BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Sep 18, 2006 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Imperia Entertainment (Pink Sheets:IPRE) President James Hergott announced today that the first two fighters to be featured in the feature film mixed martial arts movie “Never Submit” will be PRIDE Fighting champions Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva.

Both fighters are fan favorites who are known for their aggressive skills in the ring and will bring that excitement to the big screen. They will portray fighters in the movie fighting in a tournament. Their roles will help bring additional realism to the story.

Mr. Hergott commented: “We are very proud to have these two exciting world champions as part of “Never Submit”. They are already very well known around the world for their fighting abilities. Unlike many fighters in American martial arts movies they are the real deal. Their fight scenes will be choreographed in a very realistic way and will add an extra level of realism to the movie. Shogun is a charismatic guy with a great smile who looks great on film. He will be playing a Brazilian fighter in the movie. Wanderlie has an intense menacing look and will be perfectly cast as a villain. Both of these fighters have a great work ethic and I look forward to working with them. They will both be unleashing some intense beatings in the movie.”

Next up for “Never Submit” will be a cross-country talent search in conjunction with TapouT magazine to audition fighters and actors for several roles including the main character whose journey we follow throughout the movie. Several top UFC and PRIDE fighters have been in contact with Imperia Entertainment wanting to audition for the movie.

Mr. Hergott will be writing a column for TapouT magazine about the movie, including excerpts from the script in future editions.

For more information see: http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=2642&zoneid=13

ABOUT MAURICIO RUA

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua is a mixed martial artist who won the PRIDE Fighting Championship Grand Prix 2005 by defeating first Quinton Jackson, then Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in the first two GP events, followed by Alistair Overeem and then Ricardo Arona in the same night at PRIDE Final Conflict 2005. He hails from Chute Boxe Academy in Curitiba, Brazil, a Muay Thai training group which has produced champions like Wanderlei Silva. His brother is Murilo "Ninja" Rua, a fellow Chute Boxe member.

ABOUT WANDERLEI SILVA

Wanderlei Silva is the current and long time defending PRIDE Fighting Middle Weight Champion.

Silva earned the nickname "the Axe Murderer" for his extremely aggressive style; the majority of his fights have either ended in a knockout or referee stoppage due to his strikes. In the ring, he is known for engaging opponents with punches and utilizing knees in the Muay Thai clinch. He is also known for kicking and stomping downed opponents.

Wanderlei Silva was born in Curitiba, Brazil, on July 3, 1976. He trains at the Chute Boxe Academy in Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, receiving a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in 2003.

Wanderlei has a popular action figure in his likeness in Japan as well as is featured in the popular Sony Playstation game Pride FC. He was also voted in as Mr. Pride and therefore is the main fighter representative around the world for PRIDE FC.

Wanderlei action figure:

http://www.pridefc.com/pride2005/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=129

ABOUT PRIDE FIGHTING

PRIDE or PRIDE Fighting Championships (http://www.pridefc.com/) is a major mixed martial arts organization based in Japan. It is currently promoted by Dream Stage Entertainment (DSE). It is the most popular MMA organization in the world based on the number of event attendees: the PRIDE Final Conflict 2003 event had over 67,000 people in the audience. The audience record is 91,107 people on the PRIDE Shockwave, held in August 2002.

PRIDE will be coming to American for the first time with an event in Las Vegas, Nevada, PRIDE 32: The Real Deal on October 21, 2006 featuring several of their top fighters.

ABOUT NEVER SUBMIT

"Never Submit" is a movie which portrays the thrill of victory and agony of defeat within the sport of mixed martial arts. "Never Submit" takes place in a tournament setting similar to the movie "Bloodsport," but rather than exploiting MMA as underground no-holds-barred fighting, it seeks to portray the sport in a realistic and positive light. The movie will be an inspirational tale similar to "Rocky," but the lead character in "Never Submit" is an educated young man, rather than a beaten-down punch-drunk fighter. Mr. Hergott comments: "MMA is a very intellectual sport. A physical chess match. I want to portray the sport and its fighters as intelligent rather than dumb brawlers, as is often done in other movies."

Already attached to the project is Executive Producer Tarquin Gotch ("Home Alone" and "Curly Sue") and cinematographer Peter Benison, CSC ("Chicago" and "Silent Hill"). Imperia Entertainment president James Hergott authored and is slated to direct "Never Submit."

Imperia announced on August 14th that it received permission to use fighters from the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in the movie.

"Never Submit" has a MySpace page, which has been rapidly growing in popularity and targets the same young adult demographic that MMA appeals to and can be found at:

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=102048317&MyToken=58dca6c2-de71-46a9-be0e-b4ed46a33d99 (Due to its length, this URL may need to be copied/pasted into your Internet browser's address field. Remove the extra space if one exists.)

On Aug 15th, Imperia announced a nationwide talent search including auditions being held at a multitude of the top MMA gyms throughout the country, including S.L.O Kickboxing and The Pit, Cobra Kai Jiu-Jitsu, Renzo Gracie Academy, Jorge Gurgel Mixed Martial Arts Academy and Gracie Barra Academy Lake Forest and Countryside. Additional locations will be included in future press releases.

On Sept. 5th, Imperia announced a strategic alliance with TapouT Magazine to partner together for "Never Submit" and to work together on a cross-country promotional/audition tour. Exact dates, times and criteria for each role to be cast will be announced in a future press release.

All audition and sponsorship inquiries should be directed to Cindy Ortiz via e-mail at: cindy@imperiaentertainment.com.