All articles by Jason Gray – Page 9
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Five Japanese majors join forces for VoD movie channel
Japanese majors Kadokawa, Shochiku, Toei, Toho and Nikkatsu have partnered to supply feature films through newly established pay-per-view (PPV) channel Marumaru Eiga. The channel, which went live on March 26, is offered through the Actvila VoD service, which offers TV viewers movie contents through a broadband internet connection and a ...
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NTV sells suspense actioner MW to Sundream in Hong Kong
Nippon Television Network (NTV) has sold action-suspense manga adaptation MW to Hong Kong’s Sundream Motion Pictures ahead of its market screening premiere.Based on a story by famed creator Osamu Tezuka first published in 1976, MW stars Hiroshi Tamaki as a high level banker leading a double life as a calculating ...
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Matsumoto's Symbol to be completed in time for Cannes
Director and famed comedian Hitoshi Matsumoto revealed some details of his second directorial effort at a press conference held on Friday evening at the inaugural edition of the Okinawa International Movie Festival (OIMF, March 19-22).Entitled Symbol (Shimboru), the film stars Matsumoto as a man plotting to escape some manner of ...
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Sakamoto starts production on Zatoichi The Last
Japanese director Junji Sakamoto has started shooting Zatoichi The Last, starring SMAP member Shingo Katori in the lead role of the famed blind swordsman, for Japan's Sedic International and Toho Studios. Toho has announced a 2010 release for the film which has secured investment from Celluloid Dreams. The French sales ...
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Shochiku unveils new studio facilities in Kyoto
Japanese major Shochiku has officially opened its upgraded and expanded Shochiku Kyoto Studios, which the company describes as a 'one stop total film management package'. In addition to improvements made to the original six studios and outside set, first opened in 1946, two new high-ceiling 500 square-metre (5,381 square-foot) studio ...
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Japan - Oscar winner hits home
In the first weekend since its Oscar win for best foreign-language film, Departures rose to number one at the Japanese box office, after re-entering the top 10 during the previous week in eighth place.Distributor Shochiku expanded the film's extended run from 95 screens to a large-scale 189-screen re-release following the ...
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Japan's Usen divests stake in ShowTime VoD portal
Japanese media and communications conglomerate Usen has divested its stake in broadband VoD portal ShowTime Inc. Usen sold its 50% stake in ShowTime to online shopping giant Rakuten Inc for $18.38m (Y1.784bn), making the company a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rakuten. The shares will be delivered on March 25. The two ...
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Yubari awards SR: Saitama's Rapper, premieres Slumdog
Yu Irie’s 79-minute comedy drama SR: Saitama’s Rapper was awarded the grand prix at the19th editionof Japan’s Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival (Feb 26-Mar 2), which wrappedtonight.
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Departures tops Japanese box office following Oscar win
In the first weekend since its Oscar win for best foreign-language film, Departures ascended to the number one position at the Japanese box office after re-entering the top ten last week in eighth place.Departures earned $3.3m (Y320.5m) from 299,495 admissions on 189 screens in its 25th week of release. The ...
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Departures sweeps Japanese academy awards
Yojiro Takita's Departures picked up ten prizes, including best picture of 2008, at the 32nd Japan Academy prize awards ceremony, held Friday evening at the Grand Prince Hotel New Takanawa in Tokyo. The film, which had thirteen nominations, also won best director, best actor (Masahiro Motoki), best supporting actor (Tsutomu ...
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Index sells further shares in Nikkatsu studios
Index Holdings has sold a 7.11% share in group company Nikkatsu to Amusement Media Entertainment Group (AMG). Nikkatsu is here at the EFM selling Takashi Miike's Yatterman which had its world premiere at New York Comic Con last night (Feb 6). The film is a live-action version of the manga ...
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Kore-eda unveils details of Blow Up Doll project
Award-winning Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda has revealed details of his most recent project, Kuuki Ningyo (literal translation: Blow Up Doll), which wrapped at the end of January. The film stars Korean actress Bae Doo-Na as an inflatable sex doll that comes to life and begins a relationship with its owner, ...
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Japanese box office down 1.8% in 2008
According to annual data published today by The Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan (Eiren), overall box office revenues for 2008 totalled $2.164bn (Y194.84bn), a 1.8% decrease from 2007's $2.204bn (Y198.44bn). The figure represents earnings on 160.49 million admissions, a 1.7% drop on the previous year's 163.19m cinemagoers. The average ...
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Japan's NTV acquires 34% stake in Nikkatsu film studios
Major Japanese broadcast network Nippon Television Network Corp (NTV) has acquired a 34% stake in Nikkatsu film studios. NTV cited the value of Nikkatsu's complete production cycle and its distribution-exhibition businesses as the main reason for its acquisition. Established in 1912, Nikkatsu also previously served as a production partner on ...
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Pandemic topples Wall-E's run at top of Japanese box office
Japanese disease thriller Pandemic (Kansen Retto) ended Wall-E's three week run in the number one spot at the local box office this past weekend. Produced by TBS and distributed by Toho on 324 screens, Pandemic earned $3.64m (Y330m) on 225,000 admissions. Toho predicts a final gross of over $22m (Y2b) ...
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Yubari fest to premiere new films from Takashi Miike and Yojiro Takita
Takashi Miike's Crows Zero 2 and Departures director Yojiro Takita's Tsurikichi Sanpei (Sanpei The Fisherman) will be among the world premieres at this year's edition of the resurrected Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival (YIFFF), which runs February 26 to March 2. YIFFF organizers announced that Takashi Miike's Crows Zero 2 ...
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Toho, Kadokawa join forces on digital delivery
Japan's Toho and Kadokawa Holdings will partner with telecommunications giant NTT to implement digital distribution of feature films to their cinemas beginning this spring. Toho will upgrade 31 of its sites with servers and digital projectors while Kadokawa Cineplex will upgrade all 14 of its sites. After installations are complete, ...
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Shochiku announces details of Yoji Yamada's Otouto
Japanese studio Shochiku has announced details of veteran director Yoji Yamada's 81st film, Otouto.The family drama will begin shooting in January 2009 at Kinuta Studios in Tokyo.Otouto (Younger Brother) will star Sayuri Yoshinaga and Tsurube Shofukutei. Shofukutei will play the wayward younger brother of Yoshinaga, who cares for him despite ...
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Shochiku announces details of Yoji Yamada's Otouto
Japanese studio Shochiku has announced details of veteran director Yoji Yamada's 81st film, Otouto.The family drama will begin shooting in January 2009 at Kinuta Studios in Tokyo.Otouto (Younger Brother) will star Sayuri Yoshinaga and Tsurube Shofukutei. Shofukutei will play the wayward younger brother of Yoshinaga, who cares for him despite ...
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Fuji TV to produce two-part feature of Nodame Cantabile
Japanese broadcaster Fuji TV has announced details of a two-part feature film adaptation of hit television series Nodame Cantabile. Reprising their roles from the TV version, Nodame Cantabile will star Juri Ueno and Hiroshi Tamaki. Hideki Takeuchi, who directed the television series, will also direct both feature films.The story follows ...