SciFi Japan

    Zombies run amuck in SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD, the sixth chapter in George Romero’s long-running DEAD series. The film is now in limited theatrical release in the US. Photo courtesy of Magnet Releasing. © 2009 Blank of the Dead Productions, Inc.

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    Author: Kyle Byrd Official Site: magnetreleasing.com/survivalofthedead SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD is the sixth entry in George A. Romero’s iconic LIVING DEAD series of films. The film centers around two feuding families on Plum Island, a tiny island off the coast of Delaware. The O’Flynn and Muldoon families have been feuding in the aftermath of the zombie plague that started in DIARY OF THE DEAD (2007). The O’Flynns led by Patrick O’Flynn (Kenneth Walsh) believe that all zombies should be seen as a threat and exterminated. The Muldoons, led by Seamus Muldoon (Richard Fitzpatrick) are clinging to their dead loved ones, letting them live as undead flesh eaters in hopes that a cure can be found to turn them back into their former selves. In the middle of all this lies a group of soldiers led by Sergeant Crockett (Alan Van Sprang), who was

    Death-bats and other strange creatures menace the survivors of a worldwide epidemic in the new sci-fi anime movie KING OF THORN. © 2010 Yuji Iwahara, Enterbrain, Inc./Ibara Committee

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    New Anime Film to Screen at JAPAN CUTS in New York City Source: Japan Society Official Site: Japan Cuts Official Movie Site: kingofthorn.net Special Thanks to Shannon Jowett and Tahmid Mannan The 2010 New York Asian Film Festival and Japan Cuts: Festival of Contemporary Japanese Cinema are now in full swing. Running from June 25-July 8 at the Lincoln Center`s Walter Reade Theater, July 1 - 16 at Japan Society, and midnights June 25/26 and July 2/3 at IFC Center, the combined festival is featuring dozens of films, international and world premiere screenings, Q&A`s with filmmakers, and other special events. Earlier this month, NYAFF and SciFi Japan held a contest for tickets to the world premiere of the daikaiju movie DEATH KAPPA. Now our friends at Japan Society are presenting SFJ readers with two chances for free passes to selected films playing at

    A heroic Kappa protects Kanako (Misato Hirata) from deranged Japanese imperialists. Photo courtesy of Fever Dreams. © 2010 Fever Dreams LLC

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    New Film from the Producers of THE MACHINE GIRL and TOKYO GORE POLICE Source: Media Blasters, Inc. and Fever Dreams LLC press release Special Thanks to Victor Bonacore “A double-barreled blast of 80`s VHS nostalgia, DEATH KAPPA is the ultimate lo-fi giant monster movie. Produced by the same evil geniuses who made MACHINE GIRL, DEATH TRANCE and TOKYO GORE POLICE.” - SubwayCinema.com Media Blasters, Inc. and Fever Dreams LLC. are proud to present the world premiere of Special Effects Master Tomoo Haraguchi`s new kaiju epic, DEATH KAPPA, at the 2010 New York Asian Film Festival at the IFC Center on June 25th. In the tradition of GODZILLA and GAMERA, DEATH KAPPA is a new, exciting chapter in classic old school Japanese monster mayhem! DEATH KAPPA is directed by Tomoo Haraguchi, the veteran creature creator of GAMERA: THE GUARDIAN OF THE UNIVERSE, GAMERA 2:

    The giant monsters Hangyolas and Death Kappa clash in the new movie DEATH KAPPA, making its world premiere this Friday at the 2010 New York Asian Film Festival. Photo courtesy of NYAFF. © 2010 Fever Dreams LLC

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    Who Will See Japan`s Latest Daikaiju Film for Free, Courtesy of NYAFF and SciFi Japan? Source: Subway Cinema/New York Asian Film Festival Special Thanks to Kristen Osborne and Grady Hendrix Thank you to everyone who entered New York Asian Film Festival and SciFi Japan`s contest for free passes to the world premiere of the new daikaiju movie DEATH KAPPA. The screening takes place at the IFC Center on the night of Friday, June 25 at 12:15 AM. The IFC Center is located at 323 Sixth Avenue (between 3rd and 4th Streets), New York, NY 10014. The following randomly drawn entrants correctly answered the contest question: Vincenzo Averello Carlotta Bombard Congratulations to the winners! Each of you has won a pair of tickets to see the feature film DEATH KAPPA. Your passes will be available "Will Call" at the IFC Center box office on

