IMAGINASIAN ENTERTAINMENT TO LAUNCH NEW ASIAN AMERICAN THEATER & CULTURAL CENTER IN DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES

“The ImaginAsian Center” to be Unveiled in Summer 2006; ImaginAsian Partners With Cinema Properties Group to Assist in Los Angeles’ Downtown Redevelopment Efforts

LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK, February 16, 2006 – ImaginAsian Entertainment, a leading Asian American multi-media entertainment company that promotes Asian Pacific American culture to mainstream America through its vast array of media vehicles, announced that it has partnered with Cinema Properties Group to launch and operate “The ImaginAsian Center,” a new Asian American theater and cultural center in Los Angeles. Scheduled to open during the summer of 2006, The ImaginAsian Center will be the only theater in Los Angeles dedicated to first-run and classic Asian and Asian American films. 

The center’s opening comes on the heels of the company’s October 2005 launch of ImaginAsian TV in Los Angeles.  The 24-hour Asian American television network is currently available in the market on Time Warner Cable channel 134, Charter Communications channel 143, Comcast Cable channel 101 and Champion Broadband channel 196. 

Located at 251 South Main Street, Los Angeles, CA, The ImaginAsian Center has been home to a number of historic theaters, including the Arrow, the Aztec and most recently the Linda Lea, which was a Japanese-language film theater.  ImaginAsian Entertainment will operate the fully redesigned and renovated theater which will offer a 300-seat auditorium complete with a balcony and a full-sized stage for screenings, feature films, live performances, special events, and satellite-fed events and exhibitions, using the latest sound and projection equipment.  In addition to a general theater concession stand, the theater will also feature the ImaginAsian Café, which will serve Pan-Asian fare for moviegoers before or after the show.  Additionally, wireless Internet will be available throughout the theater.

 “We are thrilled to be part of the redevelopment efforts in downtown Los Angeles with the launch of The ImaginAsian Center,” said Michael Hong, CEO of ImaginAsian Entertainment.  “The Center truly embodies the spirit of what our company strives to achieve, and that is to expose and accentuate the richness that America’s Pan-Asian community brings to the general population.  The ImaginAsian Center will offer a home for folks to connect with Asian cultures in the Los Angeles community by providing a place to relax, have a drink or meal with friends and family and watch first-run Asian films, concerts and special events.”

The well-known design team responsible for the renovation of The ImaginAsian Center is Los Angeles based Craig Hodgetts, FAIA, and Hsin-Ming Fung, AIA, the principals of Hodgetts + Fung Design and Architecture.  The firm’s previous projects include the restoration of the Egyptian Theater, the new Hollywood Bowl, Hyde Park Miriam Matthews Branch Library, Chicago Historical Society, Craft and Folk Art Museum, office of Hemdale Film Corporation, among many others.

“Designing a home for ImaginAsian’s visionary programming in the heart of Little Tokyo presents a unique opportunity to recognize an important moment in Los Angeles history, and to add to the growing vitality of urban life,” said Craig Hodgetts, FAIA, Hodgetts + Fung Design and Architecture.

About ImaginAsian Entertainment, Inc. 

ImaginAsian Entertainment, Inc. (www.iaei.tv) is a multimedia company that promotes Asian Pacific American culture to mainstream America. Headquartered in New York City, ImaginAsian Entertainment uses a fully integrated marketing strategy through multiple platforms: ImaginAsian TV (America’s First 24/7 Asian American Network), The ImaginAsian Theater (New York’s Premier Asian American Theater), ImaginAsian Radio (the sound of Asian America), iaLink (ImaginAsian’s community-based e-zine), ImaginAsian Pictures (distribution of cutting-edge and critically acclaimed Asian films) and ImaginAsian Home Video (video/DVD unit dedicated to quality Asian home entertainment).