ryuganji: film news from japan

Everyone’s talking this morning about the announcement of Miyazaki Hayao’s next film, “Gake no Ue no Ponyo” (literally translated as “Ponyo on a Cliff”). You can review the coverage via the links in the News column below (or in the RSS feed if you’re a subscriber).

Wondering if the English reports were omitting anything important, I rummaged through various Japanese sources and found a rather interesting quote at Sponichi. Although other stories have reported that the protagonist Sosuke is based on Hayao’s grandson, the son of “Tales from Earthsea” director Miyazaki Goro, Sponichi (and fellow sports newspapers Sanspo and Hochi) claim the model for the character is actually Goro himself. Apparently, the elder Miyazaki had taken Goro’s assumption of directing duties on “Tales from Earthsea” as an act of rebellion against him, and is making his new film to prevent the creation of “another child like Goro”, blaming their current enmity on his devotion to his work and consequent absence during Goro’s childhood. (source: Sponichi)