Father Geek reporting in with Darius25 and his crew with a great Asia-AICN column. Hopefully Time-Warner Cable's Roadrunner system is fixed for good two weeks of NO E-mail is a lonesome existence here at Geek Headquarters....

Asia-AICN

Hey All. It looks like we're back now that AICN's e-mail servers seem to be fixed. Because this column is an amalgamation of news for the past two weeks, we have an extremely packed column for you including the return of Korean coverage in our column, courtesy of "18nom". We also have news on Bas Itna Sa Khwab Hai (Just A Little Dream), Donnie Yen, Gen-Y Cops, Europe Raiders, the upcoming Godzilla film, and much more. Now here's the latest from Asia.

INDIA

- Director Mahesh Manjrekar has announced some details on his next film, a romance titled Tere Pyar Ki Kasam (A Promise on your Love). The film will star Sanjay Dutt, Sunil Shetty, Mahima Choudhary and newcomer Hrishita Bhatt. The film is all set to launch on April 2nd.

- Speaking of Sunil Shetty, he has agreed to do take a supporting role in a Malayalam-language film for director Priyadarshan. The full details on the film has not yet been released but it is known that the film will star popular Malayalam actor, Mohan Lal.

- This is not really a news, but a minor tidbit. Poonam Dhillon, a famous actress from the 80's, is making a comeback in Bollywood - this time as a director. She is reportedly in the process of tweaking her script before moving on to the production stage. I'll keep you all posted as more news is released.

- Some plot details have been released on the directorial debut of Goldie Behl, Bas Itna Sa Khwab Hai (Just A Little Dream). The social satire stars Abhishek Bachchan as a newcomer in Bombay. He is taken under the wings of a media personality (Jackie Shroff) and works his way up the rings of society. Eventually he gets corrupted by the power-hungry world in which Jackie lives and soon realizes his mistakes. The film sounds more than a little similar to "Wall Street" and the Shahrukh Khan-starrer, Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman (Raju becomes a Gentleman). We'll just have to wait till summer to see if the film's any good.

- Some new stills were released from the film Pyar Tune Kya Kiya (What has Love Done?) and basically these shots featuring Urmila Matondkar have GOT to be seen. The thriller (which is an Indianized version of "Fatal Attraction") also stars Fardeen Khan and Sonali Kulkarni and is being released on April 27th.

Click here to see this first pic with Urmila and her, ahem, assets: CLICK NOW!

Click here to see this another pic with Urmila: Go Right Here

And finally, here's a clean G-rated pic: Just Click

- There were two films released on last Friday, March 2nd, but sadly both are low-budget B-grade films. However the first film, Officer, is pretty good. The film stars Sunil Shetty as a special officer/mercenary who is hired as a bodyguard to a business tycoon's wife (Raveena Tandon). Problems occur when the wife falls in love with Sunil but he rejects her immediately. The wife (who has a depression/mental problem) then commits suicide. The officer is shocked and then hires a lookalike of the wife (Raveena in a dual role) to fool the wealthy tycoon. Of course, things don't stay fine and a tonne of violence ensues. As you can tell, the story atleast tries to be different than the routine action film (until the lookalike angle ofcourse) and this is what separates it from the rest. The action is pretty solid with Sunil using cool, high-tech weaponry and gadgets (kind of like Bond). The direction is pretty decent all around even if the songs aren't the best. All in all, Officer is a pretty decent film. I wouldn't exactly see it in theatres, but it's a pretty decent video or DVD rental (the sound ROCKS on the latter version).

- The other film released last week was Hadh (Limit), directed by Thampy Kannamthanam (Try saying that name 5 times in a row). Basically, it's trash! Jackie Shroff stars as yet another gangster who gets a change of heart. He then kills the bad guys. The end. All the violence occurs while a younger couple (Sharad Kapoor and Suman Ranganathan) dance around trees (not really, but you get the picture). The direction is bad, the songs are horrible (trust me, I threw out the tape after 1 hearing) and even the action is below mediocre. If you really really want to watch this crap, watch it on video (like me) - and then fast forward it to see the horrible ending (also like me). You'll thank me later.

