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InMovie News

Wadjda Trailer

July 10, 2013By


Check out the trailer for Wadjda, the first film from Saudi Arabia made by a female director, Haifaa Al-Mansour. It’s getting a limited release in the States, but before that it has been winning tons of awards.

Director Haifaa Al-Mansour had trouble even making the film due to the strict laws in Saudi Arabia about women even talking to men.

She had to stay inside a specially customized van equipped with monitors and communication devices to work on scenes shot in the streets of the capital Riyadh. Otherwise, she could have faced problems with authorities for being a woman on the street without a male guardian.

Saudi Arabia has no theaters and it is unlikely the film will even be shown in its home country. Theaters were banned in the 1980s to appeal to religious conservatives, and the last real film showing I can find information on was 2009 with the film Menahi. Most Saudi filmmakers are forced to switch to internet distribution such as YouTube, or DVDs. On that note, Al-Mansour is not even allowed to enter movie rental stores in Saudi Arabia because she’s a woman, and has to hand her driver a list of films to go inside to rent.

WADJDA is a story of a young Saudi girl whose burning desire for a bicycle leads her into bold
defiance of her society’s restrictive codes of gender and religion.

Every day Wadjda passes a toy store window showing a beautiful green bicycle. Although it is forbidden for girls to ride bicycles, Wadjda concocts a plan to earn enough money to afford the bike by secretly selling ‘illicit products’ in her schoolyard. At first, Wadjda’s mother is too preoccupied with convincing her husband not to take a second wife to realize what’s going on.

Wadjda’s plans are soon exposed, leaving her with only one last chance to make the money she needs; a Koran recital competition with a big cash prize. With her slyness and cunning mind, Wadjda tries to find a way to rise above her fellow competitors to make her most cherished dream come true… the green bicycle.

Wadjda

InMovie News

The Japan Film Festival of San Francisco (JFFSF) is coming!

July 3, 2013By

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu Kawaii

Watch movies or the shark gets you!


The brand new Japan Film Festival of San Francisco will come to the city Saturday July 27th through Sunday August 4th at the New People Cinema in J-town. The JFFSF is also part of the 2013 J-POP Summit Festival, which is July 27th and 28th in Japantown, a street fair featuring all sorts of activities.

The JFFSF will feature live action and anime screenings, including several West Coast and San Francisco premiers. I copied the schedule below for the live action films, but here is a summary in case you want a quick hit:

Notable live-action premieres include:

• Miwa Nishikawa’s Dreams for Sale
• Sakuran director Mika Ninagawa’s Helter Skelter
• Sion Sono’s award-winning masterpiece, Himizu
• “Zero Zen” Architect/author Kyohei Sakaguchi’s documentary, How To Build a Mobile House
• Director Takashi Miike’s Lesson of the Evil
• Director Shinsuke Sato’s Library Wars
• Actor Kazunari Ninomiya’s Platinum Data
• The samurai adventure of Rurouni Kenshin
• Space Battleship Yamato, based on one of Japan’s greatest anime properties (known in the U.S. as Star Blazers)

And, yes, films will be in Japanese with English subtitles!

Also semi-related is Kyary Pamyu Pamyu having a free concert in Union Square in San Francisco on Sunday, July 28th from 2:00pm-4:00pm. Yes, FREE!

The 2013 J-POP SUMMIT FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES THE LAUNCH OF THE FIRST ANNUAL JAPAN FILM FESTIVAL OF SAN FRANCISCO AT NEW PEOPLE CINEMA

Exclusive Premieres Include Dreams For Sale, Himuzu, Lesson Of The Evil, Library Wars, Platinum Data, Space Battleship Yamato And More At First-Ever NorCal/Bay Area Dedicated Japanese Film Celebration; Festival Will Welcome Library Wars Director Shinsuke Sato As Guest of Honor

San Francisco, CA, May 23, 2013 – The 2013 J-POP Summit Festival, the popular yearly San Francisco summertime Japanese Pop Culture celebration, has announced the launch of the Japan Film Festival of San Francisco, the first fully-dedicated annual Japanese film event for Northern California and the S.F. Bay Area.

