Here are some upcoming opportunities for our Spotlight Videos module (if you don't see it on your homepage, add it here!) and @youtube Twitter love. Spotlights run a few times per week and showcase interesting and timely videos from our community and partners, all organized around an event or theme. Tag any appropriate and relevant video with the tags below to be considered for these spotlights. Please note that themes and dates are subject to change and spotlights may be added or dropped without notice.

3/7 -- Oscars: parodies, predictions, 2010 event footage from news and entertainment partners (tag: ytoscars)
3/17 -- St Patrick's Day: we're looking for any and all intriguing content related to the holiday (tag: ytstpatty)
Calling all curators! Partners like BoingBoing, alphacat and TEDTalksDirector recently curated our homepage, usually around a holiday or theme -- for example, alphacat picked his favorite videos for Black History Month and TED got 2010 Prize Winner Jamie Oliver to select his favorite TED Talks. We get a kick out of showcasing people who have a knack for finding hidden gems or who like to express their tastes and personality through video curation.
Calling all video Twitter-ers! We love to help spread interesting, timely YouTube videos and news. So if you're Tweeting a YouTube video, be sure to include @youtube so we can see your Tweet -- and ReTweet, if appropriate, to help you amplify your video and message. See what this looks like: CBSEveningNews, NYTimes and BarackObama.

If you're interested in being a curator or have ideas for a theme we haven't mentioned, please send an email to mia@youtube.com (until we can get this blog's comments fixed!).

Posted by Mia Quagliarello, Product Marketing Manager, Editorial/Community

The eagerly awaited James Cameron movie, AVATAR, comes to our screens next week and YouTube has some very good reasons to count down the seconds.

Twentieth Century Fox has given three YouTube power users red carpet access to tonight's world premiere in London's West End. DaveyBoyz, Paperlilies and WhatAboutAdam will be putting their video-making skills to good effect as they soak up the excitement around the AVATAR event. Following their red carpet experience they will be off to Fox's editing suite to turn their exclusive footage from the night into a final cut fit for the film's official channel on YouTube.

AVATAR will also run ads on the YouTube homepage in a record 15 countries one day later, reaching millions of YouTube users around the world. The AVATAR ad will link to footage from the premiere, help users identify their nearest cinema using Google Maps, and drive traffic to AVATAR content from Twitter and Facebook.

Twentieth Century Fox hopes that providing the YouTube community with exclusive access to the film's world premiere and engaging related content on the homepage will give millions of people worldwide the opportunity to be a part of the AVATAR phenomenon first hand.



Posted by James Cashmore, Head of Entertainment, YouTube U.K.

Today, the DoubleClick Rich Media team announced a call for entries to their annual Digital Movie Advertising Creative Showcase awards program. This is the only awards program dedicated to showcasing the best creative in interactive movie advertising.

Movie marketers and creative agencies are invited to submit their work for consideration. New to the awards this year is a "YouTube Creative Award." Any home entertainment or theatrical movie campaign that included YouTube in its execution is eligible. For the campaigns of theatrical or home video releases, whether they included a YouTube homepage ad, brand channel, or an original video that engaged YouTube users, it's all good: the event rewards creativity and innovation in the entire rich media and video space. The deadline for entries is Thursday, September 17th.

In addition to the YouTube Creative Award, the program supports three more categories: Theatrical Release Rich Media Display Ad(s), Home Entertainment Rich Media Display Ad(s), and Multi-Channel Cross Media Campaign.

The winners of each category will receive recognition by their industry peers, the opportunity to present to a live audience at the Director's Guild of America in Los Angeles, inclusion in the event's video reel, two award trophies (one each for the movie studio and creative agency) and two Flip Mino mini digital camcorders!

To learn more, or to submit an entry, please visit the Digital Movie Advertising Creative Showcase website.

Posted by Sally Cole, Industry Marketing Manager

We want YouTube to be a place where you can find any kind of content you're looking for, from short-form user generated clips to full-length independent films and Hollywood movies and shows. Today, we've taken another step in making YouTube a comprehensive video destination by partnering with Time Warner. With this deal, people in the United States will be able to watch a wide selection of clips from Turner outlets like CNN, the Cartoon Network, and Adult Swim, as well as Warner Brothers movies and hit TV shows like Gossip Girl and the Ellen DeGeneres show. The content will join other Time Warner properties already on the site, such as CNN International (country-restricted) and HBO, whose channel features videos from True Blood, Hung and Entourage.

The flexibility we provide partners in monetizing their content was a key factor in Time Warner's decision to come to YouTube. You'll see a variety of ad formats (like overlays or in-stream ads) on their content, depending on the kind of video you're watching, and both Turner and Warner Bros. will be able to leverage the strength of their sales forces to sell their own ads on the site. We will also be integrating the Time Warner player into YouTube.com.   

We're excited to bring our community a vast and compelling library of Time Warner's premium content in the coming months, and we look forward to building on our partnership in the months ahead. 

Posted by Graham Bennett, YouTube Strategic Partner Manager