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Imperia Entertainment Announces Partnership with TKO Major League MMA to Produce Mixed Martial Art (MMA) Movie.

Article Excerpt
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- Imperia Entertainment, Inc. (Pink Sheets:IPRE) announced today that it has signed an agreement with the TKO Major League MMA (mixed martial arts) organization (http://www.tkomma.tv/) to co-produce an independent movie with the working title "Never Submit."

The movie was written and will be directed by Imperia president James Hergott.

The deal calls for some footage of the movie to be shot at a July event put on by TKO in Montreal, Canada with an option to film at a September event if more time is needed. Fights for the movie will be filmed in between real fights for the event. Additional filming will continue over the following weeks in Montreal, Quebec and possibly Ontario, Canada.

Imperia Entertainment will also seek out well-known real fighters to appear in the movie as fictional characters.

TKO is the top MMA organization in Canada. It often has fighters go on to fight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (http://www.ufc.com/), the top MMA organization in the World.

President of TKO, Stephane Patry, also manages several top fighters who have fought both in TKO and the UFC, including fan favorite Georges "Rush" St.-Pierre (http://www.sherdog.com/fightfinder/fightfinder.asp?fighterID=3500), who recently beat MMA's best pound for pound fighter, BJ Penn at the UFC's USA vs. Canada event. This event featured a number of fighters managed by Mr. Patry. It was recently announced that Georges St.-Pierre would get a title shot for the UFC World Welterweight Championship, possibly in September.

Both George St.-Pierre and Stephane Patry were recently featured in the following Toronto Sun article, talking about the rise of the sport: http://torontosun.com/Sports/OtherSports/2006/04/17/1537296-sun.html.

The film will also benefit from tax incentives from the provincial and federal government in Canada, as Mr. Hergott is a Canadian citizen. The movie will be filmed exclusively in Canada. Actors and the fighters will be from both Canada and the US.

Some of the actors may also get an opportunity to train with Georges St.-Pierre or other top fighters managed by Mr. Patry, prior to filming in order to bring greater realism to the movie. Additionally, some of TKO's sponsors may participate in the movie, helping to reduce the movie's budget. Since the movie is fictitious, Imperia Entertainment is open to working with other sponsors as well who would like to be showcased in the film.

Mr. Hergott comments, "This is the most exciting project I have ever been involved with. I have been an MMA fan since its North American introduction in 1993. I have competed in Judo, and have closely followed MMA. I frequently visit, and sometimes post on the fan sites. I believe the sport is about to explode into the mainstream, and I intend to be a part...