ACF 217: Takashi Miike at Japan Society on Saturday, February 7th, 2009

Tadanobu Asano as Kakihara in Takashi Miike's Ichi the Killer

In conjunction with the screening of Yatterman, his newest film, at this coming weekend's NY Comic-Con, prolific Japanese director Takashi Miike will be talking about his filmmaking at Japan Society this Saturday. The talk, which will be translated into English, will take place at 2:00 PM.

I've been a big fan ever since I saw Ichi the Killer, Miike's 2001 Yakuza splatter-fest, at Lincoln Center several years ago. (Previously I had seen his Fudoh: The New Generation, 1996, on VHS, but hadn't noted his name.)

In the 15th Anniversary Issue of Asian Cult Cinema magazine (1st quarter 2008), Ichi ranked #1 in the ACC Readers' Poll of Guilty Pleasures. Here's the Japan Society info about Miike's upcoming appearance:

From the gory horror of Audition (1999) to the spaghetti western parody Sukiyaki Western Django (2007) to the musical comedy The Happiness of the Katakuris (2001), Japan’s busiest film director Takashi Miike has made over 50 films in the widest range of possible genres. His razor-sharp, most absurd and yet entertaining style of filmmaking makes him one of the most distinctive directors working today, and this has brought a whole new type of international, enthusiastic, young followers to contemporary Japanese films. In this incisive afternoon, Miike will speak in depth on his filmmaking behind-the scenes.

A reception will follow.

Born in Osaka in 1960, Takashi Miike graduated from the Japan Academy of Moving Images in Yokohama. After assisting directors such as Shohei Imamura and Hideo Onchi, he directed a number of Yakuza movies on video and made a theatrical feature debut with Shinjuku Triad Society in 1995. His filmography includes more than 50 films to date, and the latest film Yatterman is being released in Japan in March.

Tickets:$11/$7 Japan Society members, seniors & students.

Purchase tickets online or call the box office at 212.715.1258.

Japan Society is located 333 East 47th Street at First Avenue, NYC.

ACF 207: Takashi Miike's Yatterman to have World Premiere at NY Comic-Con

Takashi Miike's newest film will have it's world premiere at the upcoming New York Comic Convention, February 6-8, 2009, at the Jacob Javits Center. Yatterman is based on Tatsuo Yoshida's '70s anime´ series. Like two of Miike's previous movies, The Great Yokai War and Zebraman, it is intended as entertainment for the whole family.

Miike will be a Guest of Honor at the event and Sho Sakurai, the film's star, will be a Special Guest. The film will be shown twice (once Friday and once Saturday), there will be a Red Carpet walk, an onstage discussion about their careers, and a Q&A.

Kyoko Fukada, who stars as Doronjo, is said to have had input into the design of her costume. Whoever is responsible, she sure looks fine! In the shot below she's pictured with her co-villains Boyacky (Katsushisa Namase) and Tonzra (Kendo Kobayashi), though I'm not sure which one is which in the foto. The trio seek a clue to the location of the world's largest gold deposit.

I'm already registered for Comic-Con and am so totally looking forward to seeing Miike in person and checking out Yatterman. It's his biggest and most expensive movie yet, and it's got robots & mecha, & a babe in a bondage outfit! How can it miss! Look here for coverage during the weekend of the fete and/or shortly thereafter.

Read about Miike and Yatterman @ Subway Cinema News. (Look for the January 21st, 2009 entry.)

Read about the upcoming Yatterman Premiere in NYC @ Grady Hendrix's Kaiju Shakedown.

Read about Miike's interest in bondage costumes for female characters, including Kyoko Fukada @ Grady Hendrix's Kaiju Shakedown.

Read about Kyoko Fukada and her Yatterman costume @ japantoday.com.