The week-long Japan Film Festival of San Francisco will take place at the NEW PEOPLE Cinema beginning Saturday, July 27th through Sunday August 4th. The festival will also be a prominent feature of the 2013 J-POP Summit Festival, taking place across Japantown on Saturday and Sunday, July 27th and 28th. A complete schedule and advance ticket information is available on www.jffsf.org.

Tickets are $13.00 per film unless otherwise indicated. NEW PEOPLE Cinema is located at 1746 Post St. (cross street is Webster St.) in the heart of San Francisco’s Japantown.

Nine live-action films representing a vivid cross-section of the best in recent Japanese cinema will have their exclusive U.S. and/or San Francisco premiere at NEW PEOPLE. The Japan Film Festival of San Francisco will complement this press release in coming days with a subsequent announcement detailing an exciting slate of anime feature films also set to receive their U.S. and/or San Francisco premieres.

Live-action films include director Miwa Nishikawa’s Dreams for Sale, Sakuran director Mika Ninagawa’s Helter Skelter, Sion Sono’s award-winning masterpiece, Himizu, architect/author Kyohei Sakaguchi’s documentary, How To Build a Mobile House, director Takashi Miike’s Lesson of The Evil, director Shinsuke Sato’s Library Wars, actor Kazunari Ninomiya’s Platinum Data, the samurai adventure of Rurouni Kenshin, and Space Battleship Yamato, based on one of Japan’s greatest anime properties (known in the U.S. as Star Blazers) and a must-see for any sci-fi aficionado. Films will be presented with their original Japanese dialogue with English subtitles.

The Japan Film Festival of San Francisco is also honored to welcome Director Shinsuke Sato, who is also known for his 2011 blockbuster, GANTZ, for a special in-person appearance for the exclusive U.S. premiere of his newest film, Library Wars. Sato will participate in a special Q&A session with the NEW PEOPLE Cinema audience and also appear as a Guest of Honor during the 2013 J-POP Summit Festival.

The Japan Film Festival of San Francisco is presented in conjunction with the 2013 J-POP Summit, taking place Saturday July 27th and Sunday July 28th across the city’s historic Japantown district to celebrate the phenomenon of Japanese pop culture with a colorful array of live bands and artists, panel discussions, film premieres, edgy fashion shows and DJ dance events, celebrity appearances and more.

The J-POP Summit Festival is hosted and organized by NEW PEOPLE in cooperation with the Japantown Merchants Association. In 2012, the two-day event attracted nearly 65,000 attendees. More information is available at www.J-POP.com.

Japan Film Festival of San Francisco Live-Action Program:

DREAMS FOR SALE – S.F. PREMIERE!!!
Saturday, July 27th, 7:00pm
Written and directed by Miwa Nishikawa, who’s SWAY and Dear Doctor were screened at numerous film festivals around the world, Dreams for Sale is a richly evocative drama about a couple that lose everything in a fire and attempt to make a fresh start by swindling others. Wife Satoko (Takako Matsu) and her husband Kanya (Sadawo Abe) run a small eatery in a corner of Tokyo, but on the 5th anniversary of its opening, a fire erupts in the kitchen and burns the place to a cinder. In desperate need of cash, Satoko and Kanya embark on a hilarious and heartwarming marriage scam in an attempt to put their lives back on track.

HELTER SKELTER – S.F. PREMIERE!!!
Saturday, August 3rd, 4:20pm
Sakuran director Mika Ninagawa’s live-action adaptation of the eponymous shojo manga by Kyoko Okazaki utilizes brilliantly colored visuals to depict the descent of an outwardly perfect but inwardly unstable star that reigns over the entertainment world. Top model Liliko (Erika Sawajiri) captivates the public with her beauty that is the envy of all who look upon her. However, her appearance has been entirely engineered through plastic surgery. Complications arise from the numerous operations and begin to eat away at Liliko both physically and psychologically, sending her into a downward spiral.

