Japanese hit movie director says it would be a 'miracle' if film is nominated for Oscar
Record ID:
78508
Japanese hit movie director says it would be a 'miracle' if film is nominated for Oscar
- Title: Japanese hit movie director says it would be a 'miracle' if film is nominated for Oscar
- Date: 17th November 2016
- Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (NOVEMBER 16, 2016) (REUTERS) DIRECTOR, MAKOTO SHINKAI, SEATED DURING INTERVIEW (SOUNDBITE)(Japanese) DIRECTOR, MAKOTO SHINKAI, SAYING: "The movie has just been released in Asia and we are hearing news that it's reached number one in several countries last week, but as for Europe or the United States we have no idea of what reception it will get there when it is released." SHINKAI'S HANDS (SOUNDBITE)(Japanese) DIRECTOR, MAKOTO SHINKAI, SAYING: "Sometimes and just by chance something you've made just finds a connection with the audience of that time and place, and I believe that it's only by chance that that something this year was my movie "Your Name"." SHINKAI'S EYES (SOUNDBITE)(Japanese) DIRECTOR, MAKOTO SHINKAI, SAYING: "I think, without realising it, the experience of the natural disaster (of 2011) and various other experiences, changed me. And I think Japanese society and my audience, with or without noticing it, also suddenly changed and they changed into an audience that would go and see something like "Your Name". If I had released this movie before 2011, I don't think that many people would have been moved to see my movie." SHINKAI SEATED (SOUNDBITE)(Japanese) DIRECTOR, MAKOTO SHINKAI, SAYING: "I think people are overestimating me (when they compare me with Hayao Miyazaki). I have never met Hayao Miyazaki, but I have been watching his films since I was a child and grew up with them. It's not only me, but all producers of animation look up to him as a role model and an ideal." SHINKAI SEATED (SOUNDBITE)(Japanese) DIRECTOR, MAKOTO SHINKAI, SAYING: "If you look at certain parts of my movies, and ask me who most influenced me, I'd say that even more than any other animation director, it'd be Haruki Murakami." MORE OF SHINKAI (SOUNDBITE)(Japanese) DIRECTOR, MAKOTO SHINKAI, SAYING: "It would be a miracle if the movie were actually to be nominated but personally I hadn't never really wanted to be a film director, or dreamt of an Oscar nomination, and even now I don't think I really want to walk the red carpet." TOKYO, JAPAN (NOVEMBER 17, 2016) (REUTERS) PEOPLE WALKING PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE, ONE OF THE LOCATIONS IN THE MOVIE TOWER FROM MOVIE VARIOUS OF MAN TAKING PHOTO SUNSHINE FROM PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE (SOUNDBITE) (English) 25-YEAR-OLD TOURIST FROM HONG KONG, ANDY CHAN, SAYING: "After watching the movie, I think we should more considerate of the others around us and care about more people." PEOPLE TAKING PHOTOS (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 21-YEAR-OLD TOURIST FROM HOKKAIDO, MAYUMU SUGAWARA, SAYING: "I watched this film about five times. What I liked about the movie - of course I am a fan - but I also liked the music that my favourite artists created for the film as well as the plot which I can empathise with a lot." TOKYO, JAPAN (NOVEMBER 16, 2016) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF MOVIE THEATRE PEOPLE LOOKING AT MOVIE POSTERS PEOPLE LOOKING AT POSTER OF FILM "YOUR NAME" PEOPLE WALKING IN FRONT OF POSTERS
- Embargoed: 2nd December 2016 10:19
- Keywords: Japan movie Your Name film Oscar
- Location: TOKYO, JAPAN/UNIDENTIFIED FILM LOCATIONS
- City: TOKYO, JAPAN/UNIDENTIFIED FILM LOCATIONS
- Country: Japan
- Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Film
- Reuters ID: LVA00258U0HU5
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The full-length animation film "Your Name" has taken Japan by storm, and is still top of the charts for the 11th week since its release on August 26.
With 18.6 billion yen ($170 million) in ticket sales, it is the top-grossing movie of 2016 in Japan and has even been short-listed for a potential Oscar nomination.
'Your Name' is still far from de-throning legendary animation director Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away which raked in 30.8 billion yen ($281 million), but according to Anime Network, it is the seventh highest-grossing film of all time in Japan.
The film is about two high-school kids with big ambitions who swap their lives and bodies with each other through their dreams. The story is set against the background of a comet with a 1,000-year orbit and an impending natural disaster.
"I think, without realising it, the experience of the natural disaster (of 2011) and various other experiences, changed me. And I think Japanese society and my audience --with or without noticing it -- also suddenly changed. And they changed into an audience that would go and see something like "Your Name". If I had released this movie before 2011, I don't think that many people would have been moved to see my movie," said director Makato Shinkai, 43, who became a full-time animation director 15 years ago after quitting his job at a video game company.
On March 11, 2011 a nine-magnitude quake struck offshore northern Japan, triggering huge waves along a vast swathe of coastline that killed nearly 20,000 people and devastated much of coastal northeastern Japan.
"Sometimes and just by chance something you've made just finds a connection with the audience of that time and place, and I believe that it's only by chance that that something this year was my movie 'Your Name'," Shinkai added.
"Your Name" has, according to the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences website, been submitted for consideration for the 89th Academy Awards, in the Animated Features Film category.
"It would be a miracle if the movie were actually to be nominated but personally I hadn't never really wanted to be a film director, or dreamt of an Oscar nomination, and even now I don't think I really want to walk the red carpet," he said.
Meanwhile in Tokyo his fans are spreading across town on visits to sites shown in his movie.
"After watching the movie, I think we should be more considerate to the others around us and care about more people" said 25-year-old fan, Andy Chan, at an overhead bridge that features prominently in the movie.
According to the distributor, 14.33 million Japanese, more than a tenth of the nation's population, have already gone to theatres across the nation to watch it, some many several times over.
'Your Name' also opened top of the charts in Thailand and Hong Kong last week and is a hit in neighbouring Taiwan.
It will be released in the UK and Australia on November 24 and open in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2017. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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