All articles by Jason Gray – Page 18
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News
Japanese animation Doraemon secures Chinese release
Japanese publisher Shogakukan has announced that one of its recent feature films in the popular Doraemon franchise will screen theatrically in 35 cities across mainland China. Doraemon: Nobita's Dinosaur 2006 , which was released domestically in March last year, will become the first Japanese animated feature to be screened theatrically ...
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News
Tokyo to host world premiere of fifth Harry Potter
Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix will receive its world premiere in Tokyo, Japan on June 28. Japanese audiences will get to see the fifth installment in the franchise before the rest of the world, including the UK, which traditionally hosts the premieres. The Japan screening will be ...
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News
Lee Byung-hun joins cast of Fuji TV's Hero
Korean star Lee Byung Hun (A Bittersweet Life) will make his Japanese film debut in a feature adaptation of hit Fuji TV drama Hero, co-starring Takuya Kimura (Love And Honour). Hero follows an unconventional public prosecutor (Kimura) as he works to uncover the sinister conspiracy behind what starts as a ...
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News
Toshiba sells off entertainment division to Hakuhodo
Japanese electronics giant Toshiba has announced the sale of its feature film and home entertainment subsidiary Toshiba Entertainment to advertising giant Hakuhodo. The acquisition is set for May 1 through Hakuhodo DY Holdings for an undisclosed amount. Hakuhodo group company Hakuhodo DY Media Partners will manage the entity. Media Partners ...
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News
Japanese pay TV company Wowow establishes feature film label
Major satellite pay tv provider Wowow has announced the establishment of a feature film label, Wowow Films. 'In looking at the image Wowow has for its subscribers, the overwhelming response was 'movies'. We're answering that demand by eagerly entering feature film production,' said Wowow CEO Nobuya Wazaki. Wowow Films announced ...
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Features
Japan - Secrets and lives in modern Tokyo
Director Kiyoshi Kurosawa is one of the few modern Japanese film-makers with worldwide recognition, both as a genre director and as an auteur. With films such as Cure, Pulse and Retribution (which screened at Venice last year) Kurosawa's name is synonymous with J-horror.Yet his filmography offers much more than scares. ...
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News
Japan's Nikkatsu opens international office in LA
Nikkatsu Corp will open an international office in Los Angeles in mid-April under the name Nikkatsu Pictures International (NPI).Nikkatsu has invested $500,000 of capital to establish NPI, as part of a strategy to position itself at the global film industry's front lines. NPI will focus on strengthening Nikkatsu's international sales ...
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News
Japan's JDC sets up international acquisition fund
Japan Digital Contents Trust Inc (JDC) has established a foreign film acquisition fund in partnership with three Japanese distributors.The first phase of the 'Cinema Trust: Acquisition Fund' will provide from $16.76m-$33.52m (Y2b-Y4b) for the acquisition and distribution of foreign-produced feature films. The three distribution partners, chosen for their proven success ...
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News
Yubari film festival to relaunch under original name
The Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival (YIFFF) will reopen under its original name and mandate in late February 2008. The announcement was made by the non-profit organisation (NPO) Yubari Fanta which is the nickname of the festival. The NPO was set up by the citizens of the financially troubled city ...
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News
Imagica Robot acquires majority share in animation company
Japanese post-production giant Imagica Robot Holdings (IRH) has acquired a majority share in animation company Genco, which now becomes a subsidiary in the company's contents division. IRH announced the investment as part of its strategy to strengthen its animation production and licensing business. Genco will collaborate with IRH group company, ...
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News
Kadokawa returns to directing with historic love story
Genghis Khan producer Haruki Kadokawa has announced his return to the director's chair after a 10-year absence. At a press conference held in central Tokyo yesterday, Kadokawa announced he will direct a film starring 17-year-old Korean actress Ara, who made her film debut in a supporting role in the producer's ...
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News
Kadokawa Group Holdings launches licensing company
Japanese conglomerate Kadokawa Group Holdings (KGH) has established a licensing company, Kadokawa Production, to handle rights management and licensing for the group's various media subsidiaries. The move will consolidate and strengthen Kadokawa's ability to license its vast library of books, animation and films with its main focus on the domestic ...
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News
Japan's VAP ships Death Note DVDs in record numbers
Japanese video distributor Video Audio Project (VAP) has made an initial shipment of 500,000 box sets of Death Note and its sequel Death Note 2: The Last Name for a total of one million discs. The shipment sets a record for any domestic film released in 2006. The set also ...
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News
Genghis Khan conquers Japanese box office
Shochiku's Genghis Khan - To The Ends Of The Earth And Sea secured the top position at the Japanese box office on its opening weekend, earning $1.6m (Y195.8m). It knocked last week's number one, Dreamgirls, out of pole position, while newcomer Ghost Rider rode into the number four slot. The ...
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News
Tokyo to host world premiere of Spider-Man 3
Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group has announced that the world premiere of Spider-Man 3 will be held in Tokyo. The multi-million dollar event will be held on April 16 at Tokyo 's upscale shopping and entertainment complex Roppongi Hills, with the film's six main cast members scheduled to attend. Additionally, ...
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News
Shindo to have world premiere at Hong Kong Filmart
The Tokyo International Film Festival has arranged to hold the world premiere of Koji Hagiuda's Shindo (translation: Prodigy) at this year's Hong Kong Filmart on March 21. The Tokyo fest and its attendant TIFFCOM market, which are held in October, have been using Filmart as a launch pad in recent ...
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News
Japanese box office hit Dororo spawns two sequels
TBS producer Takashi Hirano has announced that he plans to make two sequels of Japanese box office hit Dororo. The sequels will be filmed next year in the back-to-back style of Lord Of The Rings, with a tentative release set for 2009. The combined budget for the films will be ...
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News
Hula Girls takes top prize at Japanese Oscars
Lee Sang-il's Hula Girls was named best picture of 2006 at the 30th Japan Academy Awards, which took place on Friday night (Feb 16).The film picked up a total of four major prizes from 13 nominations, including best director for Lee Sang-il, best supporting actress for Yu Aoi and best ...
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News
Prasad to direct Cohn's remake of Yellow Handkerchief
Indian-born filmmaker Udayan Prasad will direct and William Hurt and Maria Bello star in producer Arthur Cohn's remake of Japanese classic The Yellow Handkerchief, it was announced today at a press conference in Tokyo. The $15.5m remake moves the story's locale from Hokkaido to Louisiana in the late 1940s. Production ...
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News
Japanese baseball star to head promotions for Bruckheimer movies
Retired Japanese baseball star Tsuyoshi Shinjo has been tapped to head domestic promotions for three Jerry Bruckheimer productions slated for release in Japan in 2007. Jerry Bruckheimer Films and Buena Vista International (BVI) Japan chose the popular sports figure to lead promotions for three upcoming releases produced by hit-maker Bruckheimer. ...