USA Network Announces Second Annual Character Approved Awards Celebrating Cultural Influencers and Trailblazers

NEW YORK, Feb. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- USA Network announced today the ten honorees for the second annual Character Approved Awards, a multimedia campaign honoring individuals who are changing the face of American culture.  Inspired by USA's Characters Welcome brand, the initiative is dedicated to celebrating the true trailblazers across a variety of disciplines such as art, philanthropy, new media and film.  

"Character Approved is a celebration of the real Characters making an impact on our culture today," said Chris McCumber, USA executive vice president, marketing, digital and brand strategy.  "Our honorees are all at the top of their game, and we're thrilled to shine a light on their unique accomplishments."

Character Approved honorees are innovators in their field who are influencing our opinions, our style and our view of the world. They surprise us and inspire us with fresh ideas. They are celebrated by their peers and have an authentic style. USA recognizes these ten individuals for their cultural impact, legacy and persona with the hallmark of recognition, the USA Network "seal of approval." :

• Green Day, Grammy Award-winning rock band (Music)
• Kathryn Bigelow, Academy Award-nominated film director, "The Hurt Locker" (Film/TV)
• Nora Ephron, best-selling novelist, Academy Award-nominated screenwriter and playwright (Writing)
• Narciso Rodriguez, multiple award-winning American fashion designer (Fashion)
• Angela Brooks, groundbreaking sustainable architect, principal of Pugh + Scarpa Architects (Architecture)
• Kehinde Wiley, revolutionary urban arts painter (Art)
• Yves Behar, innovative industrial designer of the Jawbone Bluetooth headset and the $100 XO laptop (Design)
• Dan Barber, renowned restaurateur, Blue Hill and Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture (Food)
• Jessica Jackley, social entrepreneur and microfinancier, co-founder Kiva.org (Giving)
• Alex Rigopulos and Eran Egozy, game creators of Guitar Hero and Rock Band (New Media/Technology)

The honorees will be featured in vignettes introduced by Mark Feuerstein (Royal Pains) and directed by Henry Alex Rubin (Murderball), which will debut Thursday, February 25 on USA Network. The vignettes provide an inside look at the lives, the works and influences of these characters, and will be aired over the course of six weeks across the network's programming and online at characterapproved.usanetwork.com.

To recognize the Character Approved honorees and their accomplishments, USA in partnership with Vanity Fair will host an invitation-only VIP cocktail reception in New York City on Thursday, February 25.  The event will be held at the iconic IAC Building, which was designed by Frank Gehry.  USA's Mark Feuerstein of ROYAL PAINS will officially unveil the 2010 honorees and their on-air vignettes.  Performing live will be the cast of Green Day's "American Idiot."  This will be their first live appearance in New York City ahead of the show's Broadway debut on Wednesday, March 24.  Alexandra Richards will be holding court as the DJ for the evening and several from USA's roster of stars will be in attendance, as well as many of the 2010 Character Approved honorees.

In the program's inaugural year of 2009, USA honored seven visionary characters including Lupe Fiasco, Shepard Fairey, David Chang, Patrick Robinson, Charles Best, Jimmy Wales and Jennifer Siegal.

For more information on Character Approved, visit characterapproved.usanetwork.com.

USA Network is the #1 network in all of basic cable and is seen in 98.5 million U.S. homes.  A division of NBC Universal, USA is the cable television leader in original series and is home to the biggest hits in blockbuster films, acquired television and entertainment events. Viewers come to USA to find television's best in critically-acclaimed and award-winning original programming, such as BURN NOTICE, ROYAL PAINS, WHITE COLLAR, PSYCH, IN PLAIN SIGHT, LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT and WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW, as well as the highest-rated acquired originals, including HOUSE, NCIS and LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT.  The award-winning USA website is located at www.usanetwork.com, which is home to the popular new casual gaming site, www.characterarcade.com.  Characters Welcome.

USA Network is a program service of NBC Universal Cable a division of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience.

SOURCE USA Network