Author: Oki Miyano and Keith Aiken
Source: NTV, Sports Hochi
On June 26 at 9:00pm, Japan’s Nippon Television Network will air a 2 hr drama entitled BATTLE AGAINST DEPRESSION- THE STORY OF THE TAKASHIMA FAMILY: SIX YEARS OF LOVE AND FIGHTING. The television movie chronicles actor Tadao Takashima’s (KING KONG VS GODZILLA, ATRAGON, FRANKENSTEIN CONQUERS THE WORLD) long struggle with depression.
Continued…
Toho Character Actor has Died of Stomach Cancer
Author: Oki Miyano and Keith Aiken
Toho fans have lost another piece of the Golden Age with the passing of actress Toki Shiozawa. While not well known in the west, Ms Shiozawa acted in nearly a hundred films and TV shows between 1951 and 1988, including THE HUMAN VAPOR (Gasu Ningen Daiichigo, 1960), MONSTER ZERO (Kaiju Daisenso, a.k.a. INVASION OF ASTRO-MONSTER, 1965), DODES’KADEN (1970), and LUPIN THE 3RD: STRANGE PSYCHOKINETIC STRATEGY (Rupan Sansei: Nenrikichan Sakusen, 1974). She also had a recurring role in Toho’s first super-hero television series, RAINBOWMAN (Ai no Senshi Reinboman, 1972).
Continued…
Source: Magnolia Home Entertainment
Official Site: The Host Movie
Following up on last week’s news on the Region 1 DVD release of THE HOST, Magnolia Home Entertainment has provided a press release and an early look at the packaging for the Standard, 2-Disc Collector’s Edition, Blu-Ray, and HD DVD versions. You can find all the latest info here on SciFi Japan.
THE HOST goes on sale July 24.
Get on. Get dead.
Source: ADV Films
Nana thought her life was scary enough. Her high school graduation is looming, her mother is in the hospital and her sister Noriko is in a constant need of attention. But, the train ride between all her responsibilities will prove to be the most horrifying part of her day. Somewhere, deep underground in the tunnel near Mizunahsi Station, a dark spirit yearns for revenge. One by one, people begin to mysteriously disappear. Eventually, Nana’s own sister falls prey to the wicked tracks. The only clue Noriko has left is the commuter pass that she had picked up on the train before disappearing, and the dark shadow that followed her in the surveillance camera. Together with her friend Kanae, Nana must now take one more trip into the darkness and confront the sinister force haunting below the depths.
-Plot synopsis for GHOST TRAIN
On July 17, the Shochiku live-action horror film GHOST TRAIN (Otoshimono, 2006) is coming to Region 1 DVD from ADV Films. Fans of J-Horror titles like JU-ON: THE GRUDGE and RING will feel right at home with this frightening and surreal tale which is based on the urban legend of the haunted train.
Continued…
The original GODZILLA wins a 2007 Saturn Award
Source: The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films
On May 10, Classic Media’s GOJIRA won “Best DVD Classic Film Release” at the 33rd Annual Saturn Awards in Universal City, CA. Created by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films in Los Angeles, the Saturn Awards are the major award show for genre releases.
SUPERMAN RETURNS was the event’s big winner, taking home “Best Fantasy Film”, “Best Actor” for Brandon Routh, and a “Best Director” award for Bryan Singer. Other major awards went to CHILDREN OF MEN, CARS, PAN’S LABYRINTH, THE DESCENT, and CASINO ROYALE. PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST won for “Best Special Effects”.
Other DVD winners include the documentary THE SCI FI BOYS (“Best DVD Release”), SUPERMAN II: THE RICHARD DONNER CUT (“Best DVD Special Edition Release”), and JAMES BOND ULTIMATE EDITION (“Best DVD Collection”). The complete list of winners can be found on the Academy website.
GOJIRA was earlier named “Best DVD of 2006” in the 5th Annual Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards, and one of the “Top 10 DVDs of 2006” by The Digital Bits.
Author: Bob Johnson
Official Site: Bay Area Film Events
Join Bay Area Film Events on Memorial Day Weekend (May 26-28, 2007) for a 007 Weekend to Thrill! Celebrate 2-007 with James Bond at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco, featuring 7’ 2” tall Richard Kiel, “Jaws” from THE SPY WHO LOVED ME and MOONRAKER. Richard Kiel is courtesy of Antiquities of California at Pier 39.