- We finally had a big-budget film in India on Friday, March 9th. Chori Chori Chupke Chupke (Secretly and Quietly) was finally released after months of controversy. Directed by Abbas-Mustan, the film stars Salman Khan, Rani Mukherji and Preity Zinta. Salman and Rani play a wealthy couple, Raj and Priya who are unable to conceive due to an accident involving the wife. Bowing down to family pressures (they must have a heir), the couple turn to a prostitute, Madhu (Preity Zinta). Madhu agrees to stay with the couple for a year and provide them with Raj's child. Of course things don't go as planned once Madhu adjust to the affluent lifestyle and falls in love with Raj. The film, while not being very original, provides a much needed breather in Bollywood from the low-budget C-grade films we've been getting since November. The acting by the lead trio is very good - especially by Preity Zinta. She manages to convincingly play the role of a dirty whore and then surprises us with her transformation into a mature and elegant young women. Julia Roberts was VERY good in Pretty Woman, and Preity manages to match her performance. Salman Khan is also pretty decent, surprising us with a mature performance very different from his recent roles. The songs are very good and don't interrupt the flow of the narrative, while the picturesque cinematography (a majority of the film takes place in Switzerland) is just fantastic. The direction is adequate as well. All in all, this is not a film to buy on DVD, but it is a pleasant film to watch in theatres. You will not be disappointed.

CHINA / HK

"Jotarou" is back with some more Donnie Yen news, , and a review of the recent "Gen-Y Cops":

Once again, the ever reliable donnieyen.com has announced that Asian American/Hong Kong action star Donnie Yen has been signed to be fight choreographer for Blade 2 which will soon start shooting in Czechoslovakia. He will also have a cameo role.

I would say this is a step in the right direction for both Yen and Blade 2. The first film had good fight scenes but lacked the Hong Kong punch(no pun intended) so with Yen aboard a new level of intensity will make Blade 2 superior to its predecessor (isn't this the goal of sequels?). It's good for Yen because right after working on Blade 2 he will start shooting his Fist of Fury film, allowing him to bring in the slickness of American Film techniques and the intensity of his fight choreography.

I guess I'll give you something not Donnie Yen related but I doubt your site will need it. Here's my Gen-Y Cops review (now available on DVD and VCD):

If you travel to hkmdb.com you will notice people slaughtering this movie endlessly but to be truthful, I really liked it. If you hate these Mod Squad/youth rebellion flicks then don't watch this movie but if you are in the mood for good mindless entertainment then this is the movie to watch. As far as I can tell 2000 has been a good year for Hong Kong flicks. Tsui Hark made his return with Time and Tide (one of the reasons Nicholas Tse is not in Gen-Y Cops), Aaron Kwok made his name in the action flick business with 2000 AD and China Strike Force. Wong Kar-Wai has a film finally in wide release theatrically in the US with In the Mood for Love. And lets not forget the awesome Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon although funded by Americans with a Taiwanese director, it features the coolest actor in the world (who happens to be from Hong Kong), Chow Yun-Fat (Zhou Ren Fa for all you mandarin speakers). There was also the enjoyable Tokyo Raiders which had the privilege of being the largest grossing flick of 2000 in the former pearl of the British Empire (Awesome flick, watch for the Columbia DVD releasing in April - D25). Now how does Gen-Y Cops fit in to all this? Well, it signals the international appeal that Hong Kong films are generating and developing. It is in 90% English and even features two legit American actors in Paul Rudd and that stunt man guy who doubled for Michael Jae White in Spawn. The movie purposely cast actors with competent English like Maggie Q, Kristy Chung and Edison Chan because there is a goal to release this flick internationally. Now, should it be released internationally? The answer is: maybe. The original Hong Kong version of this movie will probably not be released Stateside.

