Nickelodeon to Honor Leonardo DiCaprio at Kids Choice Awards March 28  3/25/09

Nickelodeon To Honor Leonardo DiCaprio at Kids' Choice Awards With First-Ever Big Green Help Award

Award To Kick Off Year of Environmental Consciousness and Real-World Action for Kids

NEW YORK, March 25 /PRNewswire/ -- In recognition for his significant and visible contribution toward helping the environment, and for inspiring kids to do the same, Nickelodeon will honor multi-Academy Award-nominated actor and environmental activist Leonardo DiCaprio with the first-ever "Big Green Help Award" at this year's Kids' Choice Awards on Saturday, March 28 (8-9:30 p.m. ET/PT), at Pauley Pavilion on the UCLA campus in Los Angeles, Calif. Nickelodeon's 22nd Annual Kids' Choice Awards -- featuring host Dwayne Johnson -- will honor kids' favorites from the worlds of film, music, sports and television in a star-studded live telecast (tape delayed for West Coast).

The award -- which will be presented to DiCaprio by longtime friend and fellow friend of the planet Cameron Diaz -- is part of Nickelodeon's Big Green Help campaign -- a multiplatform, global pro-social campaign designed to empower kids to take action on the environment and connect them to energy saving and earth-friendly activities in their everyday lives. Created for the more than half of U.S. kids who say they are concerned about the environment (source: Nickelodeon/Pew Center's "Keeping it Cool: Kids, Parents and the Global Environment" Research), The Big Green Help aims to fashion a new generation of environmentalists for whom green will become not only a cause, but a way of life.

Leonardo DiCaprio has been a tireless promoter of green causes and events, and an avid environmentalist. He established the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation in 1998 to foster increased awareness of environmental issues, and served as global chairman of Earth Day 2000.

DiCaprio recently co-wrote, co-produced and narrated the documentary The 11th Hour, which touches on the world economy, politics, personal transformation and environmental consciousness. DiCaprio is on the board of trustees of the Natural Resources Defense Council (a Big Green Help partner) and Global Green USA.

Kids can join DiCaprio to help better the environment by pledging on www.nick.com/biggreenhelp. On Earth Day (April 22, 9 p.m. ET/PT), Nickelodeon will "Power Down" for 60-seconds, celebrating the nearly two million kid-pledges to-date, and symbolizing kids' commitments to be more environmentally conscious. On-screen messaging will ask kids to simultaneously turn off their lights and unplug their gadgets and devices signaling their year-long promise to engage in real-world environmental action. When they power back up, kids can go online and find real-world tactics they can take to help the environment.

This year's Kids' Choice Awards will feature a performance from Kids' Choice Award-nominated mega-star trio the Jonas Brothers, who join a slate of luminaries newly set to participate in the glorious, slime-filled event. Included in the line-up are: Hugh Jackman, Amy Adams, George Lopez, Keke Palmer, Robert Pattinson, Queen Latifah, Amy Poehler, Ben Stiller, Reese Witherspoon, Miranda Cosgrove, Zac Efron and Nat and Alex Wolff.

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 98 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 14 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, VIA.B).

SOURCE Nickelodeon