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LA EigaFest to Host Edge of Tomorrow Director, All You Need Is Kill Novelist

The Japan Film Society announced it will host Edge of Tomorrow director Doug Liman and All You Need Is Kill novelist Hiroshi Sakurazaka at its "Adapting Japanese Content for an American Audience" business panel on Saturday The panel will "discuss current trends, issues, and the future of the creative relationship between Hollywood and Japan, while discussing the challenges of adapting Japanese content and culture for an American audience."

Edge of Tomorrow made over US$100 million in the U.S., US$15 million in Japan, and US$364,282,370 worldwide. It is set to win at the Japan Cool Content Contribution Awards on September 13 alongside Gareth Edwards' Godzilla.

The live-action Edge of Tomorrow film is currently ranked #12 worldwide box office grosses among this year's films so far.

Edge of Tomorrow is based on the novel All You Need Is Kill by Sakurazaka. The film stars Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Charlotte Riley, Kick Gurry, Bill Paxton, Kidus Henok, Tony Way, and Marianne Jean-Baptiste.

Warner Bros. describes the story:

The epic action of Edge of Tomorrow unfolds in a near future in which an alien race has hit the Earth in an unrelenting assault, unbeatable by any military unit in the world. Lt. Col. Bill Cage (Cruise) is an officer who has never seen a day of combat when he is unceremoniously dropped into what amounts to a suicide mission. Killed within minutes, Cage now finds himself inexplicably thrown into a time loop—forcing him to live out the same brutal combat over and over, fighting and dying again...and again.

But with each battle, Cage becomes able to engage the adversaries with increasing skill, alongside Special Forces warrior Rita Vrataski (Blunt). And, as Cage and Rita take the fight to the aliens, each repeated encounter gets them one step closer to defeating the enemy.

Viz Media published Sakurazaka's novel in English to launch its Haikasoru imprint for Japanese science fiction and fantasy in 2009. The book's cover art was drawn by Yoshitoshi ABe (Serial Experiments Lain, Haibane Renmei). Viz also released a one-volume full-color graphic novel adaptation of the story on May 6. Nick Mamatas (Move Under Ground) adapted the story and Lee Ferguson (Green Arrow, Miranda Mercury) drew the art.

The novel spawned a manga by artist Takeshi Obata (Hikaru no Go, Death Note, Bakuman.) and writer Ryōsuke Takeuchi (ST&RS) in Shueisha's Young Jump magazine in January, and the final chapter was published on May 29. Sakurazaka is working on a sequel novel.

The September 12-14 weekend event will host the international premiere of the live-action Lupin III and Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno films. Lupin III will open the festival with director Ryuhei Kitamura, actress Meisa Kuroki (Fujiko Mine), and producer Mataichiro Yamamoto in attendance. Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno will close the festival.

Thanks to Daniel Zelter for the news tip