For starters, with exception to Paul Rudd and a few others, the English dialogue in this movie is completely atrocious. Edison Chan, the replacement for Nicholas Tse, talks in a pretentious pseudo ghetto/Canadian accent. Considering that Chan is from Toronto, the accent is going to stick but he didn't have to add a bunch of pathetic phrases like "what up yo?" and "What you talking about dog?" because he sounds like a complete moron. He really lacks the charisma of Nicholas Tse and the absence of the Hong Kong pop star is really felt. The other Caucasian actors aren't that good either. So with the bad English dialogue alone, Gen-Y Cops is pretty un-releasable in its uncut format. Probably they will release a cut version with most of the bad English either dubbed over or cut entirely from the film(drastically cutting it down from its 1hr 53 minute length). (Look for info on the international release of this film further down below - D25)

However, there is a lot to like about this movie. For starters Gen-X Cops alumni, Stephen Fung and Sam Lee are back and better than ever. Both are hilarious as the defiant cops. Sam Lee throughout tries to mutter English slang but it is deliberately funny when he completely fails. The Cantonese speakers of this movie are definitely a plus. The only problem is the wardrobe for these two looks like they were stolen from a 70's porn film! Also Edison Chan is good when he is speaking Cantonese with Fung and Lee.

Like I mentioned before, Paul Rudd is very good, making his action movie debut. I haven't seen any of his other movies but here his charisma is very apparent. He also has good chemistry with the Hong Kong stars which really helps the film flow.

The main reason I like this movie though is the direction of Benny Chan. This guy has turned out a lot of good movies. He directed probably Jackie Chan's best post-Drunken Master II flick, Who Am I, and Gen-X Cops, a highly enjoyable flick. In this picture he takes the budget he was given and tries to do everything he can with it. I hope that he will make at least one Hollywood effort, then again, maybe not because they will suck him dry like they did to other great directors Tsui Hark and Ringo Lam (even John Woo didn't get away clean). The steadicam work is just as good as any Hollywood effort and the special effects are as good as they are going to get outside of Hollywood.

Gen-Y Cops is not as good as its predecessor, Gen-X Cops but it doesn't fail to entertain. If you want to see the uncut version of this buy the Hong Kong original on DVD or VCD and don't wait for Columbia, Miramax or New Line to butcher it!! Some of the English may stink but it is watchable. The good far outweighs the bad.

Finally, I have some more news on the upcoming sequel to Gen-Y Cops. It seems that Folks on hkmdb.com are rumoring that there are plans to make Gen-Z Cops which would feature Nicholas Tse and Edison Chan!! No news on Stephen Fung or Sam Lee returning or any of the gorgeous women from the first two. This is the first I have heard of all this but it is definitely worth looking at.

See ya,

Jotarou.

Now here is the weekly report from "AccSpy":

- Michelle Yeoh will join Chow Yun-fat as yet another presenter at this year's Oscars.

- Mainland director/actor Jiang Wen ("Devils on the Doorstep") will join the cast of director Zhang Yimou's period action/drama "Hero(lit. title)"; Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung Chiu-wai are in final talks to join.

- Maggie Cheung is also in talks to join director Tsui Hark's remake of "Death Duel", which Leslie Cheung, Zhang Ziyi and Yutaka Takenouchi have all agreed to star in.

- Karen Morris and Cecilia Cheung are now shooting the final scene of Stephen Chau's "Shaolin Soccer (lit. title)" this week. They are in cameo roles, play male (!) members of the opposite team.

Click here to see a picture of the cast and crew. You can spot Cecilia Cheung, wearing a moustache, near the middle of the pic, close to the umbrella: Go To Here

Click here to see another picture of the cast and crew in action. It is possible to spot Karen Morris - she's the one being pointed out: Go Here

- After finishing shooting in Las Vegas, Jackie Chan and the crew will come to HK this month for remaining shoots of "Rush Hour 2". Jackie told the press that he's impressed by Zhang Ziyi's performance very much. Zhang Ziyi is now studying English in California

- According to "Hollywood Reporter", "Gen-Y Cops" will be widely released in US and Europe this summer, but the international distributor of the film, Regent Entertainment, will butcher 25 minutes of the film's Asian-flavored themes and add 10 minutes of new action sequences to the film. (Apple Daily also reported that the US poster will only feature on Paul Rudd's face.) Miramax will also release Daniel Wu's "Purple Storm" in US this summer. Click here for the whole article, http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/afm/afmnews_0226b.asp

- In a recent radio interview, HKFA nominee Zhang Ziyi confirmed that she will join the cast of Wong Kar-wai's "2046", as well as Zhang Yimon's period action epic "Hero (lit. title)" later this year. Zhang Ziyi said that she would agree to be in anything starring Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung Chiu-wai. From this little clue it's pretty clear that Maggie and Tony have confirmed to join too.

