations, including two for both "Spider-Man" and the DVD release of "Memento." Lions Gate Home Entertainment secured six nominations, three of them for "Frailty."

Nintendo received four nominations in the video game categories, the most of any video game publisher.

This year's award categories and nominees were determined by VSDA's Home Entertainment Awards Nominating Committee, which is comprised of retailers, distributors, and journalists. The committee determined that more categories should be split between major and independent studios in order to recognize more of the unique and diverse product in the marketplace.

In light of the vast array of older titles being re-issued on DVD, the committee voted to add a new category this year: Archival Title of the Year, from both major and independent studios. This resulted in nominations for Buena Vista's "Beauty and the Beast" for Archival Title of the Year from a Major Studio and Cocteau's 1947 "Beauty and the Beast" from Home Vision/Criterion for Archival Title of the Year from an Independent Studio. The other new category added by the committee was Family Title of the Year, also separated into major and independent studio releases.

To be eligible for nomination, titles must have been released between April 1, 2002 through March 31, 2003. Winners will be determined by ballots sent to all VSDA regular members. Ballots are scheduled to go out later this week and must be returned by July 7th. Winners will be announced on July 29th, the opening day of VSDA's Home Entertainment 2003 event at the Venetian Resort-Hotel-Casino in Las Vegas.

Attendees can register for the event online at www.homeentertainmentevents.com or by phone at 888-778-8892. All Access badges are $345 for VSDA members and $425 for non-members until June 27. All Access badges provide entry to exhibit suites, sponsored events, the opening ceremonies, and seminars. Passes for access to exhibit suites and seminars only are also available for $95 for VSDA members and $105 for non-members until June 27.

Companies interested in exhibiting or sponsorship opportunities may contact Home Entertainment Events' Kimbirly Orr at [e-mail] (mainstream companies) or Janet Gibson at [e-mail] (adult companies). They may also be reached by phone at 1-800-854-3112.

VSDA's Home Entertainment 2003, the East Coast Video Show, and the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo are organized through Home Entertainment Events (HEE), in which the Video Software Dealers Association is a partner. For more information about Home Entertainment Events and its shows, please send an email to [e-mail].

Established in 1981, the Video Software Dealers Association (VSDA) is a not-for-profit international trade association for the $20 billion home entertainment industry. VSDA represents more than 1,500 companies throughout the United States, Canada and a dozen other countries. Its members operate more than 12,500 retail outlets in the U.S. that sell and/or rent DVDs, VHS cassettes and console video games. Membership comprises the full spectrum of video retailers (from single store operators to large chains), video distributors, the home video divisions of major and independent motion picture studios, and other related businesses that constitute and support the home entertainment industry.