Bay Area Film Events brings classic Bond films back to the big screen where these movies are meant to be seen. The Hollywood blockbusters will be around all summer, but there’s only one chance to catch some of the most explosive action ever to hit the screen!
In addition to movies and our special guest, attendees will have a chance to win James Bond collectibles through daily door prizes and a special MI6 raffle. The Stunt People return to the Castro stage to thrill the audience with a one of a kind 007 stunt show and to celebrate the Caribbean locales of DR. NO, we present live calypso music by Apocalypso Now.
And of course, the best of Bond, including the movies DR. NO, FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, GOLDFINGER, THUNDERBALL, ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE and THE SPY WHO LOVED ME plus rare shorts and trailers.
Continued…
Source: Stone Bridge Press
Since 1989, Stone Bridge Press in Albany CA has published a wide range of books covering Japanese culture, entertainment, language, literature, and manga such as The Anime Encyclopedia, Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation, Asia Shock, and The Midnight Eye Guide to New Japanese Film. Their 2007 schedule features several titles that should be of interest to movie and anime fans.
For info on the upcoming books The Art of Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles; The Films of Kiyoshi Kurosawa: Master of Fear; Anime Classics ZETTAI! 100 Must-See Japanese Animation Masterpieces; The Astro Boy Essays: Osamu Tezuka, Mighty Atom, and the Manga-Anime Revolution; and A Critical Dictionary of Japanese Film Directors: From the Silent Era to the Present Day please go here.
Standard and 2-Disc Collector’s Editions go on sale July 24
Source: Magnolia Pictures
Official Site: The Host Movie
Following a limited stateside theatrical run, the international hit THE HOST will arrive on Region 1 DVD this July 24. Distributor Magnolia Home Entertainment will be releasing the film in a Standard Edition, a 2-Disc Collector’s Edition, and both Blu-Ray and HD DVDs.
The Standard DVD comes with the movie (running time:119 minutes), presented in the original 2.35:1 aspect ratio. Audio options include the original Korean (with English subtitles) and a new English dub track, both in 5.1 Dolby Digital. The extras are deleted scenes and a feature length audio commentary with Director Bong Joon-ho. The suggested retail price is $ 26.98.
For a mere $3.00 more, the 2-Disc Collector’s Edition includes everything from the Standard version plus a second DVD of supplemental material. Extras include the documentary “The Making of THE HOST with Director Bong Joon-ho”; featurettes on Designing the Creature, Puppet Animatronics, Memories of the Sewer, Film Departments, Special Effects and Sound Effects, and Training the Actors; the actor audition tapes; film storyboards; a gag reel; and more. SRP: $29.98.
THE HOST will also be released on Blu-Ray and HD DVD. Extra features (if any) tba. The SRP is $34.98 each.
Additional information can be found on THE HOST sales sheet from Magnolia Home Ent.
Author: Keith Aiken
Source: Bill Kerner and Tom Tvrdik
Official Site: Far East Monsters Ltd.
This summer, fans and collectors can look forward to a brand-new wave of Godzilla products. The Cleveland, Ohio-based company Far East Monsters Ltd. has signed an agreement with Toho to produce a line of officially licensed collectibles starring the King of the Monsters and his many kaiju co-stars.
Continued…
Sources: Broadcasting & Cable Magazine, Anime News Network
Official Site: Sci Fi Channel Wire
U.S. cable network Sci Fi Channel has announced its new Ani-Monday block for the Monday 11pm – 1am weekly timeslot, featuring anime films, series and shorts licensed from Manga Entertainment Inc., a Starz Media Company. SFC’s first real venture into the highly competitive late night block debuts on June 11th with the exclusive U.S. premiere of GHOST IN THE SHELL – SOLID STATE SOCIETY (Koukaku Kidoutai: Solid State Society, aka GHOST IN THE SHELL: STAND ALONE COMPLEX – SOLID STATE SOCIETY, 2006). This surprise premiere is notable considering that this TV movie was only first shown on SKYPerfecTV! network in Japan last September, and is scheduled for DVD release in the States on July 3rd.
Other titles planned to be shown in the block, also from Manga/Starz Media, are NINJA SCROLL, BLOOD: THE LAST VAMPIRE, BLACK JACK: THE MOVIE, and series such as READ OR DIE, STREET FIGHTER II V, NOEIN, TOKKO and MACROSS PLUS. Keep an eye on the Schedulebot section of the SFC website for up-to-date listings.