HIMIZU – S.F. PREMIERE!!!
Sunday, August 4th, 1:10pm
Sion Sono’s award-winning masterpiece is based on Minoru Furuya’s manga ”Himizu,” named for a species of a Japanese mole. Set after the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, all 14-year-old Yuichi Sumida (Shota Sometani) wants is to live a decent life. But his environment keeps dragging him into the mud. Keiko Chazawa (Fumi Nikaido), a classmate of Yuichi, harbors a severe crush on him and sticks around despite being berated by him. One day, the yakuza comes by Yuichi’s home and tells him to pay off his father’s debt. Yuichi already heartbroken by his mother’s abandonment and abuse from his father nears a tipping point. A string of incidents occurs that brings Yuichi’s world to a screeching halt. Is there light at the end of the tunnel?

HOW TO BUILD A MOBILE HOUSE – U.S. PREMIERE!!!
Saturday, July 27th, 1:30pm
With the appearance of the famous ”Zero Yen” architect, Kyohei Sakaguchi, the documentary, How to Build a Mobile House, makes its U.S. premiere in his favorite city, San Francisco! Screening attendees will also be invited to his free workshop to build a Mobile Green House with him during the J-POP Summit Festival. Kyohei’s numerous books include ”Tokyo Zero Yen House, Zero Yen Life,” inspired by the exuberant creativity of street dwellers. This documentary delves into the roots of dwelling, and living, through the unique activities of this architect who ”does not build.” Sakaguchi, who devised a nest-like abode that fits the size of the human body, apprentices himself to a Tama River Robinson Crusoe who actually lives on a riverbed. The film depicts the completion of a mobile house for only $260.00 in materials.

LESSON OF THE EVIL – S.F. PREMIERE!!!
Saturday, July 27th, 4:20pm & Tuesday, July 30th, 7:00pm
Directed by Takashi Miike, Lesson of the Evil is a twisted psycho thriller based on a bestseller novel by Yusuke Kishi. Hasumi is a popular teacher among students at Shinko Academy, a private high school, and well respected by the faculty and the PTA. However, a student named Reika feels something menacing lurking beneath his shining reputation. While Hasumi brilliantly solves one problem after another, from a teacher-student sexual harassment to group cheating to bulling, he starts to take control of the school. As the problems go away, Reika becomes uneasy about the way they are solved. Tsurii, an unpopular teacher in the school, despises the popular Hasumi and starts investigating Hasumi’s past and discovers that Hasumi is a real psycho.

LIBRARY WARS – U.S. PREMIERE!!!
Friday, August 2nd, 7:00pm & Saturday, August 3rd, 1:10pm
** Featuring special in-person appearance by Director Shinsuke Sato
Library Wars is based on the bestselling novel and manga series by Hiro Arikawa. Set in the year 2019 in Japan, a new law is passed to crack down on free expression, which allows for the government to create an armed force to find and destroy objectionable printed material. Meanwhile, to oppose this oppressive crackdown, the Library Force is created. The Library Force includes instructor Atsushi Dojo (Junichi Okada) and Iku Kasahara (Nana Eikura), who work to protect the libraries. A fierce battle soon ensues between these two groups.

