Latest news with #Hideo
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘My Grandfather Is A Nihonjin': Director Behind Brazilian-Japanese Animation Details Why She Didn't Want To Make An Anime
EXCLUSIVE: The director behind My Grandfather is a Nihonjin, an animation about the Japanese immigrant experience in Brazil, has said she did not want to lean too heavily into anime but forge her own unique blend of Japanese and South American style. Speaking before its screening at Annecy, Celia Catunda revealed her desire to 'create another style to make this film,' combining the Japanese animation tradition with Brazil to give the movie an entirely fresh flavor. More from Deadline Protests Against Artificial Intelligence Planned For Annecy Animation Fest 'Animal Farm' Review: Andy Serkis Directs Seth Rogen And All-Star Voice Cast In Clever And Chilling Take On Orwell's Classic Novella - Annecy Animation Festival Chinese AI Video Generator Vidu Strikes IP Deal For Animated Series 'Journey To The West: Legends Of The Monkey King' The film comes 30 years after a treaty of friendship was signed between Brazil and Japan in Paris and Brazil is now home to the largest Japanese community outside Japan, with an estimated 2 million people with Japanese descendants thought to be living there. The pic follows Noboru, a young boy from São Paolo who discovers his Japanese roots. When he's assigned a homework assignment about his family, Noboru turns to his grandfather Hideo to learn more about his heritage. Despite having always avoided his past, Hideo agrees to share his story. The film is crafted in a hand-drawn 2D animation style, incorporating Japanese cultural influences. 'From the beginning, many people asked if we would do an anime-style feature and I felt I didn't want to do that,' said Catunda, who runs My Grandfather is a Nihonjin producer Pinguim Content. 'Japanese animation is so strong. I wanted to create another style that went a bit Brazilian and wasn't completely Japanese.' The movie is based on the acclaimed novel by Oscar Nakasato and Catunda incorporates her own experiences growing up with friends who had Japanese heritage. She worked closely with Oscar Oiwa, a contemporary artist born in São Paolo to Japanese immigrants who helped with setup and visuals. Catunda does not have Japanese heritage herself and engaged creative consultants to make sure she didn't stray too close to stereotype, especially when it came to the music, which was quite a challenge. The film leads with a musical style that combines Japanese sounds with Brazilian music from the countryside. 'Sometimes you are not aware of the stereotypes you are falling into so it was important to have a Japanese consultant who supervised the scripts and worked on the characters,' she added. 'When the grandfather opened his arms wide she would tell us that wouldn't work as a Japanese person would not open his arms like that, he would be more closed off. And the music could sound a little 'generic Japanese' at times so we needed to be specific.' The immigrant experience Given her upbringing in a Brazilian melting pot, Catunda was inspired to make a movie about the immigrant experience, and many of Noboru's friends in the film have differing backgrounds including one who is a descendant of slavery. Catunda believes that animation is the perfect medium to convey themes around immigration and she said one of her favorite movies is Dounia and the Princess of Aleppo, which was at Annecy three years back. 'The way you design characters conveys a lot of the cultural aspects and you can also invite different voices to make things more realistic,' she added. 'But at the same time you don't need to have too many different actors from too many different places. Animation can be more symbolic.' Central to these themes is the conflict between Noboru and his grandfather, Catunda explained. 'For most of his life [the grandfather] had wanted to keep being a Japanese person but the grandson is the opposite, he wants to reaffirm his Brazilian identity,' she added. 'This was a good source of conflict for the whole movie. We wanted the arc of both characters to be about them discovering the complexity of their identities. That is the beauty of the migration process and what makes Brazilian culture so rich.' My Grandfather is a Nihonjin has landed a coveted premiere at Annecy on Thursday and this comes at a good time for independent animation, following Latvian movie Flow's Oscar win, which saw the film about a cat trying to survive a post-apocalyptic world beat off big-budget competition from the American studios. 'Flow was a very good thing for all the people that work in animation because we need to seek different things and sometimes budgets can be so big that they scare us,' said Catunda. 'I'm a very strong believer in stories over budgets. I think we can always dream big and being at Annecy will give us the visibility we need.' Catunda hopes there will be a 'happy road ahead' for My Grandfather is a Nihonjin. It is set to screen at several more festivals in the coming months. Along with marketing My Grandfather is a Nihonjin, Catunda is also developing Luna and the Missing Rivers – An Amazon Adventure, a spin-off of popular TV series Earth to Luna set in the Amazon, which tackles themes of climate change. Best of Deadline Sean 'Diddy' Combs Sex-Trafficking Trial Updates: Cassie Ventura's Testimony, $10M Hotel Settlement, Drugs, Violence, & The Feds A Full Timeline Of Blake Lively & Justin Baldoni's 'It Ends With Us' Feud In Court, Online & In The Media Where To Watch All The 'John Wick' Movies: Streamers That Have All Four Films
Hindustan Times
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
