All articles by Mark Schilling – Page 19
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News
Toshiba joint venture cranks up first production
Towani Corp, a joint venture between Toshiba, Warner Bros and Nippon Television Network, has started production on its first feature film, action fantasy Sakuya, which has Tomoo Haraguchi directing.Haraguchi is one of Japan's leading make-up artists and special effects supervisors with credits including the horror hit Ring and the Gamera ...
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News
Nikkatsu forced to sell studio to clear debt
Japan's oldest film production company Nikkatsu is selling its studio - one of the largest and most active in Japan - for $72.7m (Y8bn). The buyer is Maru, a real estate management company owned by Masaya Nakamura, the president of Nikkatsu's corporate parent Namco.The sale will enable Nikkatsu to raise ...
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Toshiba moots link-up with AOL-Time Warner
In a bid to boost its low profile in the Internet business, Toshiba has announced plans to enter into talks with AOL-Time Warner about the distribution of content in Japan."We have long had a strong relationship with Time Warner. Since the merger with AOL they have been emphasising their Internet ...
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Tokuma to enter exhibition with Warner Mycal stake
Japan's Tokuma Group plans to invest in the country's largest multiplex operator Warner Mycal, as well as make films exclusively for the chain, according to group president Yasuyoshi Tokuma. The moves form part of Tokuma's strategy to create a vertically integrated film company. The group already includes the Tokuma Shoten ...
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Japanese partners join forces for movie channel
News Corp, Sony, Fuji TV and Softbank are forming a joint venture company - Nihon Eiga Eisei Hoso (Japanese Movie Satellite Broadcasting) - to create a cable and satellite movie channel specialising in Japanese films. The partners aim to build the country's leading Japanese film channel with the co-operation of ...
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Canal Plus snaps up six from Japan's Suncent
France's Canal Plus is acquiring worldwide rights, excluding Japan, to six pictures from Suncent CinemaWorks, the film production arm of Japanese satellite broadcaster WOWOW.The first film in the deal is Sogo Ishii's Gojo Reisenki, a lavishly produced period action film set for an autumn release in Japan. The film is ...
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Sega speeds up Dreamcast with cable partners
In a move that threatens to bring UK production to a virtual standstill, powerful local performers' union Equity has told its members not to agree to any contracts for feature films that involve working on or after December 1.The call marks a serious turn in Equity's talks with UK producers' ...
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Asian films dominate Japan's box office
In a rare box office coup, Asian films occupy three of the top five spots in the Japanese chart this week.The South Korean spy actioner Shuri (also known as Shiri and Swiri) debuted at number one with a huge screen average of $65,069 from a seven-day gross of $1,041,107 (from ...
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News
Gaga set for Japan's first digital screenings
Japan's Gaga Communications plans to start public screenings of computer-graphics animation A*LI*CE from February 25, using a digital projection system that operates without film. The screenings will mark the first time a digital film has been released theatrically in Japan. Gaga also produced A*LI*CE, a sci-fi drama which is directed ...