Hayao Miyazaki

Hayao Miyazaki breaks his U.S. boycott to attend Comic-Con. Credit: Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times. In 2003, Hayao Miyazaki decided not to attend the Academy Awards, even though his film, “Spirited Away,” was up for Best Animated Feature. He did not give a reason at the time, and it was conjectured that the Japanese animator’s absence was related to President Bush’s decision to invade Iraq that year. Miyazaki, who has not spoken publicly of the subject, today explained his reasons in an interview with The Times at Comic-Con. “The reason I wasn’t here for the Academy Award was because I didn’t want to visit a country that was bombing Iraq,” he said. “At the time, my producer shut me up and did not allow me to say that, but I don’t see him around today. By the way, my […]

Susan King has a report on the U.S. life of “Ponyo,” the latest masterpiece from the dreams of Hayao Miyazaki. — G.B. Walt Disney Pictures has achieved great critical success distributing the fanciful, inventive works of the legendary Japanese anime filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki. His “Spirited Away,” which was released in the U.S. in 2002, earned the Academy Award for best animated feature — Miyazaki is the only anime filmmaker to have won the animation Oscar — and 2005′s “Howl’s Moving Castle” received an Oscar nomination in that category as well. But financially, the films have fizzled. Though “Spirited Away” made $264.9 million internationally, the hand-drawn 2-D animated film barely made $10 million in America. “Howl’s Moving Castle” did even worse domestically, with just $4.7 million, as opposed to the $230.5 million it grossed internationally. Veteran producers Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy […]

There’s a new anime exhibit underway and longtime film-scene writer Susan King sent over this preview for readers of Hero Complex. Anime is for kids of all ages — well, except for all the adult-only material. That’s why there are some carefully curtained areas at Anime! High Art-Pop Culture, the exhbition now underway at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills. The erotic is a “huge component of anime,” according to academy programmer Ellen Harrington, which is why strategic steps were taken with the exhibit in the academy’s grand lobby and the fourth-floor galleries. “We expect this is going to be very popular with families and we want to make sure that no one is put into an uncomfortable position. So it is curtained off with warning signs.” Originating at the Deutsches Filmmuseum, Frankfurt am Main in Germany, the exhibition traveled […]

Brace yourself for a new wave of clichéd Bat headlines like "Holy Box Office, Batman!" and "Holy Half-Billion, Batman!" The reason is "The Dark Knight" has broken the $500-million mark at the U.S. box office. The AP story has the numbers: “The Dark Knight” on Sunday became the second movie in Hollywood history to top $500 million at the domestic box office, raising its total to $502.4 million, according to estimates from distributor Warner Bros. The film hit that mark in just over six weeks, half the time it took “Titanic,” which reached $500 million in a little more than three months. “Titanic,” the biggest modern blockbuster, remains No. 1 on the domestic charts with $600.8 million. Despite its brisk pace, “The Dark Knight” is not expected to approach the total for “Titanic,” which put up smaller numbers week after […]