Astro Boy Expert Frederik Schodt Interviewed On Imagi Website

Hong Kong (November 28, 2007) - An exclusive interview with noted author Frederik L. Schodt will be posted today on the website of Imagi Animation Studios at www.imagi.com.hk.

Schodt is the author of seven books, many of which are about manga/anime and Japanese popular culture. His latest, The Astro Boy Essays: Osamu Tezuka, Mighty Atom and the Manga/Anime Revolution, has just been published by Stone Bridge Press.

Imagi Animation Studios is making the CG-animated theatrical feature film AstroBoy for worldwide release in 2009 by Warner Bros. Pictures and The Weinstein Company.

The upcoming motion picture AstroBoy tells the story of a powerful robot created by a brilliant scientist in the image of the son he has lost. Our hero journeys to find acceptance in the human world, and ultimately discovers true friendship as he uses his incredible powers to help others and save Metro City from destruction.

Astro Boy was created by the "god of manga", Japan's Osamu Tezuka, in the early 1950s. The animated TV series first aired in 1963 in Japan, finding great acclaim and success around the world. In the U.S., it quickly became a top syndicated children’s show. The iconic character's fame grew in the 1980s and 2003 with two new Astro Boy TV series attracting new generations of fans.

In this exclusive interview, Schodt speaks about the meaning of the Astro Boy story, the essence of Astro Boy and the rising popularity of anime in the West, as well as his personal recollections of working as Tezuka's interpreter.

IMAGI www.imagi.com.hk
Imagi International Holdings Limited ("Imagi") is a listed company (Stock Code 585) on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Imagi's principal business is the development and production of computer graphics ("CG") animated theatrical feature films. Imagi's first theatrical movie TMNT was released in March 2007, opening #1 in U.S. box office revenue, only the third time in history that an Asian-made film has achieved that honour. Imagi has development operations in Los Angeles, California, and CG production studios at its Chai Wan (Hong Kong) headquarters.