Chapter 232: Japanese Movies

Japan, an important part of East Asia, densely populated yet economically advanced, had a total of 47 primary administrative regions, including 1 metropolis, 1 circuit, 2 urban prefectures, and 43 prefectures.

The metropolis was Tokyo. The circuit was Hokkaido. The urban prefectures were Osaka and Kyoto. Secondary administrative divisions included cities, towns, villages, or districts.

Tokyo Metropolis not only included the 23 special wards of Tokyo but also 26 surrounding cities, 5 towns, and 8 villages. The 23 special wards made up the core part of Tokyo, which was known simply as Tokyo.

The headquarters of Capet Pictures Japan was located in Shibuya, Tokyo, forming part of the bustling central area alongside Chuo, Minato, Shinjuku, Chiyoda, and Bunkyo.

The Da Vinci Code had grossed $75 million in Japan this year, surpassing Mission Impossible III which made $46 million. However, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest was currently being released in Japan and was performing even stronger.

Charles sat in his chair, with Masami Takahashi standing respectfully beside him, waiting for instructions.

"Good job. You've done well in Japan over these past two years. Although the market for Hollywood movies in Japan is shrinking, Japan's importance as the second-largest market in the world is indisputable!" Despite Takahashi's unremarkable appearance, he was indeed capable.

"This is what I should do. Later this month, The Departed will be released in Japan. I believe it will also perform well," Takahashi, whose main responsibility was the distribution of Capet Pictures' movies in Japan, explained.

Charles nodded. Last month, the crew of The Departed had already come to Japan for promotion. With stars like Brad Pitt and Christian Bale, he believed it would do well.

Another film, The Devil Wears Prada, was set to be released in Japan in November, about four months later than in North America.

"By the way, I've already spoken with Shochiku about our intention to remake Hachiko Monogatari, and they are willing to sell the script!" Takahashi reported.

"Hmm, send the script back to headquarters. It's a touching story. I remembered it when I saw the statue at Shibuya Station," said Charles. The first thing he did upon arriving in Japan was to acquire the script about the loyal dog, Hachiko.

Shochiku had originally developed Hachiko Monogatari in the '80s, which was based on a true story from the 1920s. An Akita dog named Hachiko waited at the station for its deceased owner to return for nine years until it died.

"Oh, the statue at Shibuya Station was recast after the original was melted down during World War II," Takahashi explained.

"The script recommended by TBS, Departures, sounds good. Tell me more about it," Charles pointed to the script on the table.

Takahashi hurriedly explained, "The inspiration for the script came from actor Masahiro Motoki. A few years ago, Motoki traveled to India and was deeply moved by the local funeral rituals. After returning to Japan, he read Shinmon Aoki's memoir Coffinman: The Journal of a Buddhist Mortician. It was the first time he learned about the profession of 'Nokanshi' or encoffiners.

Motoki read a lot about death and felt that Aoki's stories were suited for a movie. He found scriptwriter Kundo Koyama and invited him to create a story about an encoffiner, hoping to play the role himself.

Director Yojiro Takita felt a deep personal connection to the script after reading it."

"He said that as he aged, he had more experiences with life and death. Through the movie, he wanted to find emotional elements in a less-focused subject matter that could captivate and move the audience. His idea was to make a film that collides joy and sorrow to discuss significant life events.

Since it's a movie about death, it was hard to find investors and distributors. TBS could only provide limited financial support."

Charles smirked. Departures was Japan's Oscar-winning Best Foreign Language Film, highly praised and had a decent box office.

"About love, death, emotions, and the human connection to nature... It avoids focusing on the death process, spotlighting the final presentation of the body, respecting the deceased with a perspective that views death beautifully," Charles said, glancing at Takahashi.

"Let Capet Pictures Japan branch develop Departures as our first local film production. Cooperate with TBS on this project."

"Understood. I think TBS will be willing to work with us," Takahashi replied.

TBS was one of Japan's five major private TV networks. Charles frequently confused it with Turner Broadcasting in the US since both were abbreviated as TBS.

Japan had six major TV networks in total. Apart from the public broadcaster NHK, the other five private TV networks were NTV, TBS, Fuji TV, TV Asahi, and TV Tokyo.

In terms of viewership, Fuji TV ranked first due to its strong production capabilities, formed with investments from movie companies Toho, Toei, and Shochiku. It was followed by TV Asahi and TBS.

"Also, we need the movie adaptation rights for this youth delinquent manga, Crows. Talk with the author and the publishing company, and find suitable people to develop the movie," Charles instructed, tossing the '90s school violence manga Crows onto the table.

"A manga adaptation movie!" Takahashi's eyes lit up. Was it finally happening?

Charles stood up, "Anything else?"

"Tonight, there's a business cocktail party in the Japanese film industry. Here's the invitation," Takahashi handed Charles an invitation with both hands.

Charles glanced at it casually. It was a large entertainment business cocktail party. "Got it, I'll go take a look tonight."

In any case, Charles hoped to establish a foothold in Japan as quickly as possible. The local Japanese film companies were quite powerful.

Toho, Toei, Nikkatsu, Shochiku, and Kadokawa were the five major film companies. Not only did they have long histories, but they also had deeply rooted influences in Japan.

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