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latest news on Shinichiro Watanabe




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patch



Joined: 25 Mar 2005
Posts: 677
Location: New York, NY
PostPosted: Wed Jul 13, 2005 8:57 pm Reply with quote
First off, for those unfamilar with Watanabe, he was the director of Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo, read up on the encyclopedia for more...

snippet from World's Collide article (pg11) in this month's Newtype magazine.
Quote:
Most recently, Watanabe served as music director for Mindgame, in which his assemblage of tracks complemented the mind-bending visuals and story to create a hilariously psychedelic cinematic experience.


snippet from Action Cinema sidebar (pg12)
Quote:

The director is set to trade animators for stuntmen and katana for firearms after Samurai Champloo wraps. A live-action film is currently in development, with the script almost complete and cameras slated to roll later in the year. Despite an Asian motif, Watanabe says that the setting is "borderless, in the sense of not being set in any particular country." Further details are still under wraps, but Wata-nabe naturally promises plenty of action: "I'm sure it'll end up involving a whole lot of shooting!"


It seems that this interview was taken before Champloo was completed, so I'm not sure how far along the live-action film has gotten since then, I really haven't seen much news about it.

Be sure to pickup this month's Newtype magazine for the complete articles on Samurai Champloo and Watanabe. Also, looks like there's a trailer available on the official Mindgame site if you're curious about that. (formerly known as Genius Party?)
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patch



Joined: 25 Mar 2005
Posts: 677
Location: New York, NY
PostPosted: Thu Jul 14, 2005 1:55 pm Reply with quote
I guess I'm the only one here who cares about what Watanabe is doing next... Confused

Think this guy is an amazing director. Am I the only one who notices the connections between Bebop/Champloo/Detective Story? He manages to put together totally different storylines together, yet they still have a continunity to his style, both generally and specifcially with direct references to other works that fit perfectly in the story he's trying to tell, but still give a gift to fans of his previous work. I'm really excited on what he will do in a live action film, I honestly believe he will be very sucessful in it, and perhaps will make people think twice on there options on anime as a story telling medium.

Anyway, I guess I won't bother posting these things if there is no interest on this forum.
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Keonyn
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Joined: 25 May 2005
Posts: 5567
Location: Coon Rapids, MN
PostPosted: Thu Jul 14, 2005 2:06 pm Reply with quote
Hehe, calm down, these forums just get slow now and then.

I will admit I've enjoyed his works, but 2 major series still isn't a whole lot to go on not to mention live-action is alot different than animation. He's a great director with a really unique style, but there's alot of anime out there that is equally as impressive. Although I enjoy his storytelling style I'm not too fond of the continuity in the stories in comparison to other good anime's.

I'll definetely keep my ear to the ground, but not going to get too excited about it at this stage until I hear more.
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Cloe
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Joined: 18 Feb 2004
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Location: Los Angeles, CA
PostPosted: Thu Jul 14, 2005 2:25 pm Reply with quote
patch wrote:
Also, looks like there's a trailer available on the official Mindgame site if you're curious about that. (formerly known as Genius Party?)

Incorrect. Genius Party and Mindgame are two completely different projects. The former is an anthology anime that is still in the works, while the latter is one stand-alone piece, and one hell of a mind trip. On that note, Mindgame is one of the best animated films to have come out the last 40 years. From anywhere in the world. I highly recommend it. (The R2 DVD has English subs, so there's nothing that should stop anyone from getting it!) As much as I like Shinichiro Watanabe as a director, I wouldn't give him TOO much credit for the success of this film, as his work as music director plays a relatively minor role in an incredible collaboration of some of the greatest and most innovative minds in the industry, including Koji Morimoto's stellar animation (whose "Beyond" segment in The Animatrix far outshined "Detective Story," IMHO) and Masaaki Yuasa's direction (he also worked on the brilliant Cat Soup.) I like anybody who is associated with Studio 4°C though, so I'll give him props for that.
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patch



Joined: 25 Mar 2005
Posts: 677
Location: New York, NY
PostPosted: Thu Jul 14, 2005 4:33 pm Reply with quote
@keonyn: maybe I did get a little carried away sorry Smile

@cloe: Thanks for clarifying that, I just assumed they were the same since both Studio4°C projects, should have looked into further. Yes, Beyond definately was great but maybe I'm a little partial Wink

Also I noticed that Mindgame is supposed to be at the Anime!! exhibition at MoMA according to a news post, but still don't see it listed on the updated MoMA site. I would like to wait and see if there will be R1 DVD but might have get the R2 if I don't hear anything soon, so thanks for the heads up.
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