    The giant monster Hangyolas rampages through the streets of Yokohama like he owns the place in DEATH KAPPA. Japan`s latest daikaiju movie will be making its world premiere at the 2010 New York Asian Film Festival. Photo courtesy of NYAFF. © 2010 Fever Dreams

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    See the Latest Japanese Giant Monster Movie for Free, Courtesy of NYAFF and SciFi Japan Source: Subway Cinema/New York Asian Film Festival Special Thanks to Kristen Osborne and Grady Hendrix Next week sees the launch of the 2010 New York Asian Film Festival and Japan Cuts: Festival of Contemporary Japanese Cinema. Running from June 25-July 8 at the Lincoln Center`s Walter Reade Theater, July 1 - 16 at Japan Society, and midnights June 25/26 and July 2/3 at IFC Center, the combined festival will feature dozens of films, international and world premiere screenings, Q&A`s with filmmakers, and other special events. Last year`s NYAFF daikaiju double feature of MONSTER X STRIKES BACK and GEHARHA also included an exclusive video message from director and FX makeup great Tomoo Haraguchi (the 90s Gamera trilogy, GAMERA THE BRAVE, SAKUYA, UZUMAKI, KIBAKICHI, REIGO: THE DEEP-SEA MONSTER VS THE

    HAEUNDAE director/producer/co-writer Youn Je-kyun will next make the 3D monster movie SECTOR 7. Photo courtesy of CJ Entertainment. © 2009 JK Film / CJ Entertainment

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    Author: Kim Song-ho Source: Live Action Korea, The Seoul Economy Newspaper On May 9th, CJ Entertainment officially confirmed financing for SECTOR 7 (Je chil gwanggu, aka MINING AREA 7), a 3D monster movie that will be directed and produced by Youn Je-kyun. CJ reportedly was very impressed by a creature effects demo shown at a recent presentation and expects the film will be successful in the wake of the 3D boom caused by James Cameron`s mega-blockbuster AVATAR (2009). Fiming is scheduled to begin next month. The amount of money CJ Entertainment will invest is expected to be 10 billion Korean won (about 8.67 million USD). CJ previously financed, co-produced and distributed Youn`s 2009 disaster film HAEUNDAE with great success. HAEUNDAE attracted 11.3 million admissions last year to top the domestic box office and become the 4th highest-grossing Korean film of all-time. SECTOR 7 is about a

    Advertisement for the VINTAGE MONSTERS FESTIVAL. © 2010 Andreas Schiefler and Ralf Lorenz

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    Three Days of Fantasy, Sci-Fi and Horror Movies Official Site: http://www.vintagemonsters.de/festival.php (Germany) Special Thanks to Ralf Lorenz Classic monsters and heroes return to the big screen in Germany with the VINTAGE MONSTERS FESTIVAL, running May 7-9, 2010 in Hamburg. Event organizers Ralf Lorenz (GUALAGON, Pranke: Das Filmmagazin für Monsterfreaks) and Andreas Schiefler (Vintage Movie Posters) will be screening 35mm prints of the German language versions of nine fan favorites at the Metropolis Kino, Steindamm 54, 20099 Hamburg, Germany. The following movie list was provided by Ralf Lorenz... Friday, 7th May 2010 -CONAN THE BARBARIAN (1982): The festival starts cine-flexing with two hours of pectoral muscles, swordplay and swirling heads. -GODZILLA VS GIGAN (1972): Our monstrous friends from Japan come over to floor the entire metropolis. This Trash-Classic is one of the most colorful and funniest of the Godzilla series and offers four monsters for the price

    Scorpions attack! Advertisement for the new CLASH OF THE TITANS. ©2010 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

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    Remake of Ray Harryhausen Classic Opens In Theatres Friday, April 2 Source: Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Official Website: clash-of-the-titans SPOILER WARNING: This article contains plot details for a new movie. In "Clash of the Titans," the ultimate struggle for power pits men against kings and kings against gods. But the war between the gods themselves could destroy the world. Born of a god but raised as a man, Perseus (Sam Worthington) is helpless to save his family from Hades (Ralph Fiennes), vengeful god of the underworld. With nothing left to lose, Perseus volunteers to lead a dangerous mission to defeat Hades before he can seize power from Zeus (Liam Neeson) and unleash hell on earth. Perseus sets off on a perilous journey deep into forbidden worlds, leading a daring band of warriors, including Draco (Mads Mikkelsen), an experienced soldier who encourages the defiant Perseus to make

    Perseus (Sam Worthington) seeks information from the devious and deformed oracles the Stygian Witches in Warner Bros. Pictures` and Legendary Pictures` CLASH OF THE TITANS, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures. © 2010 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

