Gaga Corporation has secured Japan rights to Max and Sam Eggers’ upcoming psychological horror The Front Room from A24.
It marks the feature directorial debut of the Eggers Brothers, whose sibling Robert Eggers has worked with A24 on The Witch and The Lighthouse. Max, who co-wrote The Lighthouse, and Sam, who co-wrote Olympia, adapted the screenplay from Susan Hill’s short story of the same name and the feature is in post-production.
The pre-buy builds on previous deals between Gaga and A24 that have included Everything Everywhere All At Once, nominated in 11 categories for this year’s Academy Awards, and Minari, for which Yuh-Jung Youn won the best supporting actress Oscar in 2021.
“We trust A24 for its originality - especially for horror films. In Japan, A24 titles such as Midsommar did really well,” says Chizu Ogiya, general manager of acquisitions at Gaga. “Also, one of the main cast is Kathryn Hunter. We were impressed by her performance in her previous film [The Tragedy Of Macbeth] and it made us believe in The Front Room.”
The film, which also stars Brandy Norwood and Andrew Burnap, follows a young, newly pregnant couple who are forced to take in an ailing stepmother who has long been estranged from the family.
Gaga picked up the title at last year’s American Film Market (AFM) after reading the script.
In-house productions
At the European Film Market (EFM), Gaga is selling director Kazuyoshi Kumakiri’s suspense thriller #Manhole, which is making its international premiere in Berlinale Special. An original IP in-house production, the company believes it has potential for remakes overseas.
It is also handling pre-sales on Asian territories for Monster, the secretive upcoming feature from Palme d’or-winning auteur Hirokazu Kore-eda, which is tipped for Cannes Competition selection. Wild Bunch International is handling sales for the rest of the world.
A promo for Monster is being shown at the EFM and although Gaga has announced the film is written by Yuji Sakamoto (I Fell In Love Like A Flower Bouquet) with music by Oscar-winning composer Ryuichi Sakamoto and starring Ando Sakura (Shoplifters), the company is keeping the story and further details under wraps.
“The marketing strategy is [to be] very mysterious,” says Haruko Watanabe, international sales manager at Gaga. But based on confidential readings of the script, “we are receiving a lot of offers already,” she confirms.
“The film is in post-production so we are not able to reveal much as filmmaking is the first priority, but it will be a great experience for the audience,” says Satomi Odake, member of the board, operating officer, Content Business Division, and head of Planning and Production Committee.
Awards buzz acquisitions
Gaga’s acquisitions team is in Berlin aiming to acquire the next Oscars titles, continuing a streak that includes six best picture winners.
“As far as we know, we are the number one distributor among major territories who have distributed the most Oscars best pictures – by number of titles – in the last decade or so,” says Watanabe. “Tom Yoda, after he became CEO of Gaga [picked] six Oscar best pictures in the past – Slumdog Millionaire, King’s Speech, The Artist, 12 Years A Slave, Green Book and CODA, mostly at script stage.”
The company is preparing the release of the Daniels’ Everything Everywhere All At Once for March 3 in Japan, which it picked up from A24 at last year’s EFM. The film leads this year’s Oscars nominations with 11 nods, including for best picture and best actress for Michelle Yeoh.
Watanabe says Oscars buzz – or any big awards buzz – helps with marketing in Japan.
“We use it in our promotion and try to get the best results,” she says. “The Golden Globes helps because the Japanese media cover the results a lot. Even the Baftas and Césars can be interesting to movie fans. All the big awards are helpful. Cannes, of course.”
As to whether that buzz can translate to a bump in box office, Watanabe explains: “It really depends on the film. For example, Green Book got JPY2.1bn ($15.6m) while Slumdog Millionaire took JPY 1.2bn ($8.9m) and The King’s Speech took JPY1.88bn ($14m). I think Japanese audiences like heart-warming, emotional and touching stories. Green Book was before Covid so all the older and younger audiences came out for that.”
She adds that senior audiences have not yet come back to theatres and perhaps the Oscars titles might provide the necessary encouragement.
“Foreign films are having a hard time in Japan,” says Odake. “The box office is dominated by animation and local films. For A24 titles, there’s a core fanbase in our market so we expect a younger audience for those. Since we need more younger audiences [to make up for the seniors that are staying at home], we’re focusing more on social network promotion than before. Everything Everywhere All At Once is very suitable for social media.”
She explains that her team had read the script, watched a promo and decided to pick it up before its premiere at SXSW without seeing the completed film: “Its originality was something we’d never seen before,” she adds. “We are targeting 350 screens including 2D and IMAX and [Dolby] Atmos.”
Gaga also has other Oscar nominees - Palme d’Or winner Triangle Of Sadness, Cate Blanchett-starrer Tár and best animation feature nominee Puss in Boots: The Last Wish – lined up for release.
“We picked up Triangle Of Sadness in Cannes just before the announcement of the prize,” says Ogiya, adding that it is slated for local release on February 23 on around 30 screens.
“We first screened Tár in the fall, but had already confirmed distribution in summer 2022. We have a better relationship with the producer’s side and could get the lineup,” she says, adding they are still working out release plans.
As for Puss In Boots: The Last Wish, Gaga co-distributes Dreamworks Animation titles with Toho-Towa in Japan and are looking at a release on around 300 screens.
“If it’s a good project, we try to think of how we relate to the film,” says Odake. “We are starting equity investment, too. For instance, Ennio [the documentary on film composer Ennio Morricone that premiered at Venice 2021], and Final Cut [the French remake of the Japanese zombie comedy One Cut Of The Dead, which opened Cannes last year], and we are talking with some others.”
The prolific company also picks up remake rights to produce Japanese-language films as in the case of Your Eyes Tell, the remake of Korean romance drama Always, about an ex-boxer who meets a blind woman. The Japanese version made $6.7m (JPY900m), according to Gaga.
In addition, they are on the look-out for other IPs to remake into Japanese versions, as well as looking to sell their own for remake in other languages.
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