SciFi Japan
    Source: VIZ Pictures Official Movie Site: Death Note Films: L Additional Material: NTV (Nippon Television Network) Special Thanks to Rieko Fuji SPOILER WARNING: This article contains plot details for a new movie. DEATH NOTE: L, change the WorLd Directed by HIDEO NAKATA Inspired by the best-selling Japanese Comic by TSUGUMI OHBA and TAKESHI OBATA Starring: KENICHI MATSUYAMA as “L / Ryuzaki” Genre: Suspense/Teen/J-POP 2008/ Japan/ 35mm/ 1.85:1 Dolby Digital SRD/129 min. Japanese Theatrical Release: February 9th, 2008 US Theatrical Release: April 29, 2009 ©2008 L Film Partners. ©2008 L Plot Produce. Introduction Opening at #1 in Japan, DEATH NOTE: L, change the WorLd is the exciting spin-off of the DEATH NOTE film series based on the best-selling supernatural action mystery manga written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata. With 26 million copies of the original manga sold worldwide,

    Norman England`s New Horror Short Now Available Online Author: James Ballard Official Website: FEED ME Special Thanks to Norman England, JR Lipartito and Ryoko Ohtaki Hot off the heels of his sci-fi satire THE iDol (2006) and last year’s documentary BRINGING GODZILLA DOWN TO SIZE, director Norman England returns with his latest endeavor FEED ME, a low-budget horror short released exclusively as an internet download. Filmed in English on location in Tokyo, Japan, FEED ME begins with Japanese student Mamiko and her University friends Jason, Freddy and Regan debating the merits of Japanese and American horror films. Attempting to prove the Japanese brand of horror the creepier of the two, Mamiko leads her trio of friends to a nearby field said to be the resting place of Misaru, the slain daughter of a shamed samurai. Although successful in resurrecting Misaru’s spirit, the group’s

    Nation`s Largest Anime and Manga Convention Announces Power Ranger Reunion and Panel Source: BAM! Marketing, Publicity & Promotions press release Official Site: anime-expo.org Special Thanks to Chase Wang Blast off with Anime Expo and members of the MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS dynasty as they storm into the Los Angeles Convention Center for one of the biggest Ranger Reunions to date at the nation`s largest anime and manga convention held July 2-5, 2009. More information can be found on the website anime-expo.org. Power Rangers in attendance include: · Karan Ashley: Aisha Campbell, the Yellow Power/Ninja Ranger (1994-96) · Steve Cardenas: Rocky DeSantos, the Red Power/Ninja Ranger (1994-96) · Walter Jones: Zack Taylor, the original Black Power Ranger (1993-94) · Catherine Sutherland: Kat Hillard, the Pink Power/Ninja Ranger (1995-96) · Johnny Yong Bosch: Adam Park, the Black Power/Ninja Ranger (1994-98) · Robert Axelrod: Lord Zedd (1993-96) In addition

    Anime and Asian Entertainment Site Launches Junji Ito Manga Based Film-Trilogy and Films of Horror Source: BAM! Marketing, Publicity & Promotions press release Special Thanks to Chase Wang Beginning April 16, the online media distributor Crunchyroll and the US branch of Japanese studio Kadokawa Pictures partner to bring hours of endless horror and fright to fans with the highly popular TOMIE Trilogy and the Japanese Horror Anthology which includes the titles HEARTBROKEN TRIP, NURARIHYON, PEONY LAMP, SHADOWS OF THE WRAITH, SHE-BEAR and YAMABA. More information can be found at crunchyroll.com/publisher/kadokawapicturesusa. "We are extremely excited and proud to have Kadokawa Pictures USA partner with Crunchyroll", states Crunchyroll CEO Kun Gao. "Kadokawa titles are well known to be of high quality and have a huge existing following. This partnership marks a meaningful addition to the Asian live action content available on Crunchyroll." Title Synopsis: TOMIE (1998)

    Who will See the Latest DEATH NOTE Film for Free on April 29? Source: VIZ Pictures Official Movie Site: Death Note Films: L Special Thanks to Rieko Fuji A SciFi JAPAN EXCLUSIVE We received a great response to SciFi Japan`s contest for free passes to see DEATH NOTE: L, change the WorLd. Our thanks to everyone who entered the contest, and to North American distributor VIZ Pictures for making this giveaway possible. The following randomly drawn entrants correctly answered all contest questions: Ernest Lin Amanda Moore Daniel Amaro Andrew Marrell Fernando Amador Congratulations to the winners! Each of you has won a pair of tickets for the subtitled DEATH NOTE: L, change the WorLd on April 29 at your selected theater. VIZ Pictures will be contacting you to confirm your attendance so keep checking your email. Have a great time!

