Why ‘Drive My Car’s Director Hitched A Ride In The Trunk For Key Scenes Of Japan’s History-Making Movie – Contenders Film: The Nominees

Apple TV+’s newest drama Pachinko, based on the award-winning book of the same name by Min Jin Lee, offers poignant takeaways about family, survival and love. But, viewers should also expect to walk away with The Grass Roots’ “Let’s Live For Today” stuck in their heads.

Shinji Aoyama, the Japanese film director, writer and composer known for the film “Eureka,” which won him two prizes at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival, died March 21 in Tokyo after a battle with esophageal cancer, according to local reports. He was 57.Aoyama made waves in the international film community when he premiered “Eureka” at Cannes.

Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment WriterFor decades, Hollywood has strived — and failed — to assemble the massive robot mecha “Voltron” for a live-action adaptation of the beloved 1980s animated TV series.Now “Red Notice” director Rawson Marshall Thurber hopes he’ll be the one to bring the robot lion arms, legs, and head together.The filmmaker, who also directed Dwayne Johnson films “Skyscraper” and “Central Intelligence,” is attached to direct and co-write a “Voltron” movie in a package that is currently fielding offers from multiple studios.

Naman Ramachandran Warner Bros.’ “The Batman” continued atop the U.K. and Ireland box office for the third weekend in a row with £3.3 million ($4.4 million), according to numbers released by Comscore. The film, starring Robert Pattinson and Zoë Kravitz now has a total of £32.6 million.

94th Annual Academy Awards are Sunday, and that means it's time to name the best of the best of the past year in film. While not quite as chaotic as last year's pandemic-altered releases, this year still offered an interesting mix of theatrical blockbusters, acclaimed streamers and some combination of the two (thanks, HBO Max!). The top films of the year span the cinematic spectrum as well, including a Western, a musical, a star-studded satire, a horror-noir, a Japanese road film and a handful of heartfelt family dramas, leaving voters with some big decisions to make when it comes to the Academy's biggest prizes. So, who will win? Here are ET's predictions for the 2022 Oscars, based on who's been winning with the guilds, the BAFTAs and other precursor awards shows, as well as the ebb and flow of recent film trends.

Neil Young has announced the fourth instalment in his ‘Official Release Series’ anthology, comprising three classic albums from the 1980s – one of his own, and two collaborative efforts – as well as a rare EP that was only ever sold in Australia and Japan.‘Official Release Series Volume 4’ is set for release on April 29 via Reprise. In addition to Young’s 1980 solo album ‘Hawks & Doves’, the box set includes his fifth album with Crazy Horse (1981’s ‘Re•ac•tor’) and his debut effort with The Bluenotes (1988’s ‘This Note’s For You’).It also marks the first time many fans will be able to hear the EP ‘Eldorado’, which was initially released in Australia and Japan in 1989.

Pachinko director Kogonada has opened up about his experience working with Academy Award winner Youn Yuh-jung on the upcoming Apple TV+ series.In a recent interview withThe Korea Herald, Kogonada spoke about his time working with Youn and gushed about her performance as the show’s main character Sunja. “Her face to me was like a map of human history and Korean history, and the notes that she can play on her face are really remarkable to me,” he said.He added that he felt so compelled by Youn’s acting that he was always eager to film the next scene with her while on set.

K.J. Yossman Film Mode Entertainment has inked a multi-project distribution deal with Australian director/producer Luke Sparke’s company Sparke Films.Among the titles Film Mode will represent worldwide are Sparke’s upcoming projects “Weapons of Choice,” a television adaptation of John Birmingham’s World War Two trilogy “Axis of Time” and “Primitive War,” a horror feature franchise based on Ethan Pettus’ book series.Film Mode will also handle worldwide sales rights for “Occupation: Rainfall 2” and “Occupation: Rainfall 3” – the third and fourth films in Sparke’s franchise – as well as a number of other projects still in development.