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    Author: Kim Song-ho Official Website: clash-of-the-titans CLASH OF THE TITANS is a remake of the 1981 film of the same name. The original film, based on the Greek mythology about the adventures of Perseus, was directed by Desmond Davis and featured stop-motion visual effects by the legendary technician Ray Harryhausen. It was the last film in which Harryhausen produced the visual FX, and many of the fantastic creatures in this film, especially Kraken, Medusa and Pegasus, are still lovingly-remembered by fans. The 2010 remake was co-produced by Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures which brought us such international hits like BATMAN BEGINS, THE DARK KNIGHT, 300, THE HANGOVER and WATCHMEN (the companies also recently announced another big property to remake - Godzilla. See the previous SciFi Japan coverage). Louis Leterrier of THE TRANSPORTER, UNLEASHED and THE INCREDIBLE HULK fame, directed. This new take on

    Japan`s yokai as they appeared in the classic YOKAI MONSTERS trilogy made by Daiei Motion Picture Company in the 1960s. © 1968 Kadokawa Pictures, Inc.

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    Authors: Melanie Bourgeois and Dan Ross Source: VIZ Media Special Thanks to Erik Jansen From October 23rd though November 6th, Viz Media and the New People Center in San Francisco`s Japantown hosted a spooky gallery of Japanese goblins known as yokai. The "Yokai University: San Francisco Campus" exhibit located in the lobby of Viz Cinema showcased original woodblock prints from classic Ukio-e master Hokusai to more contemporary manga artist Shigeru Mizuki, creator of GeGeGe No Kitaro. Along with the prints were video reels of yokai street parades and in glass cases, many classic and modern netsuke and toys. All in all a colorful, fun and educational display. On October 31st at Viz Cinema, Matt Alt, founder of AltJapan and co-writer of the book Yokai Attack!: The Japanese Monster Survival Guide, gave a free presentation on what yokai are all about. My wife Melanie

    Kitaro and his yokai friends appear in promotional art for the free

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    NEW PEOPLE Yokai Event Celebrates the Halloween spirit Japanese style! Source: VIZ Media, MediaLab press releases Official Site: NewPeopleWorld.com Special Thanks to Erik Jansen Did you know that the Japanese yokai (immortal spirits) are attending their fall semester in San Francisco? NEW PEOPLE, the new pop culture center in San Francisco`s Japantown, delivers Halloween— Japanese style— as it opens "Yokai University: San Francisco Campus", a fun and spooky free exhibition of demons, monsters and other creepy creatures running October 23rd through November 6th at the VIZ Cinema lobby. To complement the exhibit, VIZ Cinema will host a special premiere of the new yokai combat action-comedy film BATTLE LEAGUE HORUMO (Kamogawa Horumo, 2009). Yokai refers to a class of preternatural creatures from Japanese folklore that range from the evil Oni (ogre) to the mischievous Kitsune (fox) or Yuki-onna (snow woman). All possess some sort of spiritual or

    EVANGELION: 1.0 YOU ARE (NOT) ALONE promotional art courtesy of FUNimation Entertainment. © 2007 Khara

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    Source: FUNimation Entertainment, NTV (Nippon Television Network) Official Movie Site: Evangelion 1.0 (US), evangelion.co.jp (Japan) Special Thanks to Jackie Smith On October 4, 1995, the animated TV series NEON GENESIS EVANGELION (Shin Seiki Evangelion) premiered on the Japanese station TV Tokyo. Produced by the animation studio Gainax Co., Ltd., EVANGELION started slowly in the ratings but soon became a international hit that spun off successful videos, books, and toys as well as two feature films; EVANGELION: DEATH AND REBIRTH (Shin Seiki Evangelion Gekiji-ban: Shito Shinsei, 1997) and THE END OF EVANGELION (Shin Seiki Evangelion Gekijo-ban: Air/Magokoro wo, Kimi ni, 1997). A decade later, the franchise returned to theaters with EVANGELION: 1.0 YOU ARE (NOT) ALONE (Evangelion Shin Gekijoban: Jo), the first of four new movies labeled the "Rebuild of Evangelion" (Evangelion Shin Gekijoban) series. The movie immediately shot to the top of the Japanese box office,

    CG test shot of the original Gwoemul created by Macrograph Co., the Korean FX studio that will be handling THE HOST 2. © 2009 Chungeorahm Film, Macrograph Co., Digital Actor Research Team of Electronics and Telecommunication Research Institute, KAIST Graduate School of Culture Technology

