"In death, Kurosawa remains hot movie property"

Thought this article might be of interest:


In death, Kurosawa remains hot movie property
Reuters
Aug 2 2001 3:37AM

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The emperor of Japanese cinema Akira Kurosawa is
dead. Long live the emperor.
Japanese movie director extraordinaire Kurosawa, who died in 1998 at
the age of 88, has been a major player in the global movie market
over the past few years, albeit posthumously.

In July, two production deals were inked with U.S. companies to make
English-language versions of Kurosawa classics, which helped put
Japanese cinema on the world map.

Kurosawa has been hailed as one of the greatest filmmakers ever for
his tales of samurai, detectives, businessmen and petty bureaucrats
that struck at the heart of the human psyche and were steeped in
ambiguity.

Since his death Kurosawa has landed screen credits for writing
scripts for two new movies.

"There are a lot of people in Hollywood thinking of making their own
version of a Kurosawa classic," one U.S. movie executive said.

The recent deals that have been struck include a pact between
Hollywood's Harbor Light Entertainment and Kurosawa's movie
production company to make a U.S. version of the Kurosawa
classic "Rashomon."

The other deal is with a production company affiliated with acclaimed
director and Kurosawa fan Martin Scorsese, which will do a remake of
the kidnapping thriller "High and Low" (Tengoku to Jigoku).

"We are looking to make a contemporary thriller set in mid- to small-
town America," Edwin Marshall of Harbor Light said of his company's
planned remake of "Rashomon," which many critics call Kurosawa's most
famous work.

Marshall lived in Japan and spent some time on the set with Kurosawa.
His partner Stuart Calcote is a Japan-hand who played a key role in
landing "Rashomon".

REVERENCE FOR THE MASTER

Marshall said that Harbor Light is approaching their "Rashomon"
remake with reverence to the movie whose title has become a catchword
for the inability to ever know the truth about a certain situation.

Harbor Light scored the movie after lengthy discussions with
Kurosawa's son Hisao. The company is in talks with an Academy Award-
nominated writer for the screenplay of the film they aim to produce
for about $40 million.

Kurosawa's "Rashomon" (1951) is set in medieval Japan and tells of
the rape of a nobleman's bride by a bandit. The point of view from
the movie is from the participants and a witness, and each character
recounts the incident in a way that shines favorable light on them.

The movie won the Grand Prix at the Venice International Film
Festival, which was the first major international recognition ever
achieved by a Japanese filmmaker.

In the other remake deal announced in July, entertainment trade paper
Variety reported that Brazilian director Walter Salles, whose 1998
film "Central Station" was Oscar-nominated for best foreign-language
picture, will remake "High and Low" after Kurosawa's production
company willed the rights to the movie to Scorsese's Cappa
Productions.

Disney's Touchstone Pictures is thinking of making the movie but has
yet to "greenlight" the project, it said. Cappa Production officials
were not immediately available for comment.

"I have a feeling that a lot of Kurosawa's movies will be remade over
time," acclaimed director Wayne Wang ("The Joy Luck Club" and "Smoke"
told Reuters.

"A lot of people have not seen the originals and Americans are always
looking for good material to remake," Wang said, adding that he sees
a cycle brewing for Kurosawa remakes.

KUROSAWA AND HOLLYWOOD

The interest in remaking Kurosawa is nothing new.

Kurosawa's "The Seven Samurai" (1954) inspired the American
Western "The Magnificent Seven" (1960), which boosted the career of
Steve McQueen.

Italian director Sergio Leone made a version of Kurosawa's "Yojimbo"
(1961) as the spaghetti Western "A Fistful of Dollars"(1964), which
helped make Clint Eastwood a movie star. The movie was remade again
in 1996 under the title "Last Man Standing" with Bruce Willis as the
star.

Kurosawa's historical spectacle "The Hidden Fortress" (1958) was
credited by George Lucas as an important source for "Star Wars."
And "Rashomon" had a Hollywood remake in the guise of a quickly
forgotten Western called Outrage (1964), which had Paul Newman
playing the part of the bandit.

Kurosawa also borrowed from western classics with movies such as 1985
feudal Japan war tale "Ran", which was based on William Shakespeare's
play "King Lear".

In his native Japan, where Kurosawa toiled as a fringe figure in the
movie industry for years despite his international fame, Kurosawa
scripts became a hot property after his death.

Japanese studio Nikkatsu produced a movie about a sword-slinging
gangster based on a screenplay by Kurosawa and Keisuke Kinoshita
called "Dora Heita", which came out about a year ago.

Kurosawa's production company took a screenplay from the great
Japanese director that had not been filmed to make the movie "Ame
Agaru" (After the Rain). The movie is about a samurai trying to find
work in changing times and came from a screenplay from Kurosawa with
his directorial notes.

Kurosawa planned to shoot the movie a few years ago, but illness
prevented him from starting the film.

"What I hope for more than anything else is that Kurosawa's genius
will continue to influence the industry," U.S. "Rashomon" producer
Marshall said.