    Japan Film Festival–Los Angeles 2009 Announces Full Program Line-up Source: The Japan America Media Association Special thanks to Andrea Prieto The Japan America Media Association presents the second annual Japan Film Festival–Los Angeles. The Japan Film Festival–Los Angeles 2009 will be held from Friday, April 10 – Sunday, April 19 in Santa Monica, Downtown Los Angeles, and Irvine. 22 feature films in total will be shown, including a number of both North American and Los Angeles Premieres. Dates and Venues April 10 (Fri) to 16 (Thu) Laemmle’s Monica 4-Plex (Santa Monica) 1332 2nd Street Santa Monica, 90401 April 17 (Fri) to 19 (Sun) Downtown Independent (Downtown Los Angeles) 251 S. Main Street Los Angeles, California 90012 April 25 (Sat) and 26 (Sun) Starplex Cinema (Irvine) 4626 Barranca Parkway, Irvine, CA 92604 Ticket Prices General Admission $10 Students / Seniors (60+) / Matinee (before 4:30pm) $7 (ID

    The Live Action Adaptation of the Hit Anime Comes to Britain this June Source: Pathé, The Associates Official Movie Site: Blood The Last Vampire movie (UK, coming soon), Last Blood (Japan) Special Thanks to Farhana Shaikh SciFi Japan has just received the new British quad poster design for BLOOD: THE LAST VAMPIRE. The highly anticipated feature film is a live-action adaptation of the award-winning 2000 anime from Production I.G. (GHOST IN THE SHELL, KILL BILL VOl. 1). BLOOD: THE LAST VAMPIRE will be released theatrically in the UK by Pathé on June 12 and in France on June 17. In Japan — where the film will be called LAST BLOOD (Rasuto Buraddo)— Asmik Ace Entertainment will open the picture on May 29. Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired North American rights, but have not announced a US release date. For a look at the UK

    The Korean Horror Remake is Invited Back to Its Native Country Author: Kim Song-ho Source: CJ Entertainment Official Site (US): uninvitedmovie.com DreamWorks Pictures` THE UNINVITED, the US remake of the Korean horror film A TALE OF TWO SISTERS (Janghwa, Hongryeon, 2003), will be released in its native country on April 9. CJ Entertainment will handle the distribution in Korea. CJ changed the original title to ANNA AND ALEX: A TALE OF TWO SISTERS (Anna wa Alex: Du jamae iyagi) for the Korean release. ANNA AND ALEX reflects the Korean title of the original film JANGHWA, HONGRYEON (which translates as "Rose Flower, Red Lotus"), which was taken from the Korean folk tale that inspired it. In the Korean film, the sisters were actually named Soo-yeon (Lotus, played by Moon Geun-young) and Soo-mi (Rose, played by Lim Su-jeong), respectively. The original film was financially and critically successful, attracting

    The Filmmakers Discuss Their Blockbuster Japanese Sci-Fi Movie Series Source: NTV (Nippon Television Network) Official Movie Site: 20th Boys Special Thanks to Asuka Kimura and Tzeling Huang SPOILER WARNING: This article contains plot details for a new movie. The following interviews are courtesy of Nippon Television Network. For more information and images from the movie please see SciFi Japan`s earlier report, 20TH CENTURY BOYS -CHAPTER 2- Production Notes. Etsushi Toyokawa as Otcho "15 years has passed between the first and second chapter of the mega saga of 20TH CENTURY BOYS. Our toughest challenge in bringing this saga to audiences was to transport them to 2015 in a convincing way. Everything conceivable was done by the director and actors to realize this. Special makeup was applied to age us by 15 years which also assisted us in our performances, although it was physically taxing to go through the

    VIZ Pictures and NCM Present a Special 2-Night Event for Latest Live-Action DEATH NOTE Film Source: VIZ Media, MediaLab press releases Official Movie Site: Death Note Films Special Thanks to Rieko Fuji, Evelyn Dubocq, and Erik Jansen Riveting Unwritten Chapter Of Edgy DEATH NOTE Psychological Crime Drama on the Big Screen on April 29th and 30th in More Than 400 Theatres Nationwide VIZ Pictures, an affiliate of VIZ Media, LLC that focuses on Japanese live-action film distribution, has announced that it will team with NCM Fathom to present DEATH NOTE: L, change the WorLd, a live-action two-night, multi-city event on April 29th and 30th at 7:30 pm local time. By popular demand, a subtitled version will be presented on April 29th and an English-dubbed version on April 30th with L’s voice played by Alessandro Juliani from the anime series. Tickets for this special