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    Korean Ministry of Culture Backs Sequel to Award-Winning International Horror Hit Author: Kim Song-ho Source: Korea Creative Content Agency, Yonhap News, Chosun Ilbo, Joynews 24 The Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA), a public institution which oversees the country’s cultural and entertainment industries, announced on September 1 (Korean date) that it will support technical development of the upcoming monster movie THE HOST 2 (Gwoemul 2). The movie was chosen as the winner of `2009 Global Project Technical Development Support Enterprise`, which is part of a research and development project by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Korea. The Ministry of Culture established the Korea Creative Content Agency in May 2009 by combining several existing independent organizations including the Korea Culture and Content Agency, the Culture Contents Center, the Game Industry Agency, the IT Industry Promotion Agency, and the Korea Broadcasting Institute. The newly-formed agency is designed

    Plans for a sequel to the 2006 international hit THE HOST took a major step forward this week. © 2006 Chungeorahm Film

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    Singapore Company Funds Upcoming Korean Monster Sequel Author: Kim Song-ho Source: Chungeorahm Film official press release Chungeorahm Film, the company behind the Korean monster hit THE HOST (Gwoemul, 2006), has announced that Singaporean film company Boku Films will invest 5 million USD for the upcoming sequel, THE HOST 2 (Gwoemul 2). A signing ceremony for the investment was held on July 21 (Korean date) in Puchon, where the 13th Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival is currently transpiring (the festival takes place from July 16 to 26). Chungeorahm Film CEO and THE HOST 2 producer Choi Yong-bae, Boku Film CEO Kelvin Tong and director of the Singapore Film Commission Kenneth Tan attended the signing ceremony. Tan is also in charge of MDA (Media Development Authority), by which Boku Films could invest 50% of the film`s whole production cost. The amount of 5 million USD

    GEHARHA: THE DARK AND LONG HAIR MONSTER is one of three daikaiju films showing at Fantasia this Sunday. © 2009 NHK `Geharha` Project.

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    MOTHRA, GEHARHA, BRINGING GODZILLA DOWN TO SIZE Triple Feature in Montreal Authors: André Dubois and Ed Godziszewski Source: 2009 Fantasia Festival The Fantasia International Film Festival, taking place now through July 29th in Montreal, Canada, will include a Japanese monster triple feature this upcoming Sunday. CLASSIC DAIKAIJU SPECIAL 10:00 am July 26th, 2009 • Hall Theatre BRINGING GODZILLA DOWN TO SIZE: THE ART OF JAPANESE SPECIAL EFFECTS Canadian Premiere USA 2008 • 69 min • video • English/Japanese with English subtitles Director: Norman England Screenplay: Ed Godziszewski, Steve Ryfle Cast: Alex Cox, Yasuyuki Inoue, Tsutomu Kitagawa, Hiroshi Koizumi, Haruo Nakajima Producers: Ed Godziszewski, Steve Ryfle Distributor: Classic Media In the entire history of motion pictures, Japan`s giant radioactive reptile is the only monster to sustain a film franchise spanning more than 50 years while enjoying international popularity. The unique appeal of

    Guilala— the X from Outer Space— returns in MONSTER X STRIKES BACK: ATTACK THE G8 SUMMIT. © 2008 Guilala Production Committee

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    Who Will See Two New Daikaiju Films for Free, Courtesy of NYAFF and SciFi Japan? Source: Subway Cinema/New York Asian Film Festival Special Thanks to Toyah Attwell and Grady Hendrix Thank you to everyone who entered New York Asian Film Festival and SciFi Japan`s contest for free passes to MONSTER X STRIKES BACK: ATTACK THE G8 SUMMIT! and GEHARHA: THE DARK AND LONG HAIR MONSTER. The screening takes place at the IFC Center on Sunday, June 28 at 11:00am. The IFC Center is located at 333 East 47th Street (between 1st and 2nd Avenues), New York, NY 10014. The following randomly drawn entrants correctly answered all contest questions: Bill Pierson Andrew Wong William D`Annucci Congratulations to the winners! Each of you has won a pair of tickets to see the feature film MONSTER X STRIKES BACK, the short film GEHARHA, and the DEATH KAPPA sneak preview. Your

    The New York Asian Film Festival is offering SciFi Japan readers a chance for free tickets to the premiere screenings of two new Japanese giant monster movies! MONSTER X STRIKES BACK: ATTACK THE G8 SUMMIT! photo courtesy of Shochiku Co., Ltd. © 2008 Guilala Production Committee. GEHARHA: THE DARK AND LONG HAIR MONSTER photo courtesy of NYAFF. © 2009 NHK `Geharha` Project.

