JAPAN Production Listings - July 11 2003

Copyright: Screen International

CASSHERN
(Casshern Production Committee) Backers: Casshern Production Committee. Int'l sales/dist (Jap): Shochiku. Sci-fi action feature. Based on the hit 1970s animated series, a super-hero robot fights against evil androids. Prods: Hideshi Miyajima, Toshiharu Ozawa, Toshiaki Wakabayashi. Dir/DoP: Kazuaki Kiriya. Scr: Kiriya, Shotaro Suga, Dai Sato. Shooting from July in Japan.
Contact: Shochiku, (813) 5550 1623

CUTEY HONEY
(Twani, Warner Bros Japan, Toshiba, Nihon TV) Backers: Twani, Warner Bros Japan, Toshiba, Nihon TV. Dist (Jap): Warner Bros Japan. Live-action feature based on the hit animation series. Superwoman Cutey Honey fights evil to save the world. Dir/scr: Hideaki Anno. Main cast: Eriko Sato. Shooting from late July in Japan.

THE EMPIRE OF DEMONS (kishin teikoku)
(Shochiku) Backer/int'l sales/dist (Jap): Shochiku. Back To The Future-style time-travelling adventure. A boy returns to ninth-century Kyoto to fight against goblins.
Contact: Shochiku, (813) 5550 1623

FUON (working title)
(Siglo Ltd) Budget: ¥100m. Backer/int'l sales/dist: Siglo. Feel-good story about the lives of people who live in a rural village in Okinawa, the frontline of World War II. Exec prod: Tetsujiro Yamagami. Dir: Yoichi Higashi. Scr: Shun Medoruma. DoP: Takahiro Tsutai. Main cast: Haruko Kato, Miho Tsumiki, Takahito Hosoyamada. Shooting from early August until early September in Japan.
Contact: Siglo: (813) 5343 3101

HAKKEN DEN (working title)
(Shochiku) Backer/int'l sales/dist (Jap): Shochiku. Eight fighters battle to save a kingdom in a Japanese version of The Lord Of The Rings. Based on Bakin Takizawa's epic.
Contact: Shochiku, (813) 5550 1623

HOSHI NO JIN (working title)
(Shochiku) Backer/int'l sales/dist (Jap): Shochiku. Drama about a group of old people who take on a yakuza gang. Dir: Tsutomu Abe.
Contact: Shochiku, (813) 5550 1623

7/7 KOGA NINPO-CHO (working title)
(Shochiku) Backer/int'l sales/dist (Jap): Shochiku. Ran-style samurai epic. The conflict to find the new head of a shogun family.
Contact: Shochiku, (813) 5550 1623

SKYHIGH: THE MOVIE
(Amuse, Toei) Backers: Amuse, Toei, TV Asahi. Dist (Jap): Toei. Based on a hit TV thriller. Dead people are sent to Purgatory. Dir: Ryuhei Kitamura. Main cast: Yumiko Shaku, Takao Oosawa. Shooting until late August in Japan.
Contact: Amuse, Himeda, (813) 5457 3332

TOKYO NOIR (working title)
(KSS) Backer/int'l sales/dist (Jap): Gold View. Trio of short stories shot by two young up-and-coming directors. The lives of women who do secretarial work in the day and work as prostitutes in the evening. Dir/scr: Masato Ishioka, Naoto Kumazawa.
Contact: Gold View, (813) 5342 7267

UNTITLED
(Production Committee) Backers: Production Committee. Int'l sales: Shochiku. Dist (Jap): Shochiku. Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Japan's Yasujiro Ozu, Taiwanese auteur Hou Hsiao Hsien directs a feature-length homage. Dir/scr: Hou Hsiao Hsien. Shooting from August in Tokyo.
Contact: Shochiku, (813) 5550 1623