- Golden Harvest wants to shoot a sequel to last year's blockbuster success "Tokyo Raiders", literally titled "Europe Raiders". All the cast members and director Jingle Ma have agreed to come back. However, Tony Leung Chiu-wai 's tight schedule may cause the film's shooting to be pushed back to 2002. -

After more than a year of post-production, "Master Q 2001", the live-action/animation produced by Tsui Hark and directed by Herman Yau, will finally be releasing this April. The film, about the famous HK strip comic character Old Master Cute (Lo Fu Chi), also stars Nicolas Tse and Cecilia Cheung. Here's two stills from the final product:

Lo Fu Chi with Cecilia Cheung:Just Click Here

Nicolas Tse, in the middle:CLICK HERE

- "Hannibal", as predicted, topped March 5th's HKBO chart, collecting an estimated $3.5 million HKD in 4 days. "Cop on a Mission"(aka "Breaking the Law"), starring Daniel Wu as a triad undercover cop who eventually likes being in the gang, debuted at no.2 with an impressive $2 million HKD in 4 days. "Meet the Parents" slipped to no.3, another Daniel Wu's star vehicle "Hit Team" fell to no.4 and "Remember the Titans" finally broke into the top 5 in its second week. Critics all raved about "Hit Team" and "Cop on a Mission". "Hit Team" is pretty entertaining as an action-packed SDU movie, being more watchable than any action movies around last Christmas. Exciting performances stood out from "Cop in a Mission"; Eric Tsang is great as usual as a mob boss, but critics are more impressive by Daniel Wu's great improvement in the film (not to mention that his Cantonese dialect is getting better): You can't go wrong when someone applauds you for stealing every scene from character-actor Eric Tsang!

JAPAN

Here's the usual report by "Pigmon":

- Dino De Laurentis and Anthony Hopikins were in Tokyo this week, doing the promotional rounds for "Hannibal". At the press conference, Dino announced that he will make a sequel to "Hannibal" and Anthony has already accepted to reprise the character of Dr. Lecter once again. Moreover, this sequel will be mainly shooting in Japan!! If you look at the end of "Hannibal", there are many Oriental (Japanese?) passengers on the airplane. Looks like Hannibal's heading over to Japan.....

- Toho announced last week that "Godzilla, Mothra, King Gidorah - All Monsters Attack!" will be releasing at the end of this year. This time, Godzilla will play the villian as Mothra, Baragon , King Gidorah and humanity team up to save the world (or Tokyo) from the monster. King Gidorah will be a hero for the first time in history. The film will feature all new character designs for the monsters. As I reported earlier, Shusuke Kaneko (of the "Gamera" series) will direct this latest entry in the franchise.

- Yoko Kuga will be the first Japanese actress to appear in a Korean film, "Venus". Production is under way in Pusang right now. "Venus" will be showing in Korea in September and will release shortly afterwards in the other Asian countries.

- Buena Vista and Toei co reached agreement for Toei's film distribute to the world through Buena Vista."Hotaru" will be first Toei film to distribute to the world.

- Here's the results of the 24th Annual Japanese Academy Awards:

Best Picture - "Ameagaru"

Best Director - Junji Sakamoto for "Kao"

Best Script - Akira Kurosawa for "Ameagaru"

Best Actor - Terao for "Ameagaru"

Best Actress - Sayuri Yoshinaga for "Nagasaki Pura Pura Bushi"

Best Supporting Actor - Kouich Sato for "Whiteout"

Best Supporting Actress - Mieko Harada for "Ameagaru"

Best Musical Score - Masaru Sato for "Ameagaru"

Best Cinematography - Shoji Ueda for "Ameagaru"

Best Lighting - Takemasa Sano for "Ameagaru"

Best Production Design - Yoshiro Muraki for "Ameagaru"

Best Sound - Osamu Onodera for "Whiteout"

Best Editing - Hirohide Abe for "Whiteout"

Best Foreign Language Film - "Dancer In The Dark"

KOREA

And now Asia-AICN is pleased to introduce "18nom" who will be informing us about the world of Korean cinema:

Hi all, 18nom here checking in for the first time to report on current Korean Cinema news.

