Japan’s Cannes prodigy Naomi Kawase believes Netflix can help unleash the creativity of her country’s film industry, despite the eruption of a row over the American streaming giant that marred the French film festival. Kawase, a regular at the world’s most prestigious film festival since winning the Camera d’Or in 1997, said she “has not … Read more
Japan’s answer to Walt Disney has confirmed the launch of a giant new theme park based on one of its most popular films. Studio Ghibli, the animation giant behind the 1988 hit animated fantasy movie My Neighbor Totoro, announced on Thursday that it will open an immersive-style attraction. The amusement park – which will not … Read more
Oscar-winning Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki, who announced in 2013 that he would stop making films, is coming out of retirement to do a new movie, his studio announced Friday. “Miyazaki decided to retract his retirement and to make a feature-length animation film,” production company Studio Ghibli said on its website. The studio said that the … Read more
Eight decades since furry wrecking machine King Kong first stomped into theaters, the giant ape with a predilection for bottle-blonde damsels in distress makes his cinematic comeback this weekend. “Kong: Skull Island” is expected to be a huge worldwide hit, leveraging a global fan base built up through a series of sequels, reboots and spin-offs … Read more
Japanese B-movie director, Seijun Suzuki, whose prolific output from gangster films to fantasies influenced international filmmakers including Quentin Tarantino, has died, his former studio announced on Wednesday. He was 93. Suzuki died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease on February 13, the Nikkatsu studio said in a statement expressing “deep gratitude and respect to his great … Read more