LOS ANGELES--(U.S. ASIAN WIRE)— This is the third year that the Asian Excellence Awards® will honor the outstanding achievements of Asians and Asian Americans in film, television, music, and the performing arts via a national awards telecast.

Carrie Ann Inaba and Bobby Lee will co-host the show that will be taped at UCLA’s Royce Hall in Los Angeles. Comedian Russell Peters will serve as backstage host, providing the voice and comic relief. The 2008 JCPenney Asian Excellence Awards® will premiere on E! Entertainment Television on May 1 at 6 p.m. ET/PT, 5 p.m. CT. In addition, beginning May 7 and throughout the month of May, the show will be available on Comcast On Demand.

This year’s award categories and nominees include:

OUTSTANDING FILM
Finishing the Game -- Director, Justin Jin
Lust, Caution -- Director, Ang Lee
Rush Hour 3 -- Director, Brett Ratner
War -- Director, Philip G. Atwell

OUTSTANDING FILM ACTOR
Naveen Andrews -- The Brave One
Jackie Chan -- Rush Hour 3
Chow Yun-Fat -- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
Tony Leung -- Lust, Caution
Jet Li -- War
Lee-Hom Wang -- Lust, Caution

OUTSTANDING FILM ACTRESS
Devon Aoki -- War
Joan Chen -- Lust, Caution
Vanessa Hudgens -- High School Musical 2
Sharon Leal -- This Christmas
Maggie Q -- Balls of Fury
Tang Wei -- Lust, Caution

OUTSTANDING TELEVISION ACTOR
Naveen Andrews -- Lost, ABC
Daniel Dae Kim -- Lost, ABC
Masi Oka -- Heroes, NBC
Sendhil Ramamurthy -- Heroes, NBC
B.D. Wong -- Law & Order, SV, NBC

OUTSTANDING TELEVISION ACTRESS
Yunjin Kim -- Lost, ABC
Lucy Liu -- Cashmere Mafia, ABC
Parminder Nagra -- ER, NBC
Sandra Oh -- Grey’s Anatomy, ABC
Lindsay Price -- Lipstick Jungle, NBC
Navi Rawat -- Numb3rs, CBS

SUPPORTING TELEVISION ACTRESS
Moon Bloodgood -- Journeyman, NBC
Michaela Conlin -- Bones, FOX
Janina Gavankar -- The L Word, Showtime
Mindy Kaling -- The Office, NBC
Michelle Krusiec -- Dirty Sexy Money, ABC
Sonja Sohn -- The Wire, HBO

SUPPORTING TELEVISION ACTOR
James Kyson Lee -- Heroes, NBC
Rex Lee -- Entourage, HBO
Will Yun Lee -- Bionic Woman, NBC
Ken Leung -- Lost, ABC
Kal Penn -- House M.D., FOX
James Saito -- Eli Stone, ABC

Fans will also have the opportunity to vote for their favorites online at http://www.asianexcellenceawards.com in the following categories:

FAVORITE TV PERSONALITY (Internet Voting)
Cheryl Burke -- Dancing with the Stars, ABC
Julie Chen -- Big Brother, CBS
Mark Dacascos -- Iron Chef America-“The Chairman”, Food Network
Padma Lakshmi -- Top Chef, Bravo
Tila Tequila -- A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila, MTV
Vern Yip -- Deserving Spaces, HGTV
Carrie Ann Inaba -- Dance Wars: Bruno Vs. Carrie Ann, ABC
Kimora Lee Simmons -- Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane, The Style Network

FAVORITE REALITY STAR (Internet Voting)
Ronald & Christina -- The Amazing Race, CBS
Yau-Man Chan -- Survivor: Fans vs. Favorites, CBS
Victorya Hong -- Project Runway, Bravo
Hung Hyunh -- Top Chef, Bravo
JabbaWockeeZ -- America’s Best Dance Crew, MTV
Kaba Modern -- America’s Best Dance Crew, MTV
Ramiele Malubay -- American Idol, FOX
Nicole Niestemski -- Your Mama Don’t Dance, Lifetime
Jonathan Silva -- Your Mama Don’t Dance, Lifetime

Voting is underway and runs through April 16. The winners will be announced during the telecast.

About the Hosts

Carrie Ann Inaba takes on co-hosting duties for the 2008 JCPenney Asian Excellence Awards® for the first time this year. One of reality television’s busiest new stars, Carrie Ann Inaba is best known for her role as a judge on Dancing with the Stars. She also stars in new series Dance Wars: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann. Carrie Ann has also acted in numerous films, including Austin Powers in Goldmember, and has been a choreographer for such popular shows as America’s Got Talent (2006) and So You Think You Can Dance (2006).

Bobby Lee has been a regular on the FOX series Mad TV since 2001 and has numerous other television and film credits, including roles on HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm and the comedy feature Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle. He will star in the upcoming comedy/horror feature Killer Pad, premiering later this year. This is Bobby’s second time co-hosting the Asian Excellence Awards®, the first being the television debut of the show in 2006.

About the Asian Excellence Awards®
The Asian Excellence Awards® is the only annual nationally televised event celebrating the outstanding achievements of Asians and Asian Americans in film, television, music, and the performing arts. Welly Yang is the creator and executive producer of the Asian Excellence Awards®, working with Syd Vinnedge Productions. Hugh Wright and Teddy Zee are Executive Producers. Veteran awards show producer Greg Sills serves as the Supervising Producer for the show. Grace C. Lee, Jane Mun, Eddie Delbridge and Cindy Hwang are Producers.

JCPenney will be supporting the 2008 Asian Excellence Awards® as the exclusive retail sponsor for the second year in a row. Other sponsors include Anheuser-Busch, State Farm, The Korea Times, Courvoisier and Shen Consulting, Inc.

CONTACTS:

Grace Niwa
Niwa Public Relations
Tel: 646 644-5799
Email: grace@niwapr.com

Teresa Wiedel
AZN Television
Tel: 303 712-5457
Email: teresa.wiedel@azntv.com