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. The celebrated film is reopening in Korea mainly due to Oscar nominations and attentions it received. Despite what Mr. Schamus wrote in Variety, CTHD didn't perform well in Korea past summer. Zhang Ziyi, the shining star of CTHD, recently finished her work on Warrior (MooSa), a Korean film directed by Kim Sungsoo (Beat, There is no Sun). The film will alsp feature Ahn Sungki (the villain from Nowhere to Hide), Jung Woosung (Beat, There is no Sun), and Joo Jinmo (Happy End).

Chunhyang and its director Im Kwontaek's next film. Director Im has decided on his next film which will be an autobiographical film of a famous Chosun Dynasty Painter. Another period piece will star Choi Minsik (Shiri, Happy End, Quiet Family) and is tentatively titled, 'Jang Sungup'. Im's regular D.P. Jung Ilsung is also attached to the project.

The Isle and its director Kim Kiduk's next film. Director Kim has already begun shooting his next film ;not including his experimental failure, "Real Fiction". The tentative title is "Unknown Receipient". And it is rumoured to be another sexually-charged drama about lonely Seoulites. We shall see.

Hannibal. The Korean Film Censorship Board, known for its inconsistent bias and incompetencies, rejected Ridley Scott's cannibal thriller as an inappropriate materials for Koreans (yes, they do make a decision that affects all Koreans), citing its gruesome and gory scenes. This decision was overturned in two days after a complaint filed by UIP, an exclusive importer of all Hollywood studio films. It is still unknown as to whether the last scene will remain intact for Korean cinemagoers.

Joint Security Area. Join Security Area, the film that has set many records in Korea including the most attended, will be premiering in Japan in May. JSA has beaten out Titanic and Shiri (Local film that previously held the title) as the most attended(i.e. popular) film ever in Korea.

Barking Dogs Never Bite. The un-named American Studio has offered the makers of Barking Dogs Never Bite (Flander's Dog was the local title) to purchase the rights and will remake the film with US cast and crew. Director Bong Joonho is said to be working on his next feature. On a related note, Korea has seen a recent surge in consumation of dog meats due to public scare of cow diseases although there hasn't been a single case of cow disease was reported.

Lies. Come May, the controversial film, Lies, from 1999 will finally be distributed in Japan. Jang Sunwoo-helmed pic had a limited and brief run in US early this year. However, the film failed to get picked up after its sensational premiere in 2000 Venice Film Festival. On a side note, Director Jang is working hard on his 9th feature which is rumored to be science fiction/martial arts film. The pic is expected to debut later this year. JSA. The most attended film in Korean cinema history has picked up three awards at Deauville Asian Film Festival in France. Joint Security Area has picked up awards in Best Film, Best Actor (Song Gangho from Shiri, Quiet Family) and the audience-voted Most Favorite Film. The film festival, in its 3rd year, only accepts Asian feature films. Nowhere to Hide was voted as Best Film in 2000.

Box Office. Unlike the past two years, the year of snake has not seen its share of local blockbusters yet. It is becoming a relatively quiet 1st quarter for Korean films. "Jakarta" and "I wish I had a Wife" are the only two local films that have done decent in the box office. Perhaps, "Bunjee Jumping of Their Own" will be an exception. It has created a bit of a controversy due to its underlying homoerotic plot. There were two notable losers in terms of their box office receipts. "Angel Dream" is a science fiction film that boasted a foreign lead, HK's Leon Lai, and a huge budget but it failed to go beyond second week at theaters. Another big-budget action film "The Rhapsody" did relatively well lasting 17 days in the theaters.

That is it for me, 18nom. Will be back next week with latest and hottest Korean cinema news! Till then, so long.

ANIME

Scott Green

ADV Release Info

ADV Films responded to Anime News Network's reader Neokem's inquiries www.animenewsnetwork.com about their upcoming releases with the following e-mail.

"Sorcerer Hunters 2 is in the works (in fact, I have the relevant masters piled up on my desk right now ;p).

Nadesico will be 6 DVDs; the last two volumes will have 5 each. We'll definitely be releasing the Prince of Darkness movie; no news yet on the Gekigangar 3 OAV.