SS Rajamouli catches up with famed Japanese video game designer Hideo Kojima; fans wonder what's up
Director SS Rajamouli, his son, producer SS Karthikeya, caught up with the famous Japanese video game designer Hideo Kojima virtually. Hideo and Karthikeya, both, posted about it on their social media, making fans curious if they're collaborating on something big. (Also Read: 'Sher' Mahesh Babu's new look for SS Rajamouli's SSMB 29 excites fans: 'The world is going to see a new Hollywood hero') Hideo posted a picture on his X (formerly Twitter) account on Wednesday that blew up in no time. The picture shows him posing near a monitor and smiling as Rajamouli and Karthikeya join him over a video call. Posting it, he wrote, 'With director S.S. Rajamouli and his son and producer, S.S. Karthikeya.' Karthikeya re-shared his post on X, writing, 'Beyond excited for this (heart emoji).' Fans didn't know what to make of it, given that neither of them revealed any details. One fan commented, 'Naatu Naatu in Death Stranding 2?' referring to his famous 2019 game. Another wrote, 'No way,' with a mind blown emoji. One fan joked, 'What is bro gonna do to them.' while others wondered if he has a 'cameo' in Rajamouli's film. A fan pointed out, 'Wow , this is too good !! I remember @ssrajamouli getting scanned in @KojiPro2015_EN office , hoping for his cameo in #DS2 ….But I think some collab is happening where @HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN's help is being asked for #SSMB29.' Hideo is famous for designing games like Metal Gear, Zone of the Enders series, Snatcher and Policenauts. He founded Kojima Productions within Konami in 2005 and became the vice president of Konami Digital Entertainment in 2011. Director Michael Sarnoski, who recently directed A Quiet Place: Day One has been roped in to helm the live-action adaptation of Death Stranding. A24 and Kojima Productions are producing it, with Ari Aster and Lars Knudsen's Square Peg also joining the project. A post shared by SS Rajamouli (@ssrajamouli) Rajamouli and Hideo first met when the filmmaker was in Japan to promote RRR. He posted pictures on his Instagram account with Hideo, writing, 'Delighted and honoured to meet the legendary @hideo_kojima in Japan. Talked to him about video games, movies and much more… Will cherish these memories for long :)'
Japan Times
09-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Japan Times
‘Ghost Killer': Spirited action and sharp humor make for deadly fun combo
Since 2021, Yugo Sakamoto and Kensuke Sonomura have partnered on the 'Baby Assassins' hit film and TV series of action comedies, with Sakamoto scripting and directing and Sonomura handling the action. Sonomura is a veteran action director and stunt coordinator with a long list of credits, but his work with Sakamoto stands out for its fast-paced, tightly choreographed blend of hardcore martial arts action and deadly gun play — a rare combination in recent Japanese films. In making their latest film, 'Ghost Killer,' Sonomura took over the directing role, with Sakamoto scripting in his characteristic talky, screwball-comedy style. Their lead actor, Akari Takaishi, also stars alongside Saori Izawa in the 'Baby Assassins' series as bickering teenage roommates who belong to an assassins' guild and carry out hits with a brisk lethality. The mobile-featured Takaishi is a gifted comedian who gets most of the laughs, while the laconic Izawa is a trained martial artist who does more of the heavy fighting. In the similarly action-packed 'Ghost Killer,' Takaishi plays Fumika Matsuoka, a college student who one day picks up an empty cartridge, not knowing that the bullet it once contained killed a middle-aged hitman, Hideo Kudo (Masanori Mimoto). Now a ghost, Hideo follows Fumika back to her apartment and, when he appears before her looking very much alive, she understandably freaks out. He has his uses, as she finds out when she comes across her best friend Maho (Ayaka Higashino) being beaten by her punk boyfriend. Possessed by the ghost, she acquires his moves and strength — and quickly knocks out the boyfriend. Once he leaves her body, she reverts to her normal, pacifistic self who devoutly wishes that Hideo would go to whatever hell awaits him. But he can't until, as he testily explains, Fumika kills the gangster who killed him, thus expiating the grudge he feels toward his killer. And he somehow has to move her from a hard no to a reluctant yes. Along the way to this denouement, Fumika battles an array of baddies, starting with a pair of internet influencers who try to drug and rape her, and culminating with Hideo's former associates in what she persists in calling an 'anti-social organization' — cop talk for gang. One is Riku Kagehara (Mario Kuroba), Hideo's hitman rival, a handsome guy with a penetrating gaze. Fumika, however, is immune to his bad-boy charm. She hates gangsters and their violence on principle, especially after she sees her apartment being trashed in one of their dustups. This scene and others like it are played with a comic undercurrent. Takaishi as Fumika generates most of the laughs, with flawless timing that lands gags solidly. And Mimoto, who has worked extensively as a stunt actor, brings a high-level skill set to the action scenes. That said, the various plot turns are all-too familiar, if not quite AI-generated dreck. And the premise of a swarthy hitman possessing a college girl's body borders on icky. But the film does not treat sexual harassment as a joke, and when Riku and Hideo join forces against an evil gang boss and his minions, with Fumika lending herself to the cause, the ensuing action is hard-hitting and nonstop. 'Ghost Killer' is the latest proof that Sakamoto and Sonomura produce superior action entertainment, no matter who is in the director's chair.