PLATNUM DATA – U.S. PREMIERE!!!
Thursday, August 1st, 7:00pm & Saturday, August 3rd, 7:00pm
J-Pop artist Kazunari Ninomiya (Gantz, Oscar –nominated for Letters from Iwo Jima), stars in Platinum Data, the biggest film to be released n Japan in 2013 and directed by Keishi Ohtomo (Rurouni Kenshin). Ryuheo Kagura (Kazunari Ninomiya) is an exceptional scientist working at the National Police Agency’s Special Analysis Research Institute. After solving series of complex criminal cases, he is assigned to investigate the murders of several people connected to the newly developed DNA forensics. Yet, when the faint trace of evidence left at the scene is analyzed through the DNA forensic system, it identifies himself as the offender. With no such memory, he decides to flee and the pursuer becomes the pursued. Is Kagura guilty or innocent? Should he trust in science, or in himself? Does he represent hope for humanity or despair? Platinum Data holds the key…

RUROUNI KENSHIN – S.F. PREMIERE!!!
Sunday, July 28th, 6:30pm & Thursday, August 1st, 4:00pm
A new live-action film adaptation of creator Nobuhiro Watsuki ’s samurai manga that has sold over 57 million copies, been translated in 23 countries, and also inspired a popular animated series. Rurouni Kenshin follows the adventures of a slight and mild-mannered young man who was once an assassin working for anti-Shogunate forces but vows to abandon killing following Meiji revolution in Japan, and devotes his sword-wielding talents to helping others.

SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO – WEST COAST PREMIERE!!!
Sunday, August 4th, 3:20pm
A stunning live-action adaptation of the famed space opera originally created by Leiji Matsumoto that laid the foundation for the entire Japanese science fiction anime genre. A brave young crew journeys into space on a fateful trip to save the human race as it teeters on the brink of extinction. Five years have passed since the alien Gamilas first began assaulting Earth with radiation bombs in 2194. Most of the human race is now gone. Susumu Kodai (Takuya Kimura) joins other survivors of the Earth Defense Force in the mighty Space Battleship Yamato in search of a device that can restore the devastated planet. Although director Takashi Yamazaki first gained prominence with his heartwarming film, Always: Sunset on Third Street, his background is in science fiction and his talents for VFX shine in this acclaimed film based on one of Japan’s greatest sci-fi properties.

NEW PEOPLE Cinema is a 143-seat cinema located in the underground floor of NEW PEOPLE in San Francisco. Equipped with a cutting-edge HD digital projection and THX®-certified sound system, NEW PEOPLE Cinema is home for local film festivals and entertaining events. www.newpeoplecinema.com

About J-POP SUMMIT FESTIVAL
The J-POP SUMMIT FESTIVAL is an annual Japanese Pop Culture celebration that features live bands and artists from Japan, pop culture panel discussions, film premieres, fashion and DJ dance events, and celebrity appearances. The Festival is hosted by NEW PEOPLE in cooperation with the Japantown Merchants Association. In 2012, the two-day event attracted 65,000 attendees. More information about the J-POP Summit Festival is available at J-POP.com.

Super Sex Program Big Bust Theory
InMovie News

The Young World is totally Miri! – Movie Star Trek Plot Theft #2!

July 2, 2013By

Star Trek miri onlies

Remember that movie The Purge and how it’s plot was totally the same plot as the classic Star Trek episode, Return of the Archons? Well, a challenger has appeared as a bidding war over a yet to be published trilogy of Young Adult post-apocalyptic books called The Young World has resulted in a huge payday and future movies. The Young World features

teenage survivors who inherit a destroyed and desolate earth, after a cataclysmic event kills off every person not between the ages of 12 and 21

Sound familiar? That’s the plot of Miri! And Jeremiah! And a bunch of other stuff. Why the crap this got a bidding war, only the idiots who paid far too much for this property in a market bloated with terrible post-apocalyptic YA fiction know. Expect them to get huge bonuses that they blow on hookers and coke, while we work extra hours and can’t afford a movie ticket.

Even better, these books were written by Chris Weitz, the terrible director of the awful Golden Compass movie and the worst of all the Twilight films, New Moon. And he’ll be directing.

So BOOOOO! to this crap, and 2013 is rapidly becoming the Year of the Ganked Star Trek Plots! Let’s go all Hodgkin’s Law of Parallel Planetary Development on Hollywood’s butt!