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    See a Japanese Monster Double-Feature for Free, Courtesy of NYAFF and SciFi Japan Source: Subway Cinema/New York Asian Film Festival Special Thanks to Toyah Attwell and Grady Hendrix Next week sees the launch of the 2009 New York Asian Film Festival and Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Films. Running from June 19-July 12 at the IFC Center (323 Sixth Avenue, at West 4th Street) and from July 1 - 5 at Japan Society (333 East 47th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues) in New York City, the combined festival will feature more than fifty movies, Q&A`s with filmmakers, and special events. The lineup also includes two new Japanese giant monster movies; MONSTER X STRIKES BACK: ATTACK THE G8 SUMMIT! and the short GEHARHA: THE DARK AND LONG HAIR MONSTER. The films will be shown as a double feature at the IFC Center on Friday, June 19

    The Korean monster hit THE HOST will be remade for American audiences by Universal Pictures. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures. © 2006 Chungeorahm Film

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    After Two Years, Producers, Director, and Screenwriter Named for English Language Adaptation Source: Variety, Korean news sources, various Special Thanks to Kim Song-ho (Loomis) By 2004, South Korean movie director Bong Joon-ho had achieved the critical and commercial success most filmmakers struggle their whole career for. His second film, the crime drama MEMORIES OF MURDER (Salinui Chueok, 2003), topped the Korean box office in 2003 and won Best Movie, Best Director, and Best Actor at that year’s Grand Bell Awards, the Korean equivalent of the Academy Awards. But when he announced his next project would be a monster movie called THE HOST (Gwoemul) the reaction was decidedly mixed. Monsters had never been a popular genre in Korea. Prior to THE HOST, only a handful of films such as YONGARY, MONSTER FROM THE DEEP (Daekoesu Yonggary, 1967), A*P*E (King Kongui Daeyeokseub, 1976), and Shim

    The cast and crew will be on hand for screenings of the cult favorite THE LOST SKELETON OF CADAVRA and the new sequel THE LOST SKELETON RETURNS AGAIN. THE LOST SKELETON OF CADAVRA © 2003 TriStar Pictures, Inc. THE LOST SKELETON RETURNS AGAIN © 2008 Bantam Street

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    THE LOST SKELETON OF CADAVRA and the All-New Sequel THE LOST SKELETON RETURNS AGAIN Play the Egyptian Theatre Official Movie Website: THE LOST SKELETON RETURNS AGAIN Event Website: American Cinematheque Special Thanks to Michael Schlesinger THE LOST SKELETON OF CADAVRA was an affectionate, meticulous and hilarious re-creation of the notoriously cheap and cheesy black and white sci-fi/horror movies of the mid-1950s... those films quickly made in the wilds of Bronson Canyon for a few thousand bucks. Writer/Director Larry Blamire headed a cast including Fay Masterson (THE QUICK AND THE DEAD, EYES WIDE SHUT), Andrew Parks (DONNIE BRASCO), Brian Howe (CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, DEJA VU) and Jennifer Blaire (THE MAJESTIC) as a gaggle of beloved stereotypes in pursuit of "that rarest of all radioactive elements - atmosphereum." THE LOST SKELETON OF CADAVRA premiered at the 2001 Mill Valley Film Festival in California.

    The legendary savior Take-Majin battles the space monster Guilala in the new kaiju comedy MONSTER X STRIKES BACK/ ATTACK THE G8 SUMMIT! Photo courtesy of Shochiku Co., Ltd. and 65th Venice International Film Festival. © 2008 Guilala Production Committee

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    Author: Ed Godziszewski Official Movie Site: MONSTER X STRIKES BACK SPOILER WARNING: This article contains plot details for a new movie. Every now and then, a film comes along that helps to redefine a genre, offering a fresh take on a familiar subject. Unfortunately, MONSTER X STRIKES BACK/ ATTACK THE G8 SUMMIT! (Girara no Gyakushu / Samitto Kiki Ippatsu!) is not that film, although you get the idea that the director thinks that is what he has done. Going into this film, I knew what to expect…an off-the-wall comedy made by Minoru Kawasaki, one of Japan’s most eccentric filmmakers who specializes in offbeat concepts, starring a giant monster who was a less than successful (box office) one-shot character from the monster boom of 1967. When the director’s resume boasts titles like EXECUTIVE KOALA and THE CALAMARI WRESTLER, you know to expect more lowbrow

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