Distributors like Funimation, Huaxia and Madman sure found themselves in great straits since late last year with the rollout of Shinkai Makoto's hit anime feature, Your Name. The latest release is coming on Blu-Ray and DVD on November for U.S. audiences following its successful limited theatrical run back in April - a terrific prospect in light of news that broke on Wednesday for the latest pairing of Paramount and Bad Robot for a live-action adaptation.
Obviously something like this will hit a sour note for anyone who's paid attention to the dialogue on the treatment of Asian IPs and films like Ghost In The Shell and Death Note are all recent examples of this. The choice to do an adaptation of this nature does bring some interest, however, and so one can only hope that the film will acquire all the right ingredients needed to make it work. I still need to see Shinkai's film and I'll be sure to do that before long.
At any rate, peep the announcement below:
HOLLYWOOD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Paramount Pictures and Bad Robot announced today they have won the rights to adapt the hit Japanese film YOUR NAME for the big screen. The two companies will work with Japan-based Toho Co., Ltd., the producers of the acclaimed original animated film, to develop a live-action take on the story that has captivated audiences around the world over since its release in 2016. Toho will handle distribution of the film in Japan.
J.J. Abrams and Lindsey Weber will produce for Bad Robot, along with Genki Kawamura, producer of the original film. Academy Award®-nominated screenwriter Eric Heisserer (ARRIVAL) will write the screenplay.
“We are excited to collaborate with an extremely talented team in Hollywood,” said Yoshishige Shimatani, CEO of Toho Co., Ltd. “And to create with them a live-action version of the iconic Japanese film YOUR NAME.”
“Just like in the film it feels like a dream,” said Genki Kawamura. “Mr. Abrams and his team have captivated audiences in their masterful reinvention of known properties. And Mitsuha and Taki have found a perfect narrator, Mr. Heisserer, to tell their sci-fi-infused love story, which gave the film such drive. The meetings so far have been creatively stimulating with fantastic ideas that no doubt will make for a great movie. I am greatly honored to work with these incredible creators in bringing to audiences the Hollywood live-action version of YOUR NAME.”
Said Makoto Shinkai, “YOUR NAME is a film created with the innate imaginations of a Japanese team and put together in a domestic medium. When such a work is imbued with Hollywood filmmaking, we may see new possibilities that we had been completely unaware of --- I am looking forward to the live-action film with excited anticipation.”
YOUR NAME, an original story created, written, and directed by Makoto Shinkai, tells the story of a teenage boy and girl from different backgrounds who discover they can swap bodies. They become desperate to cross space and time to find a way to meet and stop an impending disaster.
The original film was produced by Genki Kawamura with Minami Ichikawa, Keiji Ota, and Yoshihiro Furusawa for Toho Co., Ltd., and Noritaka Kawaguchi for CoMix Wave Films serving as executive producers.
YOUR NAME has become the highest grossing anime film at the worldwide box office, earning US$355M. In Japan, it earned ¥25.0 billion (US$303M) and held the top spot at the box office for a record-breaking 12 weeks (non-consecutive). The movie is also the highest grossing Japanese film to release in China to date, earning US$85.6M.
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