What Star Trek plots would you like to see reused by Hollywood? And, yes, I am fully aware that many of the plots are not original to Star Trek, but that would spoil the fun!

image via Memory-Alpha

Super Sex Program Big Bust Theory
InMovie News

Sharknado Sharknado Sharknado!

July 2, 2013By

All hail the Sharknado! The trailer is up, the movie premieres July 11th (a Thursday) on SyFy, and we will be watching and waiting and demanding Sharknado deaths, Sharknado destruction, Sharknado 90210, and Sharknado Tara Reid.

sharknado

InMovie News

Editing for China is widespread and just business as usual

July 1, 2013By

Lebowski Scissors Batman

It’s no secret that Hollywood’s box office revenues are increasingly focused on global hauls and not just the US box office totals. Much of a film’s revenue is now acquired overseas, to the point where overseas theaters have saved flops like John Carter and Battleship, pushing them into the black. This trend is surely only to grow with the influx of cineplexes being built overseas. The biggest market is China, which is projected to rival US box office numbers somewhere between 2017 and 2020 (I found too many different numbers.) But China also has stricter censorship policies, and a limit on the amount of imported films allowed on screens per year. For studios to get the sweet sweet Chinese moolah, they’ve agreed to allow their films to be cut. That in itself isn’t a big deal in the grand scheme of things (it happens all the time) but what is happening that is sort of unique is the increasing amount of films that are filming exclusive Chinese scenes. Some of these scenes are just innocuous additions of local stars to scrap in some extra money, but some of the edits radically change the tone and message of the film.

A recent example is the teenage party film 21 and Over, the story of two white guys who take Jeff Chang out to get drunk on his 21st birthday, and then spend most of the film chasing after drunk Jeff Chang (who is always called Jeff Chang for some reason), who has an important medical school interview the next day. The version released in China features all-new bookends that emphasize Jeff Chang is better off attending medical school in China than going to the US and partying down with his friends. The scenes were even written by 21 and Over’s writers, Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, though they acknowledge they don’t have control over what lines are eventually dubbed into Chinese.

A more famous example is Iron Man 3, which was long-rumored to feature scenes involving Fan Bingbing and Wang Xueqi. The eventual US version got Wang Xueqi for a few seconds and that’s it, while in China, Wang Xueqi has a phone conversation with J.A.R.V.I.S. in Chinese and then takes a long pour of product placement milk. He and Fan Bingbing then feature in the very end with some extra scenes where they perform heart surgery on Tony Stark toss out some lines. That’s pretty much everything that happens, and Chinese audiences were none too happy at how dumb this all was.

The Chinese version of Looper also featured additional scenes set in Shanghai, which were facilitated by distributor DMG. Originally scenes were to take place in Paris (and then New Orleans doubling as Paris) until DMG proposed the switch to Shanghai and offered to pay for the shoot. This helped Looper get increased reach in China and $20 million in box office revenue there.

These longer scenes are an annoyance for people like me, who love to see everything involved in productions. Deleted scenes are my favorite feature of DVDs, and it’s especially interesting when films radically change their entire construction while added and removing scenes. I’m also a big fan of tracking down alternate cuts of films released in different territories, including films so altered they go by different titles.

Censorship in China is handled by the State Administration of Radio Film and Television (SARFT), which has a list of guidelines films and television must follow.

Cuts were made to Django Unchained for its Chinese release, only to find the film yanked soon after opening for “technical problems”. Those technical problems were unhappy censors who wanted to trim more. Eventually after some negotiations, Django Unchained was finally released, though by then many people had seen the original version due to the magic of piracy.

Cloud Atlas is also another casualty, with 40 minutes of running time removed. Cloud Atlas did bad enough at the box office for studios to not even try to fight this. Scenes cut included those which the censors believe weakened the theme or confused the plot. Skyfall also got some scenes chopped out, but the promise off the massive money was enough to forestall any argument with SARFT. Sony edited the Total Recall remake to become vague about areas that used to directly reference China.

