Chow Yun-Fat, Daniel Dae Kim, Grace Park, Vivienne Tam and Nobu Matsuhisa Set to Appear at the 2007 AZN Asian Excellence Awards(R)

Chow Yun-Fat, Daniel Dae Kim, Grace Park, Vivienne Tam and Nobu Matsuhisa Set to Appear at the 2007 AZN Asian Excellence Awards(R)

Lost's Daniel Dae Kim and Battlestar Galactica's Grace Park to Host

Chow Yun-Fat, Vivienne Tam and Nobu Matsuhisa Honored With Special Achievement Awards

CENTENNIAL, Colo., April 30 /PRNewswire/ -- The stars are lining up to be a part of one of the biggest nights for Asian Americans in Hollywood -- The 2007 AZN Asian Excellence Awards(R) presented by JCPenney. Hosting the show, which will air on AZN Television on May 28 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT, will be Lost's Daniel Dae Kim and Battlestar Galactica's Grace Park. In addition, the star-studded event will pay special tribute to three influential and talented individuals who have made an impact throughout the US and around the world: acclaimed actor Chow Yun-Fat (Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), renown fashion designer Vivienne Tam and celebrity chef/restaurateur Nobu Matsuhisa.

This year's co-host, Daniel Dae Kim, an Asian Excellence Awards(R) winner last year for Outstanding Male TV Performance, stars as Jin Kwon on ABC's hugely successful drama Lost. Kim will share hosting duties with Grace Park, who stars as Lt. Sharon "Boomer" Valerii on Sci-Fi channel's hit Battlestar Galactica.

The Lifetime Achievement Award is being presented to actor Chow Yun-Fat, whose career has spanned two decades and several continents. He began his career in Hong Kong acting in TV and film. After receiving acclaim and numerous awards for several roles in the early 80s, he captured the attention of John Woo, who cast him in the fast-paced gangster film Yin hung boon sik (aka A Better Tomorrow), which went on to be an enormous commercial success. A string of other John Woo films escalated Chow's popularity even higher. With the global interest in the Hong Kong action genre, he was lured to the US and appeared in The Replacement Killers with Mira Sorvino, The Corruptor with Mark Wahlberg and Anna and the King. He returned to Asia in 2000 for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, a huge global success. Currently, he stars in the third installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.

Vivienne Tam is being honored with the Visionary Award. Born in Canton, China and raised and educated in Hong Kong, Tam now makes her home in New York City. She has become known for her signature East-West style. In 1994, her collection of Eastern inspired clothing with a modern edge took the New York runways by storm, and a year later she introduced the influential "Mao' collection that crossed over from the fashion world to the art world. In 1997, she launched the Buddha collection, pieces of which, along with the Mao collection, were ultimately incorporated into the permanent archives of the Andy Warhol Museum, the Museum of FIT and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

The Pioneer award will be presented to Nobu Matsuhisa. Born and raised in Japan, Matsuhisa apprenticed in the sushi bars of Tokyo before he ventured overseas to Lima, Peru. Classically trained, he was challenged by the culture and regional ingredients in Peru, which ultimately contributed to his inventive style. From Peru, he went to Argentina and then back to Japan, Alaska and, finally, Los Angeles where he opened his first restaurant in 1987. In 1993, the New York Times chose Matsuhisa as one of the Top 10 restaurant destinations in the world. A year later, he opened "Nobu" in partnership with actor Robert DeNiro in New York City. Today, he has two restaurants in New York, as well as restaurants in Beverly Hills, Malibu, Los Angeles, London, Aspen, Tokyo and Las Vegas.

The AZN Asian Excellence Awards(R) is the only nationally televised event celebrating significant Asian and Asian American achievements in entertainment, the arts and other disciplines that have had a profound impact on American culture.

"We are delighted to have stars of such critically acclaimed and successful television series join us as co-hosts this year, as their involvement will no doubt continue to raise the profile of the show and ultimately Asian and Asian American achievements in entertainment," said Rod Shanks, General Manager of AZN Television. "Additionally, the special honorees represent the pinnacle of their respective fields and are truly an inspiration to future generations of Asian American leaders, artists and entertainers."

AZN has partnered with E! Entertainment Television, the top global source for everything red carpet, to further promote the show with an hour-long special featuring red carpet arrivals, behind-the-scenes excitement and highlights from the event. The special will air on E! on May 24 at 6:00 p.m. ET/PT. The hour-long special will serve as a preview of the full awards program on AZN on May 28 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT. E! will provide information and updates on the network's website, E! Online, including exclusive, behind-the-scenes footage on the popular broadband channel, The Vine @ E! Online.

JCPenney is the presenting sponsor for the 2007 AZN Asian Excellence Awards(R). State Farm Insurance and Anheuser-Busch, Inc. are corporate sponsors of the event.

The 2007 AZN Asian Excellence Awards(R), which debuted on AZN last year, will be taped live on May 16 at UCLA's Royce Hall in Los Angeles. Welly Yang and Teddy Zee are executive producers of the show. Yang, the creator of the awards show, is an actor, singer, producer and founder of the Asian theatrical group Second Generation, which produced the earlier version of the "Asian Excellence Awards" known as "The Concert of Excellence." Zee is a film producer with credits including "The Pursuit of Happyness," "Hitch" and "Saving Face."

About AZN Television

AZN Television is the network for Asian America. A wholly-owned company of Comcast Corporation, the channel's programming targets the fast-growing, affluent and multi-generational Asian American community, as well as a broader American audience interested in the Asian experience. Genres include the most popular Asian films, dramas, documentaries, anime, and news, as well as original programming. A majority of programming on AZN is either in English or subtitled in English. For more information, visit azntv.com.

Source: AZN Television

CONTACT: Patricia Frith, +1-818-876-0480, pfmarketing@roadrunner.com,
for AZN Television

Web site:

http://www.azntv.com/

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