2012-05-News

Studio Ghibli Event in Providence, RI with Toshio Suzuki

The Rhode Island School of Design is granting an honorary degree to Studio Ghibli at this year's commencement ceremonies. Toshio Suzuki is attending to receive the honor as well as attending screenings of "Spirited Away" and "Only Yesterday" (both in Japanese w/English subtitles) held by the Providence Children's Film Festival on May 31.

A question and answer session follows each screening and the festival is accepting questions from those unable to attend. Send your queries to ghiblink@nausicaa.net for consideration. Video of the Q&As will be available after the event.

--LLin 22:59, 29 May 2012 (UTC)

Studio Ghibli's Tokusatsu Short Film

Studio Ghibli hold a press conference to announce the details of the Director Hideaki Anno's Special Effects Museum exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (English details). During the exhibition Studio Ghibli will release a special tokusatsu short film "Kyoshinhei Tokyo ni Arawaru" (The Giant God Warrior Appears in Tokyo). In the press conference NTV announced it will broadcast a small portion of the short. According to Toshio Suzuki the film still under production with a run time between 5 and 10 minutes. It is made with only the techniques of tokusatsu without using CG. Suzuki mentioned that Hayao Miyazaki has not seen the storyboards of the short film.

Planning: Hideaki Anno
Original Giant God Warrior design: Hayao Miyazaki
Live-action Giant God Warrior design: Takayuki Takeya
Director: Shinji Higuchi
Music: Unknown
Production: Studio Ghibli
Photos from the Tokusatsu Exhibition press conference
Giant God Warrior Statue Replica - 48000 yen

Special advance ticket with the Giant God Warrior figure from the short film. (1800 yen. Only 3,000 sets. Special Color Version by KAIYODO. Modeling by Takeyuki Takeya) The sale is finished as soon as it becomes the planned number of sheets. Cannot buy this special color version in the museum shop. Studio Ghibli Museum ticket set - 2300 yen

KAIYODO and other companies sell figures of the Giant God Warrior in the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo shop:

Thanks to T. Ishikawa for the news.

--LLin 01:37, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

News from Japan

Yokohama city held a panel discussion and Junichi Nishioka talked about Ghibli's upcoming films.

Nishioka (at the 44:00 mark):
Unfortunately Ghibli does not release a new film this year, but Miyazaki and Takahata are making new feature films now. The two of them are making it hard though, I do not know whether they will be completed or not, because it is the first time to make big budget films at the same time since Totoro and Grave of the Fireflies.
In this state, Ghibli's staff members concentrate on production. There is still more then one year until the release date though. I think that we can show you these films next year in some way. If cannot complete it next year, Ghibli must be dissolved. (laughs) Ghibli must do it by all means next year, because we do not release a film this year. Hayao Miyazaki mentioned in Cut magazine, "I'm sorry but I bet all of Ghibli on this film."

Last Friday NTV announced that "something happens" at the end of the Friday Road Show broadcast of Nausicaa on May 11.

Japanese fans are expecting the official announcement of the Hideaki Anno's Tokusatsu Exhibition or Ghibli's new film(s).

The same "something happens" announcement occurred during the broadcast of Evangelion 2.0 followed by the unveiling of the Evangelion Q short preview.

Isao Takahata talks about his new film in a conversation with Tomoko Yamaguchi.

Yamaguchi: Why Kaguya-hime?

Isao Takahata: The moon is important, and I intend to draw it beautifully. But, I do not think that the story of Kaguya-hime is related to the moon directly. Apart from the moon, I'm interested in where the human being comes from. I think Kaguya-hime is the same as Hagoromo densetsu.

In the legend, Tennyo comes from the sky, but perhaps she came from totally another place, and had relationships between humans, or failed to have them, then returned. I think so. It is the same as us after all. Perhaps we also came from somewhere far away. We spend time in this world and may return somewhere again.

Toshio Suzuki talked with Ryuichi Sakamoto about film music at Daikanyama Tsutaya, Tokyo on March 13.

According to Yomiuli they were kindred spirits and Suzuki asked Sakamoto to cooperate with Takahata's new film but it is unknown whether Sakamoto accepted the offer.

Thanks to T. Ishikawa for the news.

--LLin 16:13, 1 May 2012 (UTC)