A famous edit that became one of several reasons the Red Dawn remake was delayed was the hurried change of the movies invading villains from Chinese to North Korean. Sure, that made the film even more ridiculous, but with China as the villain, Red Dawn would not be getting a Chinese release and that tax write-off would need to get very written off, if you catch my drift. In addition, a major film with China as a villain would poison future film ventures with China. This leads into a danger zone, where possible future films that have political edges will be dulled by attempts to not anger China in return for more box office money.

As mentioned earlier, this editing for specific countries is not a new event. In fact, an upcoming book asserts that Hollywood actively edited its films to keep them in compliance with German censorship standards after the Nazis gained power. At that point, the German box office was a huge market, much like how China is today. The fact wasn’t a secret, though it’s hardly a fact people bring up. Ben Urwand asserts that the cooperation was far more extensive than previously known, to the point where he calls is collaboration.

On page after page, he shows studio bosses, many of them Jewish immigrants, cutting films scene by scene to suit Nazi officials; producing material that could be seamlessly repurposed in Nazi propaganda films; and, according to one document, helping to finance the manufacture of German armaments.

Urwand has a ton of details and examples of cuts to films, deletions of Jewish characters, German officials invited to give recommendations for edits and alterations, and even:

a January 1938 letter from the German branch of 20th-Century Fox asking whether Hitler would share his opinions on American movies, and signed “Heil Hitler!”

Now, we are not comparing China with Nazi Germany, but are just using it as an interesting example of history repeating itself.

The teamwork with China will not be ending anytime soon. Transformers 4 is featuring roles that are being decided by a Chinese reality show. James Cameron is talking about adding Chinese Na’vi to his Avatar sequels (both as motion-capture actors and as humans in the human settlement)…but only if it makes fiscal sense. You know, for story integrity.

InMovie News

Teen Beach Movie parties on Disney Channel, bring your wrenches!

June 25, 2013By

Disney Teen Beach Movie

Friday, July 19, brings us the world premiere of the newest Disney Original Movie, Teen Beach Movie, which is a mish-mash of those Frankie and Annette beach movies, Grease, High School Musical, and Pleasantville. Two teens get sucked into a classic 1960s beach party movie, but their addition changes the plot of the film. They got to make things right or they’re stuck forever in a musical world.

The most exciting thing about Disney’s Teen Beach Movie is the Official Disney’s Teen Beach Movie Origami Wrench pdf that you can download from the Disney’s Teen Beach Movie site.

The plot:

Brady and McKenzie are both high school friends. They both enjoy surfing and watching their favorite beach musical film, Wet Side Story, set in the 1960’s era of rock ‘n roll, bikers, beach and surfing. They’ve talked so much about how they would love to be in their favorite movie to live that era. After the death of her mother, McKenzie promised her aunt she would focus on her future, including college, and has to move away with her, putting her relationship with Brady in trouble. After Brady insists on McKenzie having one last wave with him, they both fall off their boards. As they wake up, they realize they have been transported into Wet Side Story and decide to play along with the plot and try to fit in. But after their film’s lead man falls for McKenzie, as well as their film’s lead girl falls for Brady, the film’s plot changes completely, starting a whole new plot and slowly causing Brady and McKenzie to become part of the movie itself. It’s up to Brady and McKenzie to make sure the film’s plot goes as it originally is to get out of it as well and enjoy one more day together.

Jeffrey Hornaday directs, and Maia Mitchell, Ross Lynch, Garrett Clayton, Grace Phipps, John DeLuca, Chrissie Fit, Kevin Chamberlin, and Steve Valentine star. Teen Beach Movie has the potential to become yet another Disney Channel Classic, combining the singing things from High School Musical with love squares and retro-cool. So check it out if you haven’t ditched your cable, or just buy it on iTunes the next day.

Garret Clayton Teen Beach Movie

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