    A Behind the Scenes Look at the Second Part of NTV and Toho`s Sci-Fi Trilogy Source: NTV (Nippon Television Network) Official Movie Site: 20th Boys Special Thanks to Asuka Kimura and Tzeling Huang SPOILER WARNING: This article contains plot details for a new movie. Introduction 20th Century Boys, the legendary bestselling comic series, was originally serialized in Shogakukan`s Big Comic Spirits magazine from issue number 4 of 1999 to issue number 33 of 2007. Up to the present the manga has sold 250 million-plus copies and has been translated in 12 countries; Holland, Belgium, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, and Thailand. 20th Century Boys will also be released in the United States, beginning in February 2009. This complex tale spun by Naoki Urasawa had always been considered impossible for movie adaptation. The story spans over 50 years, crosses the

    An interview with KAMEN RIDER DRAGON KNIGHT Producer/Director Steve Wang Author: Bob Johnson Official Sites: kamenridertv.com, Kamen Rider Productions Special Thanks to Loren Portillo On the opposite side of every mirror on Earth lies the parallel dimension of Ventara - a world destroyed by the evil alien, General Xaviax. The Kamen Riders were warriors from Ventara who fought Xaviax with armor and abilities powered by their Advent Decks. Unfortunately, Xaviax stole the Advents Decks and defeated all the Riders but one. Kamen Rider Wing Knight is the sole surviving Kamen Rider – the only man who can stop Xaviax from destroying Earth the same way he destroyed Ventara. To defeat Wing Knight, Xaviax brought the Advent Decks to Earth and tricked ordinary citizens into becoming new Kamen Riders – super-powered soldiers who will carry out his evil plans. After his father’s mysterious disappearance,

    Press Notes and Photos from Shochiku for the Sequel to the 2007 Hit KITARO Source: Shochiku Co., Ltd. Official Movie Site: GeGeGe Special Thanks to Aki Harimoto and JM Shop SPOILER WARNING: This article contains plot details for a recent movie. A mystery of missing women, triggered by by a forbidden romance between a man and a yokai, concealed in a cursed song... Introduction Shigeru Mizuki`s ever-popular manga series GeGeGe no Kitaro was first adapted into a big-budget live action fantasy movie in the spring of 2007. KITARO was a smash hit in Japan, reaching 2.3 billion yen ($25 million US) at the box office. Last year, the main cast and crew reunited for the sequel KITARO AND THE MILLENNIUM CURSE (Gegege no Kitaro Sennen Noroi Uta)... but this time the story was aimed not only at children, but for older

    A Behind the Scenes Look at the Japan`s Newest and Biggest Disaster Movie Source: NTV (Nippon Television Network) Official Movie Site: 252 Special Thanks to Asuka Kimura and Tzeling Huang 252... The signal only known to the Hyper Rescue Squad It`s the Signal that Brings Hope It`s the Code that means... "There are Survivors" The largest mega-typhoon ever in history strikes Japan and destroys Tokyo!! 252: SIGNAL OF LIFE (252: Seizonsha Ari), the biggest disaster drama ever to strike the screens of Japan, will move everyone to tears. It`s a drama of extreme conditions, told from both sides of the rescue operation in the aftermath of a disaster; the survivors trapped in the collapsed subway station and the rescuers attempting to save them against the devastating force of nature. This spectacular catastrophe was shown for the first time at Cannes Film Market and attracted international attention.