APPLESEED
(Micott Inc, TBS, Pioneer LDC, Yamato Co, Ltd, TYO, Digital Frontier) Backers: Micott Inc, TBS, Pioneer LDC, Yamato Co, Ltd, TYO, Digital Frontier. Int'l sales: Micott Inc. 3-D animation based on a story by the creator of Ghost In The Shell. In 2131, a woman warrior survives the aftermath of the war which devastated the world. Creative director: Fumihiko Sori. Dir: Shinji Aramaki.
Contact: Micott Inc, (813) 6415 6090

HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE
(Studio Ghibli) Backers: Tokuma Shoten Publishing, Nihon TV. Int'l sales: Studio Ghibli. Dist (Jap): Toho. Animation. Based on the British children's book by Diana Wynne Jones about a love fantasy between a 18-year-old girl - who has been turned into a 90-year-old - and a wizard. Prod: Toshio Suzuki. Dir/scr: Hayao Miyazaki.
Contact: Toho, (813) 3591 3511

KURABU SHINCHUGUN
(Kurabu Shinchugun Production Committee) Backer: Kurabu Shinchugun Production Committee. Int'l sales/dist (Jap): Shochiku. Drama. A Japanese jazz band plays at an American base camp in Tokyo in 1947. Prod: Yukiko Shii. Dir/scr: Junji Sakamoto. Main cast: Masato Hagiwara, Joe Odagiri, Peter Mullan. Shooting until early August in Japan.
Contact: Shochiku, (813) 5550 1623

MADO
(Licri) Backer: Pug Point Japan. Love story. A couple have difficulties expressing their feelings. Prod: Motohiro Hatanaka. Dir/scr: Hisashi Saito. Main cast: Teruyuki Kagawa, Niako Tadano. Shooting until late July in Japan.
Contact: Licri, (813) 3404 4304

NO ONE KNOWS (daremo shiranai)
(TV Man Union Inc) Budget: $1m. Backers: TV Man Union, Bandai Visual, Engine Film, C-Style. Dist (Jap): Cinequanon. Drama. Four brothers, by different fathers, are left by their mother to make their way in the world. Exec prods: Satoshi Kohno, Masahiro Yasuda, Yutaka Shigenobu. Prod/dir/scr: Kore-eda Hirokazu. DoP: Yutaka Yamazaki. Main cast: Yuya Yagira, Ayu Kitaura, Hiei Kimura, Momoko Shimizu. Shooting until late August in Japan.
Contact: Asako Nishikawa, TV Man Union, (813) 5478 8138, nishikawa@tvu.cojp

PINK RIBBON (working title)
(Uplink) Budget: ¥20m. Backer/dist (Jap): Uplink. Documentary about Japanese porn films. Prod: Takashi Asai. Dir/scr/DoP: Kenjiro Fujii. Main cast: Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Koji Wakamatsu, Mitsuru Meike, Yutaka Ikejima, Yoshiyuki Hayashida. Shooting until late July in Japan.
Contact: Uplink, (813) 5489 0755

STEAM BOY
(Bandai Visual, Bandai, Toho, Dentsu, IMAGICA, Sunrise) Backers: Bandai Visual, Bandai, Toho, Dentsu, Imagica, Sunrise. Dist (Jap): Toho. Animated action adventure set in 19th-century London. Prod: Shinji Komori. Dir: Katsuhiro Otomo. Scr: Otomo, Sadayuki Murai.
Contact: Bandai Visual, (813) 5828 3061

CHAKUSHIN ARI
(Kadokawa-Daiei) Backers: Kadokawa-Daiei, Dentsu, Stardust. Int'l sales: Kadokawa-Daiei. Dist (Jap): Toho. Horror. A series of mysterious deaths follow anonymous mobile phone calls. Exec prod: Hiroshi Ookawa. Prods: Naoki Sato, Yoichi Arishige, Fumio Inoue. Dir: Takashi Miike. Scr: Minako Daira. Main cast: Ko Shibazaki, Shinnichi Tsutsumi, Kazue Fukiishi, Renji Ishibashi.
Contact: Kadokawa-Daiei, Takeshi Kobayashi, (813) 5229 2073