We'll be doing the remaining two missions of Dirty Pair Flash, as well as the original Dirty Pair OAVs.

Andy Kent ADV Films"

Studio Ghibli News From Anime News Network

According to the March the 13rd issue of Nippon Keizai Shimbun, Movie distributor firm Toho and telecommunication company NTT West Japan decided to conduct tests on distribution of digitalized films via high-speed network joinly with the Geneal Affairs Ministry. They start distribution of Miyazaki's latest film Sen to Chihiro in July to some Toho-running theaters in Osaka. Toho also plans to conduct tests on distribution of Final Fantasy movie in fall via digital network. Speaking with Nippon Keizai Shimbun ("Japan Economic Newswire") in an interview published on March 8th, Matsushita Takeyoshi, the new president of Tokuma, announced the sale of several divisions in order to cut the company's 100 billion yen (US$840 million)debt, which includes a 5 billion yen operating deficit for the 1999 fiscal year. He said that it should take the company 4-5 years to pay off its debt. Tokuma has already sold its Direct TV assets, as well as cut back its operation in BS and CATV. Their movie division, Daiei will also suspend all major production for a while.

On the other hand, Tokuma is launching 3 new magazines geared towards female students and middle aged people. And most importantly to Anime fans, Tokuma will not be selling Studio Ghibli. It is expected that Ghibli will turn a profit with Miyazaki's latest film, Sen to Chihiro This weeks Time Magazine has featured Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke and My Neighbor Totoro as "2 excellent films for children." A dubious honor considering that, while Totoro is a timeless children's classic, Mononoke is anything but a children's movie.

Macross 7 Japanese DVD Release

From 1994, the Macross 7 TV series is finally destined for DVD conversion with vol. 1 due on March 25th on a 136 minute disc. Included is Dolby Digital soundtrack, dual layer format, at the retail price of 4,800 Yen. Jacket illustration is by a major character artist.There will be an image special edition of Vol. 1 including these extras: TV special (Aired October 2nd of 1994), Music clip " TRY AGAIN " (acoustic version), Music clip " HOLYLONELY LIGHT " (Rave version).

You're Under Arrest New TV Series Update

The new You're Under Arrest TV series is due to start on Japanese TV shorts completed voice recording on March 6th. The team who had worked on numerous YUA animation projects in the past approached this latest go with the same amount of vigor, however, as fans will see, this latest rendition of Fujishima's (manga artist behind You're Under Arrest, and Oh My Goddess) comedic police woman drama will portray theregular cast of characters in a somewhat different light, it's also reported that at least some of the characters will undergo substantial "growth". Broadcast begins April 7.

Crayon Shin-chan Movie Video Release

Crayon Shin-chan the movie is out on Hi-Fi VHS on March 25th, with a running time of 88 minutes it will retail at 3,800 Yen. Crayon Shin chan is about a precocious, and some would say demented kindergarten student with an unnaturally deep voice who thinks he understands how the world works. The series humor mixes very immature humor with more adult humor, and many affectionately describe it as "just wrong". The Crayon Shin-chan television series aired subtitled on Hawaiian television.

Escaflowne Movie Japan Video Release, and US Theatrical Showing Studio Sunrise's Escaflowne movie is headed for home video release on VHS and DVD formats in Japan. The DVD DTS LIMITED EDITION goes on sale April 25th with a running time of 140 minute / DTS 5.1 CH & Dolby Surround / Japanese / single sided 2 layer plus 1 special disk: one side 1 Layer Disc in stereo / vista size. Retail is 9,800 Yen. Included are cast and staff interviews, theater trailer, TV Commercials, 36 P booklet, package illustration by character designer Nobuteru Yuki. Reservation deadline is March 20th of 2001. The regular DVD edition is out April 25th on a 95 minute disc, included is a Dolby Digital 5.1 CH soundtrack, Japanese and Korean audio, retail is 7,800 Yen. Extras are commercials trailers and booklet. The VHS version runs 95 minutes in stereo hi-fi, retail is 12,800 Yen. Extra are trailers, commercials and a 12 page booklet.