Associated Press
05-02-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Affinia Therapeutics Appoints Hideo Makimura, M.D., Ph.D., as Chief Medical Officer
Seasoned physician-scientist and R&D executive with significant early- and late-stage drug development experience across multiple therapeutic areas including cardiovascular and neuroscience diseases Brings a successful track record of more than 12 Investigational New Drug and Clinical Trial Applications and drug approvals WALTHAM, Mass., Feb. 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Affinia Therapeutics ('Affinia'), an innovative gene therapy company with a pipeline of rationally designed adeno-associated virus (AAV) gene therapies for devastating cardiovascular and neurological diseases, today announced the appointment of Hideo Makimura, M.D., Ph.D. as its Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Makimura brings extensive leadership experience in both early- and late-stage clinical research and development (R&D) in the biopharmaceutical industry and academic research, as well as complementary clinical practice expertise as an endocrinologist to Affinia. He has taken many novel molecules into humans for the first time and has contributed to more than 12 successful Investigational New Drug (IND), Clinical Trial Authorization (CTA) and regulatory approval submissions. 'Hideo brings decades of experience in early- and late-stage drug development across multiple therapeutic areas and modalities including cardiovascular disease, neuroscience, and gene therapies,' said Rick Modi, Affinia's Chief Executive Officer. 'He is a respected thought leader in our industry whose experience will enable designing and executing development pathways which can evaluate meaningful efficacy in first-in-human trials adaptable to pivotal trials to potentially support new drug applications. The addition of Hideo to our leadership team is a key step in progressing our lead investigational drug program, AFTX-201 in BAG3 dilated cardiomyopathy, toward an IND application later this year and building our pipeline of cardiovascular and neurologic programs.' Dr. Makimura said, 'Affinia is at the forefront of transforming how we treat devastating cardiovascular and neurological diseases with its rationally designed gene therapies. I am excited to join this outstanding team and apply my knowledge and experience to advance our investigational programs to the clinic to achieve our mission of delivering potentially curative therapies to patients in desperate need of better treatments.' Dr. Makimura is a renowned drug developer with more than 20 years' experience as a physician-scientist at biopharmaceutical companies and academia. He has broad R&D, clinical, translational, business, regulatory, and executive management experience across multiple phases, modalities, geographies, and therapeutic areas. Dr. Makimura has particular expertise in early- and late-phase drug development in cardiovascular, metabolic, ophthalmology, neuroscience, oncology, and rare diseases while holding roles of increasing seniority at Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and Merck. He joins Affinia from J&J where he was most recently Global Vice President (VP) and Head of R&D for Ophthalmology, and before that, Global VP and Head of Translational & Experimental Medicine for Cardiometabolic Disease. Prior to J&J, Dr. Makimura had successful careers at Merck and Harvard Medical School. Prior to joining industry, Dr. Makimura was an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. A patent holder and recipient of numerous academic and professional honors, research awards, and grants, he is an author on more than 60 manuscripts, reviews, and abstracts. He earned his medical degree and a Ph.D. in neuroscience from the Mt. Sinai Icahn School of Medicine and a bachelor of science degree from Yale University. Dr. Makimura trained as a clinical endocrinologist and is board certified in endocrinology, diabetes, and metabolism. About Affinia Therapeutics Affinia Therapeutics is pioneering a shift to a new class of rationally designed gene therapies that treat rare and prevalent diseases. Affinia Therapeutics' pipeline of first-in-class or best-in-class product candidates in cardiovascular and neurological diseases leverages its proprietary next-generation capsids, payloads, or manufacturing approaches and have shown efficacy, safety, and differentiation in relevant animal models. For more information, visit
