‘The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers’ Creator Jon M. Chu to Receive Pioneer Prize at International Digital Emmy® Awards at MIPTV 2011

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jon M. Chu, the creator and director of the web series The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers (THE LXD), is set to receive the 2011 Pioneer Prize at the International Digital Emmy® Awards, to take place on Monday, April 4^th at MIPTV.

“Jon M. Chu is one of the most up & coming directing talents of our time and we look forward to honoring him for his innovative contributions to the field of digital entertainment with our Pioneer Prize”

The American film director and screenwriter best known for directing the dance movie franchise Step Up and most recently directing the 3 D documentary Justin Bieber: Never Say Never has created an online dance phenomenon with his web series THE LXD, which is redefining the quality of digital entertainment.

“Jon M. Chu is one of the most up & coming directing talents of our time and we look forward to honoring him for his innovative contributions to the field of digital entertainment with our Pioneer Prize,” said International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences President & CEO, Bruce Paisner.

THE LXD chronicles the journey of seemingly ordinary people who discover they have extraordinary powers and must choose their place in an epic conflict between good and evil. The characters are called to join The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers to fulfill their destiny through their superpowers of dance. Since its launch domestically on Hulu in July 2010, the series has been distributed globally reaching a worldwide audience of over 350 million viewers. THE LXD was created by Jon M. Chu and produced by Chu and Hieu Ho in partnership with Agility Studios and is distributed by Paramount Digital Entertainment.

In addition to the Pioneer Prize, The International Academy will present three International Digital Emmy Awards for Digital Program: Children & Young People; Digital Program: Fiction and Digital Program: Non-Fiction.

As in previous years, the International Digital Emmy Awards will bring together over 200 professionals across the entertainment, mobile and Internet industries at an invitation-only ceremony, on the opening night of MIPTV 2011.

About JON M. CHU

A native of Palo Alto, California, director Jon M. Chu headed south in 1998 to attend the USC School of Cinematic Arts. It was here that Chu was honored with the Jack Nicholson Directing Award, the Princess Grace Award, and the Kodak Student Filmmaker Award. His feature film debut, Touchstone/Summits “Step Up 2: The Streets” not only grossed more than 150 million dollars worldwide but also earned him a 2008 Teen Choice Award and an MTV Movie Award. In 2009, Chu broke into the online space with the success of “The Biggest Online Dance Battle,” featuring the Adam/Chu Dance Crew which counts top dancers and celebrities from Adam Sandler to Diana Ross amongst its’ ranks. The brainchild of Chu grew into a worldwide phenomenon with more than 20 million views online and led to the creation of The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers (THELXD.com), an online superhero series told through only dance. Lauded by Vanity Fair as “Fully amazing” and the LA Times as “a unique fusion of dance and trans-media”, the series was recently presented with Ad Age’s Vanguard Award for Outstanding Web Series. THE LXD has since performed at numerous high profile events, including the 82nd Academy Awards, the 2010 TED Conference, Conan, Ellen and the new media event, YouTube Play, which was hosted at the historic Guggenheim museum in New York. The second half of 2010 brought the release of Chu's second feature film, Touchstone/Summit’s “Step Up 3D” which has now grossed over 165 million dollars worldwide. Most recently, Chu directed “Justin Bieber: Never Say Never 3D”, which was released to critical and public acclaim on February 11th, 2011.

About The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences

The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences is a membership based organization comprised of leading media and entertainment figures from over 50 countries and 500 companies from all sectors of television including internet, mobile and technology. The Academy’s yearly schedule of events includes the prestigious International Emmy® Awards Ceremony held in New York, The International Digital Emmy® Awards at MIPTV and a series of industry events such as Academy Day, The International Emmy® World Television Festival and Panels on substantive industry topics. The Academy was chartered with a mission to recognize excellence in television produced outside of the United States and it presents The International Emmy® Awards in the following fifteen categories: Arts Programming; Best Performance by an Actress; Best Performance by an Actor; Current Affairs; Children & Young People; Comedy; Digital Program: Children & Young People; Digital Program: Fiction; Digital Program: Non-Fiction; Documentary; Drama Series; News; Non-Scripted Entertainment; Telenovela; TV Movie/Mini-Series. For more information go to www.iemmys.tv.

About REED MIDEM

Founded in 1963, Reed MIDEM is a leading organiser of professional, international tradeshows. Reed MIDEM events have established themselves as key dates in professional diaries. The company hosts MIPTV, MIPDOC, MIPCOM, and MIPJUNIOR for the television and digital content industries, MIDEM for music professionals, MIPIM, MIPIM Asia, MIPIM HORIZONS and MAPIC for the property and retail real estate sectors. Reed Exhibitions is the world’s leading events organiser, with over 470 events in 37 countries. In 2008 Reed brought together over seven million industry professionals from around the world generating billions of dollars in business. Today Reed events are held throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific, and organised by 38 fully staffed offices. Reed organizes a wide range of events, including exhibitions, conferences, congresses and meetings. Its portfolio of over 470 events serves 44 industry sectors, including: Aerospace & aviation, automobiles, broadcasting, building & construction, electronics, energy, oil & gas, engineering, manufacturing, environment, food service & hospitality, gifts, healthcare, interior design, IT & telecoms, jewellery, life science & pharmaceuticals, machinery, medical education, printing & graphics, property & real estate, security & safety, sports & recreation, travel.

For further information about Reed MIDEM visit www.reedmidem.com.