Shoji Kawamori's Escaflowne the movie : a Girl in Gaia will be screened at this year's Newport Beach Film Festival - Sunday, April 1 at 11 a.m. at the Edwards Island Cinemas in Fashion Island, Newport Beach, CA. Escaflowne the Movie: A Girl in Gaia will be presented in Japanese with English subtitles - Courtesy of Bandai Entertainment

Advanced Tickets: (949) 253-2880. Newport Beach Film Festival 2001 runs March 29 through April 5. More information at: www.NewportBeachFilmFest.com

The story of a school girl transported to a mystical land with giant mecha armors is told is a very different manner than the television show. All of the series' characters are alter, the heroine Hitomi is suicidally depressed, and the hero, Van, is more feral.

Sailor Moon R Movie on Cartoon Network

Thought Cartoon Network had planned to show the Sailor Moon R movie this Friday, going as far as to put the preview at http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/TOONAMI/movies/index.html , it looks like they may not. CNX Revolution http://cnxtoonami.cjb.net/ has heard from a reliable source that "Hi. Me again. Just an update for you. We were told today that Sailor Moon R will not run this week and that Tree of Might will run in its place. We weren't given a reason why and weren't told when it would be rescheduled."

Akira Theatrical

The Akira site has updated with a quite interesting comparison shot http://www.akira2001.com/html/picture.html of the restoration being done on the film.

Gasaraki 4 Release Date

David Williams of ADV posted a message on Anime on DVD's http://www.animeondvd.com message board stating that the fourth volume of Gasaraki will be release 5/1/2001. The volume had been delayed indefinitely due to the effort in producing the English dubbed track. Gasaraki is a thought mecha series gaining a large following due to detailed science fiction, and military political and spiritual machination.

Daft Punk MTV2 Premiere

Daft Punk's latest One More Time music video directed by Leiji Matsumoto of Battle Ship Yamato(Star Blazers), and Captain Harlock fame, "One More Time" will premiere this Thursday on MTV2. Virgin Records has established an official site for the single, including Real Media and Streaming Windows Media versions of the clip here http://www.virginrecords.com/daft_punk/

More April Anime

AniHabara http://east.sakura.ne.jp/aniba/aninews/ has put out a list descriptions of movie anime titles coming this April: Mahou Senshi Ryui [Wizard Fighter Ryui] (WOWOW(free), April) Ryui is a wizard, but he likes rather fighting than magic. He venture with four pretty girls. Parappa Rapper (Fuji TV, April) A famous game which was released 5 years ago spun off an anime. The contents are not clear.

Chance - Triangle Session Three girls, who don't concern one another, aim at to become singers. Galaxy Angel (Sky PerfecTV, Apr.7)

GALS Anime

This week it was officially unveiled that the long running Shibuya girls manga series "Gals" running in Ribbon weekly will be converted to TV with broadcast slated to begin in Japan in April. "Super Gals! Tomy is planning to market toys and accessories in the real world that are also used by the characters in the anime. The mangaka is expected to make appearances at talk shows are held in the Tokyo toy show hall in commemoration of making to the animated cartoon on March 24. Fujii-sensei will talk about the the anime episodes of 'GALS' including production background. Broadcasting begins at 8:30 on Sunday, April 1 on TV Tokyo. Directing will be Tsuneo Kobayashi and Character designs will come from Yuuko Kusumoto. Sound supervisor will be Kameyama Toshiki.

Final TriZenon Episode

The final episode of the recent Anime Scifi TV series featuring Slayers Alumni Tri-Zenon completed voice recording on Feb. 22 in Japan. Seiyuu Megumi Hayashibara had warm comments on working with the other staff on this series. Former director of 3 Slayers TV series (works which America may be seeing en masse shortly via national television broadcast) Takashi Watanabe-sensei commented on the last year of production on this series being favorable.

Metropolis Postrecording

The Postrecording for the long awaited anime feature film from Katsuhiro Otomo (Akira) and Rintaro (X) is said to be nearing completion, the film will make its Japanese theatrical release in 2001. Metropolis has taken five years and cost $10 million to produce, Otomo compiled the script based on the 1949 manga by Osamu Tezuka. The pair are aided by animation director Yasuhiro Nakura and composer Toshiyuki Honda. Voice actors on the project recently gathered at a press conference where they spoke on their thoughts on Metropolis and on the works of legendary mangaka, Osamu Tezuka. Total production is slated to be completed shortly, and the movie will be distributed by Toho in Japan and through Sony Pictures worldwide in June 2001.