    New Titles to Premiere at European Film Market in Berlin Source: Shochiku Co., Ltd. Special Thanks to Junko Kawaguchi The Japanese studio Shochiku Co., Ltd. has announced their key movie and anime titles for 2009. The fantasy film KAMOGAWA HORUMO ? BATTLE LEAGUE IN KYOTO and the animated feature MAI MAI MIRACLE were both recently completed and will premiere with screenings at the European Film Market in Berlin. The 2009 EFM runs from February 4-15. The studio`s summer and holiday schedule will include the big budget ninja movie KAMUI and OTOUTO, the latest film from director Yoji Yamada. This spring will see the animated TV series SENGOKU BASARA?SAMURAI KINGS, based on the Capcom video game. Shochiku will also screen their acclaimed 2008 drama DEPARTURES (Okuribito) at the European Film Market. The emotionally moving tale about a failed cellist who becomes an "Encoffineer" (a person who handles

    New York Comic Con, Subway Cinema, and Nikkatsu Present World Premiere of New Japanese Feature Film Source: Roger Bilheimer Associates press release Official Site: New York Comic Con New York Comic Con (NYCC) today revealed that maverick Japanese director Takashi Miike will appear at its 2009 event as a Guest of Honor and superstar actor and pop star Sho Sakurai will attend as a Special Guest. Miike and Sakurai will be at NYCC to speak about their upcoming feature film YATTERMAN—and then present the world premiere of the highly-anticipated movie, produced by Nikkatsu Studios and scheduled for release in Japan in early March. The 2009 New York Comic Con takes place February 6-8 in the Jacob Javits Center in New York, NY. Miike and Sakurai join Guests of Honor including Brian Michael Bendis, Carmine Infantino, Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, J. Michael Straczynski, and Bruce Timm and

    Let’s Rumble in the Jungle! Author: Aaron Cooper Source: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, Inc. Official Site: Jungle Fury It is hard to imagine that the Power Rangers franchise is 16 years old! There are really not a lot of kid’s shows out there that can lay that type of claim for constant original programming. Us old fogies at SciFi Japan realized we’ve been ignoring this particular area of Japanese-influenced action for a little too long, so I took a look at the first two volumes of POWER RANGERS JUNGLE FURY entitled “Into the Jungle” and “Way of the Master”, which comprise the first 12 episodes of the series as seen on Jetix through Toon Disney in 2008. Hardcore fans are well aware that the Power Rangers series was developed originally through a distribution deal with Saban Entertainment in which they took many

    Source: Official Korean press release Translations and Additional Material: Kim Song-ho Doosaboo Film, Inc. announced on January 14, 2009 (Korean date) that principal photography on the disaster film HAEUNDAE has finished. The company also revealed conceptual artwork from the film. HAEUNDAE tells the story of a massive tsunami striking the Korean beach area of Haeundae, a hugely popular tourist attraction and home of the world-famous Pusan International Film Festival. The film is a co-production between Doosaboo Film and Korean film distributor CJ Entertainment, with special effects being created by the Northern California-based movie company Polygon Entertainment. According to the official press release, the final photography took place on December 17, 2008, in San Francisco. It was a scene where the protagonist and his crew were attacked by a large wave while they were fishing in the Indian Ocean. The scene was based on a real-life 2004

    A Behind the Scenes Look at the Big Budget, Epic Sci-Fi Trilogy Source: NTV (Nippon Television Network) Official Movie Site: 20th Boys Special Thanks to Asuka Kimura and Tzeling Huang One of the biggest events in recent Japanese cinema is 20th CENTURY BOYS, the movie trilogy adapted from the internationally acclaimed sci-fi manga series. The three pictures were filmed together (as with THE LORD OF THE RINGS films) by a partnership of the Nippon Television Network, Shogakukan, Toho Co., VAP, Yomiuri Television, Dentsu, Yomiuri Shimbun, Cine Bazaar, Office Crescendo, and d-rights. Produced at a combined budget of 6 billion yen (approximately $60 million US), 20th CENTURY BOYS is the most expensive film project in Japanese history. The first 20th CENTURY BOYS was released in Japan by Toho on August 30, 2008. It premiered in the #2 spot behind Sony Pictures’ HANCOCK and moved

    After Several Years, the Much-Delayed WWII Kaiju Film Finally Surfaces in Japan Author: Keith Aiken Source: Gold View Co., Ltd., Option Inc., various Official Movie Site: REIGO Additional Material and Translations by Oki Miyano and Norman England Special Thanks to Show Tsuchida, Kiyo Joo, Ryo Ikeuchi, Daisuke Ishizuka, Sheldon Warnock, and Shinichi Wakasa A SciFi JAPAN EXCLUSIVE SPOILER WARNING: This article contains plot details and images from a new movie. In the midst of World War II, the battleship Yamato, the pride of the Japanese navy, joins with the main squadrons of the Combined Fleet in the South Seas. While lurking in the waters off the Truk Islands, the crew of the Yamato spot what is believed to be an enemy submarine and fire on it. The attack is a success, however what sinks to the sea bottom is not a

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