Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac draws more deals

Los Angeles-based sales agent Arsenal Pictures will handle US and European sales for Hans Canosa’s Japan-set drama Memoirs Of A Teenage Amnesiac.

Memoirs producer Wendy Reeds pitched the film to Arsenal president Yarek Danielak, who then agreed to take on the title.

Investor Toei Studios will continue to handle sales for the rest of the world and is distributing the film domestically.

Toei manager of international sales Tadayuki Okubo commented on the Arsenal deal: “We thought it would be a good chance to expand the film’s chances abroad in different ways so we agreed to work together.”

Toei also closed several deals for the film on the final day of Hong Kong FilMart (March 22-25). Catchplay picked up rights for Taiwan andFestive Films acquired rights for Singapore and Malaysia. The film pre-sold to Hong Kong’s Golden Scene and China’s Metro-Cine at last November’s AFM.

Based on Gabrielle Zevin’s novel of the same name, Memoirs tells the story of a high school senior (Maki Horikita) who loses four years of memory after an accident and tries to regain her identity and figure out which boy she truly loves.

The action was relocated to an international school in the outskirts of Tokyo, with approximately a quarter of the dialogue in English and some scenes shot in L.A. The cast includes Ken’ichi Matsuyama (Norwegian Wood), Yuya Tegoshi, Anton Yelchin (Star Trek) and Emma Roberts.

Memoirs opened in Japan this weekend on 247 screens, earning $580,000 in tenth place.

The film struggled in a field led by animation franchises Doraemon and Toei’s own Pretty Cure, followed by Sherlock Holmes ($18.4m), Toho’s Liar Game: The Final Stage, Avatar ($157.8m), Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant, Nine, Disney’s G-Force and Oscar winner Hurt Locker.