DB in May http://www.dragonballz.com/

FUNimation is extremely pleased to announce that Cartoon Network (CN) will soon begin airing episodes of Dragon Ball- the show that started it all! Starting sometime in May, 26-28 episodes of Dragon Ball will be aired immediately following Dragon Ball Z on Cartoon Network. Long time fans will please note this is NOT the 13 episodes that originally aired in 1995, but an all-new version, truer to the original story line. The new episodes feature the early adventures of Goku, as he encounters the Dragon Ball cast for the first time. Never before seen, these episodes are already in production. Producer Barry Watson says, "Working on is Dragon Ball is a blast! The show is so hilarious and wacked out."

FUNimation wants to include you the fans in producing Dragon Ball. Very soon you will be able to hear sample clips of prospective voice actors for the show and then cast your vote for the one that you like the best. This will be a great way for you to be involved in the process of shaping and developing DB. Watch for updates and developments concerning Dragon Ball here at www.dragonballz.com. If these episodes are successful CN will pick up more of them, so tell you friends to watch.

More "Parappa The Rapper" Details

The series based on the PSX game will be televised from April on the Fuji Television Group with oroducts from Sony CP and Takara planned A mega-hit game for Playstation "Parappa The Rapper" is now showing up on television on the Fuji Television group channels. Fuji Television, Sony Computer Entertainment, and Sony Music group are going to cooperate to produce a program full of good music and animation. It is going to be shown between 18:30-19:30 on Saturdays. In addition to the original characters that appear in the game, there will be several new characters added - also created by Mr. Rodney Alan Brad. The license will be held by Sony Creative Products. They are also planning to sell a total of about 50 products such as stationary, miscellaneous goods, and towels.

More Big O Details

Cartoon Network has sent out the official press release for Big O, the show that will be replacing Outlaw Star on their Toonami linup. Excerps are as follows:

For Release: March 8, 2001 Cartoon Network will premiere BIG O (TV-Y7/FV) on Monday, April 2 at 5:30 p.m. (ET, PST) as part of the Toonami action-adventure programming block. This marks the first time that the Japanese animated series will appear on American television. BIG O will replace Outlaw Star in the Toonami line-up. BIG O takes place 40 years after a mysterious occurrence known only as "The Event" has destroyed Paradigm City and erased the memories of its citizens. Although Paradigm City has since recovered, it maintains an austere existence under police rule and its citizens are forever questioning what happened to them 40 years ago.

Roger Smith, also known as The Negotiator, travels through Paradigm City's bleak urban landscape, rubbing elbows with both shady criminals and captains of industry. He solves problems on behalf of his clients, while he struggles with his own mysterious past. In his quest to safeguard Paradigm City, the Negotiator is assisted by Norman, his loyal butler, Dorothy, an android companion and BIG O, a towering robot.

Gundam Tech http://www.gundamtech.com/ points out that according to Cartoon Network.com's schedule bot, Cartoon Network will now be running Big O in both its 5:30PM Toonami Block time slot, AND the 12:30AM Midnight Run time slot, starting April 2nd. Previously, the various Tenchi series had been listed in the 12:30AM time slot in the schedule bot, but today, Big O suddenly appeared in its place. It appears that they just made this decision today (3/10/01), after having sent the press release out listing Big O in only the 5:30PM time slot. Big O's first airing day, April 2nd: Still going in the Midnight Run, on April 18th: schedule http://alt.cartoonnetwork.com/Schedule/1,2989,CTN|39||Eastern,00.html?time_zones=Eastern&date_pick=16

The full Big O schedule, from April 2nd to April 18th: schedule http://alt.cartoonnetwork.com/Schedule/1,2989,CTN|0|317420|Eastern,00.html

Darius 25 back to say goodbye. Remember, if you have information regarding any film industry in Asia, please contact our Asia-AICN offices at atshrivas@home.com. See you all next week.

Darius25