Longtime Sci Fi Channel viewers will recall that this is not SFC’s first foray into anime programming. During the 90s, SFC started each Saturday broadcast day with its 2 hour Saturday Anime program block, featuring films and OVA features, often heavily edited. Also notable, of course, is that SFC’s new Ani-Monday block will face off against rival Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim block which regularly includes anime, including the two GHOST IN THE SHELL: STAND ALONE COMPLEX series from which SOLID STATE SOCIETY spun-off!
1970s sex and violence trilogy comes to DVD
Author: Keith Aiken
Source: Media Blasters, Inc.
Special Thanks to Richard York, Oki Miyano, and Anthony Romero
Half-breed Rica was born under a very bad sign. Her mother was raped by American GIs and Rica was the result. Rica herself was raped by Hirose, one of her mother’s johns, at an early age. Scarred for life from Day One, Rica was practically raised with a knife in her hand and hate in her heart for all men!
Soon Rica is mixed up in a world of trouble, running with gangs, scrapping with hoodlums and excelling in the ways of the underworld. But no matter how many times she ends up in jail or gets manhandled by thugs, nothing can stand in the way of her ultimate goal: Revenge! –Plot synopsis for RICA
Media Blasters has acquired rights to Toho’s RICA series, and will be bringing all three films to DVD. The first movie, RICA (Konketsuji Rika, aka RIKA THE MIXED-BLOOD GIRL, 1972), will go on sale August 14, with street dates for RICA: LONELY WANDERER (Konketsuji Rika: Hitoriyuku Sasuraitabi, 1973) and RICA: JUVENILE’S LULLABY (Konketsuji Rika: Hamagure Komoriuta, 1973) to be announced.
Continued…
ULTRA SEVEN actor takes own life
Author: Oki Miyano with Keith Aiken
Source: Sponichi Annex
Former actor Shinsuke Achiha has died of an apparent suicide. He was 67 years old.
In 1967, Achiha starred in Tsuburaya Productions’ classic television series ULTRA SEVEN (Urutora Sebun). He played Soga, the expert marksman of the Ultra Garrison who each week fought alongside Ultra Seven and his alter ego Dan Moroboshi (Koji Moritsugu).
Continued…
Source: Super7 Newsletter
Official Site: Vinyl Toy Network
The Vinyl Toy Network is a collaboration of vendors, manufacturers and artists bringing the public the latest and greatest in vinyl toys. The VTN Spring 2007 Show is being held Sunday, May 6th from 10:00am – 5:30pm at the Pasadena Convention Center. Admission is free and open to the public, and the first 100 attendees will receive a free gift bag.
Amongst the vendors at the show will be Super7, who will be releasing two exclusive new toys including a new 16″ Super7 x Marusan Giant Clear Green Godzilla, limited to 50 pieces! For directions to the show, information on guests and other vendors, check out the Vinyl Toy Network site and Super7′s online store.
Source: Sony Pictures
Official Site: Spider-Man 3
The following production notes were created by Columbia Pictures for the upcoming theatrical release of SPIDER-MAN 3. The text is © 2007 Columbia Pictures. MARVEL, and all Marvel characters including the Spider-Man, Sandman and Venom characters are © 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.
Columbia Pictures’ SPIDER-MAN 3 reunites the cast and filmmakers from the first two blockbuster adventures for a web of excitement that will transport worldwide audiences to thrilling new heights on May 4, 2007.
In SPIDER-MAN 3, based on the legendary Marvel Comics series, Peter Parker has finally managed to strike a balance between his devotion to M.J. and his duties as a superhero. But there is a storm brewing on the horizon. When his Spider-Man suit suddenly changes, turning jet-black and enhancing his powers, it transforms Peter as well. Under the influence of the suit, Peter becomes prideful and overconfident and he begins to neglect the ones he cares about the most. As two of the most-feared villains yet, Sandman and Venom, gather unparalleled power and a thirst for retribution, Peter’s greatest battle is the one within himself. Spider-Man will need to rediscover the compassion that makes him who he is: a hero.
Continued…
UPDATED WITH PHOTOS FROM COLUMBIA PICTURES
© 2006-2011 SciFi Japan
Site Development and Maintenance by James Ballard. Site Design by Humuhumu.
SciFi Japan RSS Feed.
