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Grave of the Fireflies to be Made as Live-Action Film

Japan's PAL Entertainment Productions has confirmed that plans for a live-action film version of Akiyuki Nosaka's 1967 novella Grave of the Fireflies (the source of the 1988 Studio Ghibli anime film) will still move forward. This is a semi-autobiographical story about two children who flee the firebombing of Kobe by American planes during the closing months of World War II, and their attempt to survive on their own in the Japanese countryside.

The movie was originally set to be directed by Kazuo Hiroki, but after his death from a stroke earlier this year, his assistant Taro Hyugaji took over. Filming will begin next month, and the film is tentatively scheduled for a Summer 2008 release. A made-for-television Grave of the Fireflies live-action movie aired on Japan's NTV network in 2005.

Source: Screen Daily (subscription required)