GUZENNIMO SAIAKUNA SHONEN
(Film Committee GOO) Budget: $3m. Backers: Toei, Toei Video, Nihon Shuppan Hanbai, Pyramid Film, K Dash, True Project, Tokyo Eizo Kobo. Int'l sales/dist (Jap): Toei. Drama. A group of teenagers who cannot fit into society go on a journey of self-discovery. Exec prod: Shigeyuki Endo. Prods: Katao Kakimio, Okada Kazunori, Suzuki Nobuyoshi. Dir: Gu Suyeon. Scr: Gu Mitsunori. DoP: Mushu Hideyuki. Main cast: Ichihara Hayato, Nakashima Mika, Yazawa Shin, Ikeuchi Hiroyuki.
Contact: Toei, Onuma, (813) 3535 7621

JAM FILMS 2
(Suplex) Budget: ¥90m. Backers: Amuse, Sega, Amuse Soft, Imagica. Int'l sales: Pony Canyon. Dist (Jap): Tohoku Shinsha. A sequel to an ensemble of seven short films. Four up-and-coming directors from the music video industry reflect today's Japanese society. Prod: Shinya Kawai. Dirs: Kouki Tange, Eiki Takahashi, Junji Kojima, Hidenori Inoue. Main cast: Kumiko Aso, Mikako Takahashi, Takamasa Suga, Kyusaku Shimada, Kentarou Kobayashi.
Contact: Pony Canyon, (813) 5521 8024

PERFECT EDUCATION 4 - SECRET BASEMENT (kanzennaru shiiku )
(Art Port) Budget: $2m. Backer: Sedic International. Int'l sales/dist (Jap): Art Port. Sequel to the hit erotic thriller about a strange intimacy that develops between a girl and her kidnapper. Exec prod: Toshiaki Nakazawa. Prods: Shin Yonegome, Toji Kato. Dir: Toshiyuki Mizutani. Scr: Masayoshi Azuma. DoP: Youichi Shiga. Main cast: Taro Yamamoto, Hisako Shitara, Haruko Kato, Naoto Takenaka.
Contact: Art Port, (813) 5469 8735

NOTHING
(Senator Int'l [US], Klockworx, 49 Parallel [Can]) Co-prod: Senator Int'l (US), Klockworx, 49 Parallel (Can). Backers: Senator Int'l, Klockworx, 49 Parallel. Int'l sales: Senator International. Dist (Jap): Klockworx. Drama. Two young men who want every burden of their life to be lifted suddenly find their wishes fulfilled. Exec prod: Noah Segal. Prod: Steve Hoban. Dir: Vincenzo Natali. Scr: Andrew Miller, Andrew Lowry. Main cast: David Hewlett, Miller.
Contact: Senator International, Joe Drake (1) 310 360 1441

YIN-YANG MASTER II (onmyoji ii)
(Toho, TBS, Tohoku Shinsha, Dentsu, Kadokawa Shoten Publishing) Backers: Toho, TBS, Tohoku Shinsha, Dentsu, Kadokawa Shoten Publishing. Dist (Jap): Toho. SFX action epic. Sequel to the $25m hit about a legendary Yin-Yang master in ancient Japan. Exec prod: Banjiro Uemura. Prod: Tetsuji Hayashi. Dir: Yojiro Takita. Scr: Baku Yumemakura, Itaru Era. Main cast: Mansai Nomura, Hideaki Ito, Eriko Imai, Kichi Nakai.
Contact: TBS, (813) 5571 3632

ZATOICHI
(Bandai Visual, Tokyo FM, Dentsu, TV Asahi, Saito Entertainment, Office Kitano) Backers: Bandai Visual, Tokyo FM, Dentsu, TV Asahi, Saito Entertainment, Office Kitano. Int'l sales: Celluloid Dreams. Dist (Jap): Shochiku, Office Kitano. Remake of a hit series action period drama. A blind masseur and master swordsman tries to help two beautiful geishas avenge the murder of their parents. Dir/scr: Takeshi Kitano. Main cast: Kitano.
Contact: Celluloid Dreams, (33) 1 4970 0370