Japan Academy Awards Hand Top Honor to Indie Hit ‘Midnight Swan’ While ‘Fukushima 50’ Triumphs

Mark Schilling Japan CorrespondentVideo sharing social-network TikTok and Toho, Japan’s biggest and grandest studio, are partnering to launch a film festival aimed at scouting new creative talent.The TikTok Toho Film Festival 2021 will start accepting entries worldwide on April 12, with a closing deadline of May 31.

New IndieWhen I’m once again free to move about the cabin and see movies in theaters again, I hope I get the chance to give the hilarious “Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar” (Lionsgate) a second look with a rowdy and engaged audience.

Mark Schilling Japan CorrespondentJapanese streaming platform U-Next will begin carrying a selection of HBO and HBO Max content from Thursday.HBO does not operate as a subscription service in Japan and for many years HBO content has instead been licensed to local players, including satellite channel Super! drama TV and pay-TV platform Wowow.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorYoshiki, leader of the group X Japan, has donated $100,000 in support of mental health to MusiCares to help music creators and industry professionals affected by depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, or other mental health concerns, the organization announced Monday.

Mark Schilling Japan CorrespondentJapan’s comic fans will get a taste of what it is like to return to normal as the Anime Japan 2021 expo will be held in person for four days (March 27-30), starting Saturday at Tokyo Big Sight center.But the show may be a static, booth-bound affair as there will be no physical, in-person events.

Thom Yorke has remixed the solo acoustic version of ‘Creep’ to contribute to a high-profile Japanese fashion show.The 1992 Radiohead classic was reworked for Kiryū-born designer Jun Takahashi’s UNDERCOVER 2020-2021 autumn/winter collection ‘Creep Very’, which was showcased this week.Yorke has provided a variety of songs for fashion show soundtracks over the years.

Netflix is locking down production space in Japan, as the streamer continues to expand its footprint in the developed markets of East Asia. The company said Thursday that it has inked an agreement with Japan's legendary Toho Studios, home of Godzilla and Akira Kurosawa, for access to two soundstages and additional facilities in southwest Tokyo.

Netflix has struck a multi-year deal to lease two soundstages at iconic Japanese film studio Toho.

Mark Schilling Japan CorrespondentA late addition to the Nikkatsu lineup for FilMart is “First Gentleman,” a local co-production between Nikkatsu, Toei and Nippon TV.

Mark Schilling Japan CorrespondentSales agency Pony Canyon is bringing some of the biggest upcoming Japanese live-action films to FilMart, including genre titles with global ambitions.One is “Office Royale,” whose title references the 2000 Fukasaku Kinji classic “Battle Royale,” but is an action comedy scripted by popular funnyman Bakarhythm and directed by TV drama veteran Seki Kazuaki. Nakano Mei (“Park”) stars as an ordinary “office lady” (OL or clerk) in a humdrum company.

Mark Schilling Japan Correspondent“Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time,” the fourth film in the Rebuild of Evangelion sci-fi anime series created and co-directed by Anno Hideaki, has earned $30.6 million from 2.2 million admissions in its first week on release, according to distributor figures released on Monday.Bowing on March 8 on 466 screens, the film has grabbed 45% more at the box office than the third “Rebuild of Evangelion” film, “Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo,” which had a

Mark Schilling Japan CorrespondentFollowing his win of the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at the recently concluded Berlin Film Festival for “Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy,” 42-year-old Hamaguchi Ryusuke suddenly finds himself catapulted to the directorial front ranks in his native Japan.It’s not that he’s exactly obscure there: Hamaguchi’s 2018 romantic drama “Asako I & II” was selected for the Cannes competition while his 2015 breakthrough, the five-hour-plus drama “Happy Hour,” won a group best

Mark Schilling Japan CorrespondentV6, a male idol supergroup associated with the once all-powerful Johnny & Associates agency, has announced its break-up, effective Nov. 1.

Nippon TV, Japan's multiplatform entertainment powerhouse, said Friday that it will produce and globally distribute Joe Hisaishi & World Dream Orchestra 2021, a concert featuring the composer's iconic scores from Studio Ghibli's Princess Mononoke and other works. The 90-minute concert will be held and recorded April 27 at the Tokyo Metropolitan Theater, and Nippon TV will then sell the worldwide broadcast rights to the show.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefJapanese e-commerce and entertainment group Rakuten is to receive a $2.2 billion (JPY242 billion) capital injection through a share sale headed by Japan Post, Chinese social media and entertainment group Tencent and Walmart.The move is intended to help the e-commerce leader strengthen itself and weather competition from Amazon.

Frozen anthem ‘Let It Go’ the prefecture’s theme song and rename Makuhari Station as Makuhari Messe Isn’t Here Station.As part of his campaign, he has shared a music video, which you can view below, that shows him parading around Tokyo to dance music, dressed as the Joker.Speaking about his reasoning for dressing as the Joker, Kawai told Tokyo Sports: “Since the clown is kind of a dark hero, I had this impression that I could get the support of the masses.”It was recently revealed that Joker,