Mark Schilling Japan CorrespondentHamaguchi Ryusuke’s Oscar-nominated “Drive My Car” took eight prizes at the 45th Japan Academy Film Prize ceremony, held on Friday at the Grand Prince Hotel New Takawana in Tokyo.In addition to the best picture award, the film won best director (Hamaguchi), best screenplay (Hamaguchi and co-writer Oe Takamasa) and best actor (Nishijima Hidetoshi). The film also scooped prizes for cinematography, lighting, editing and sound recording.Meanwhile, best actress went to Arimura Kasumi for her work in the hit romantic drama “We Made a Beautiful Bouquet.”Best animation honors were awarded to Watanabe Ayumu’s “Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko,”  a heart-warming coming-of-age film set in Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido.

A.D. Amorosi To complement Japanese director Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s grieving, soft-spun vision for “Drive My Car,” which has received four Oscar noms including director and best picture, the choice of composer to create a melodramatic and delicate score was crucial.Enter Eiko Ishibashi, an experimental Japanese multi-instrumentalist whose 2018 “The Dream My Bones Dream” was a turning point in an already decade-long career of scores for theater and short films.Ishibashi’s 2018 album of haunting soundscapes and its electro-acoustic mix of noise, oddball pop, improvisational jazz and minimalist, modern classical music made her a cinematic force equal to Hamaguchi.

Japanese Breakfast’s Michelle Zauner has shared an update on the film adaptation of her 2021 memoir, Crying In H Mart.As announced in June last year, the musician is writing the screenplay for the film adaptation and the soundtrack under the moniker, Japanese Breakfast.Speaking to Consequence about her progress on the film, Zauner said: “So I actually just finished the first draft of the screenplay.“My producers really like it, so hopefully the revision process won’t be too brutal. And yeah, hopefully that will come out sometime in the next couple years.

EXCLUSIVE: Japanese director Hikari is to helm Netflix’s dramedy Beef.

Mark Schilling Japan CorrespondentThe release of Japanese film “Confession,” set for March 25, has been indefinitely postponed due to allegations of sexual assault leveled against the director new Sakaki Hideo by several actresses and published on Wednesday by a leading Japanese tabloid. No legal charges have been filed against the director.Ark Entertainment, which is handling the local release and international sales, announced the postponement on the film’s official website.Sakaki also issued an apology on the site, saying: “I am very sorry for the inconvenience caused by the article to the producers, staff, cast members, and other people who worked hard to create the film, and above all, the audience who are looking forward to its release of the film.

Cartoon Movie Croissants Breakfast – a video clip prompting approving whoops and hollers – Spanish-French animated feature “Unicorn Wars” saw its poster and first stills unveiled at the presentation which looks like an early highlight at this year’s meet. Yohann Comte, co-founder of Charades, the film’s sales agent, also confirmed at the unveil that “Unicorn Wars” has sold to Japan’s Riskit. UFO Distribution handles the feature’s release in France, Barton Films distributes in Spain.The film is just a few weeks off completion, said Miñambres.

Contenders Film: The Nominees, a one-stop-shop experience featuring a smörgåsbord of Oscar-nominated talent discussing their top-tier projects, kicks off Saturday beginning at 8 a.m. PT as a virtual event, the latest in Deadline’s rapidly expanding Contenders series. Stars, creatives and craftspeople behind 24 films will take part in moderated panels discussing the roads that led them to the doorstep of the Academy Awards.

As Drive My Car sped from a best screenplay win and stellar reviews at Cannes to four Oscar nominations (Best Picture, International Feature, Director, Adapted Screenplay), distributor credits for the three-hour Japanese drama went to Sideshow/Janus Films – the former a little known new venture from Jonathan Sehring.

EXCLUSIVE: Let it Rip! Mr Blockbuster Jerry Bruckheimer is producing a live-action movie with Paramount based on the popular toy franchise Beyblade.