| 40 Top Celebrities Compete For Title of Mr. and Ms. Showbiz 1999 BELLEVUE, Wash., March 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Just when you thought the glow was fading from Hollywood's biggest night, the runway lights click on again for the second annual Mr. and Ms. Showbiz Celebrity Pageant. In the wake of the ``official'' awards season, the highly opinionated readers of Mr. Showbiz will rally to crown their own king and queen of Hollywood during the two-week online event. The celebrity sensation kicks off April 5 only on Mr. Showbiz (www.mrshowbiz.go.com), part of GO Network (www.go.com). The irreverent competition pays tongue-in-cheek tribute to the Miss America and Miss Universe competitions, but instead of a parade of unknowns, it packs all the star power of the Oscars®. Featuring 40 of the entertainment world's hottest stars (see the list below), the Mr. Showbiz Pageant will once again be judged by the smartest, most savvy celebrity watchers in the world: namely, the readers of Mr. Showbiz. In 1998, the unsinkable Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet sailed into the hearts of the majority of the 49,000 participating reader-judges as the pair were crowned in the first-of-its kind online event (last year's winners are not eligible to compete this year). Editorial Director Jeff Schwager thinks this year's event will be a little different, stating, ``On the momentum of Titanic, DiCaprio and Winslet were strong in every category last year, but the competition is a bit more open this year. I also find it interesting that only six of last year's contestants actually made the cut this time around. Based on our primary criterion of recent accomplishments, only Jennifer Lopez, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Gwyneth Paltrow, Matt Damon, Will Smith and George Clooney had two great years in a row.'' The contest begins Monday, April 5, when readers will vote for Mr. and Ms. Beauty. On Tuesday, Mr. and Ms. Beauty will be announced and voting will continue in the remaining categories, Brains, Talent and Achievements, at a rate of one per day with each category winner being announced the following day. At the end of the first week, the five Mr. and five Ms. contestants with the highest cumulative ratings will be named as finalists. The final round of voting commences April 12 with a close round of scrutiny of the remaining contestants. The final votes will be tallied and on April 19, Mr. and Ms. Showbiz 1999 will be crowned. There will be no baton twirling, tap dancing or speeches about saving the world, but throughout the competition, readers will be able to view exciting photos and learn fascinating tidbits about the contestants, as the pageant progresses toward the crowning of Mr. and Ms. Showbiz. Given the wide range of contestants and criteria, it's anybody's guess who will come out on top. To be a judge in the Mr. and Ms. Showbiz Pageant, log on to Mr. Showbiz directly or via GO Network or ABCNEWS.com. About Mr. Showbiz Since its launch in March 1995, Mr. Showbiz has attracted the largest audience of any original entertainment site on the Internet. Its uniquely irreverent brand of news, reviews, and features has earned Mr. Showbiz numerous honors, including, most recently, the 1998 NetGuide Award as Best Entertainment Site. Mr. Showbiz is a production of Infoseek Corporation (Nasdaq: SEEK - news). About Infoseek Infoseek Corporation is a premier global media network enriching people's daily lives by combining integrated Internet services with leading consumer brands. In January 1999 Infoseek, in partnership with The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS - news), launched GO Network, a major Internet portal designed to connect people with the things they care about most. GO Network users can have confidence in the content and quality of leading world brands that represent the most popular activities on the Internet. Such brands include ABCNEWS.com for news, ESPN.com for sports, Disney.com and Family.com for kids and family, Infoseek for search, and Disney.com and ABC.com for entertainment. Infoseek has commerce and/or content arrangements with entities that include AT&T, Borders Group, Inc., ZDNet, Microsoft Corporation, PeopleLink, Inc, and Reuters. In addition, Infoseek licenses its Ultraseek Server search and navigation software to companies for their own intranet, extranet and Internet sites. Infoseek is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif. For more information about Infoseek, please visit Infoseek's corporate Internet home page at http://www.info.infoseek.com or to request additional information about Infoseek, call our Investor Relations Request Line at 408-543-6960. NOTE: Infoseek, Ultraseek and the Infoseek logo shown are trademarks of Infoseek Corporation, which may be registered in certain jurisdictions. Other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. GO Network is a trademark of The Walt Disney Company. And the contestants are . . .The Women 1. Drew Barrymore The Men 1. Ben Affleck |