Tales From Earthsea

MADMAN ACQUIRES STUDIO GHIBLI'S LATEST PRODUCTION – TALES FROM EARTHSEA (GEDO SENKI).

MELBOURNE, Tuesday, 19 December 2006 – Madman Entertainment are pleased to announce they have secured rights to bring Studio Ghibli's latest production, Tales from Earthsea (Gedo Senki) to Australia and New Zealand.

Tales from Earthsea is based on the Earthsea series, originally created by author Ursula K. Le Guin. It is the story of a fantasy realm containing a vast archipelago of islands and uncharted oceans. The film follows the journey of Ged, a wandering wizard investigating a spate of strange events, who stumbles upon the young Prince Arren, a distraught teenager struggling with a powerful dark side.

Tales from Earthsea is the directorial debut of Hayao Miyazaki's son, Goro Miyazaki. A Shinshu University of Agriculture graduate and construction consultant, Goro is described as a naturally talented illustrator and a strong decision-maker, who was originally uninterested in competing with his father in the field of animation. He became involved with Studio Ghibli after overseeing the design of the Ghibli Museum and served as its director from 2001 to 2005.

Tim Anderson, CEO of Madman Entertainment commented, “Madman are thrilled to be working with Studio Ghibli once again. Especially in the case of Western audiences, Studio Ghibli's reputation for producing high-quality, unique and truly beautiful films has sky-rocketed over the last few years and public anticipation for Tales from Earthsea is no exception.”

Madman Cinema will release Tales from Earthsea to theatres in mid-2007.