More from Gavin J Blair
Berlin: Toei Animation’s Yoshi Ikezawa on Ambitious New CGI Feature ‘Hypergalactic’
Instrumental in bringing anime to the world through properties such as Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball and One Piece, Toei Animation is now on a mission to reach even wider audiences by combining Japanese aesthetics with storytelling and themes from around the globe. The storied studio, where Hayao Miyazaki began his career, landed a huge hit […]
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Anime and ‘Godzilla Minus One’ Push Japan’s Box Office Higher in 2023
Japan’s box office climbed 4 percent to a post-pandemic high of $1.5 billion (221.5 billion yen) in 2023, driven again by a strong slate of anime and a steady return to theaters. Hollywood films maintained the same market share of around 31 percent as the previous year, though a very weak yen reduced earnings in […]
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Tokyo: Wim Wenders Leads Festival Tribute to Legendary Auteur Yasujiro Ozu
Leading filmmakers from China, Germany, Japan and the U.S. spoke of their admiration for Yasujiro Ozu as part of the celebrations at Tokyo International Film Festival for the 120th anniversary of the legendary Japanese director’s birth. Wim Wenders opened proceedings by introducing a screening of a 4K digitally restored version of the 1959 comedy Good […]
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Tokyo: Director Yoshiyuki Kishi on Challenging Taboos With Competition Film ‘(Ab)normal Desire’
Following decades in television and film, including stints as a producer, screenwriter and documentary filmmaker, Yoshiyuki Kishi made his feature directorial debut in 2016, aged 52, with Double Life, attracting some international festival attention. He returned the following year with the ambitious Wilderness, based on the only novel by Shuji Terayama. Released in two parts […]
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Tokyo: Japan’s New Production Incentives Scheme Dominates MPA Seminar
Japan’s new production incentives scheme dominated discussions at the Motion Picture Association’s special talk session at the Tokyo International Film Festival on Wednesday. Officially launched in September, the 1 billion yen ($6.7 million) scheme is by far the largest from Japan to date, although it is smaller than the production incentives offered by many […]
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Tokyo: TIFFCOM Content Market Returns With Renewed Momentum, Bigger Venue
Opening its doors on Wednesday for its first in-person event since 2019, the TIFFCOM content market in Tokyo is celebrating its 20th-anniversary edition in a new venue and with an even more international flavor to its exhibitors. “In terms of the exhibition area, it is now almost 50-50, compared to 60 percent domestic and 40 […]
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Tokyo: Programmer Shozo Ichiyama on Making the Festival a Hub for Asia and Beyond
Shozo Ichiyama’s first two years as programming director of the Tokyo International Film Festival were overshadowed by travel restrictions sparked by a stubborn and deadly pandemic, but now he is looking to this edition of the festival to fully reflect the lineup revamp he has been working toward. A well-connected film festival veteran and international […]
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Sony Pictures Quarterly Profit Drops to $115M
Sony Pictures saw its fiscal first-quarter bottom line drop to a profit of $115 million (16 billion yen), down 68 percent from the $394 million (50.7 billion yen) profit it reported during the same period in 2022. While theatrical sales were up, revenue from new TV series and streaming licensing were down. Promotional costs also […]
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U.N. Report Blasts Response to Johnny Kitagawa Sexual Abuse Scandal
An investigation by the U.N. Human Rights Council has concluded that the late Johnny Kitagawa, for decades the most powerful man in Japanese show business, abused hundreds of boys, and that the agency he founded has still not taken responsibility for the crimes. Pichamon Yeophantong, a member of the U.N. working group which visited […]
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Barbenheimer Memes Provoke Angry Backlash in Japan
#NoBarbenheimer has been trending on Japanese Twitter over the last couple of days amid an angry response to the official U.S. Barbie account on the platform commenting on memes seen as using the atomic bombings as jokes. Posts featuring mashups of the Barbie and Oppenheimer films with explosions in the background and Barbie with her […]
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Sony Pictures Full Year Profits Slip to $894M
Operating income at Sony Pictures Entertainment fell by 45 percent or $1.04 billion to $894 million, as sales fell by $851 million on the back of a lack of blockbuster theatrical hits and one off gains logged in fiscal 2021. Sales grew by 11 percent on a yen basis due to the strength of the […]
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Ryuichi Sakamoto, Oscar-Winning Composer, Dies at 71
The prolific and eclectic Japanese musician and composer produced dozens of film scores and albums, collaborating with artists across borders and genres.
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