ryuganji: film news from japan

In order to provide a bit of background concerning the mechanics behind the lack of original screenplays in current commercial Japanese cinema (touched upon in my response to the Japan Times’ recent editorial), I’ve translated this article from Sankei’s Iza news site in its entirety for your edification.

A new trend has emerged in Japanese film. It’s the recent conspicuous ‘gensakumono’ (adaptations) based on popular novels and manga. As book readership is notedly decreasing, the publishing world is actively pursuing screen-oriented strategies in order to reach a new customer base.

“Are the rights for this book available?” The Content Projects Office at publisher Shinchosha regularly receives phone calls from film and television companies. At busy times, over ten a week. According to the office’s General Manager Hamasaki Akiko, “there are definitely more [licensing] contracts now than there were before.”

The office was set up in April last year. It unified the company’s separate divisions dealing with adaptations, and also plays a coordinating role when acting as a member of a film’s production committee. The first production originated with the office’s direct involvement, an adaptation of Sato Takako’s “Shaberedomo, Shaberedomo“, is currently in general release.

Hamasaki adds: “By creating a dedicated unit, adaptations have become a lot easier to realise. And through being proactively involved, we want to take measures to ensure that the creator also benefits.”

The catalyst for the gensakumono boom in film and television was 2004’s “Crying Out Love, in the Center of the World”. The book and the film complemented each other to register as megahits, and were followed by “Be With You” and “Train Man” [Densha Otoko]. “Hana Yori Dango” and other manga-derived TV series have also enjoyed widespread popularity.

“We have specialist staff keeping tabs on every new novel and manga.　Original screenplays take time, and the ability to predict viewership with a bestseller as your source material is a big plus”, says an [unnamed] employee of a major film company.

Shinchosha Managing Director Ishii Takashi says: “Publishing’s been said to be in a downturn and lagging behind industries like IT, but the next thing you know it’s like we’ve taken the lead one lap late. Perhaps it’s because film and TV companies have come to look at publishers as sources of content once more.”

Kodansha has established the “Original Story for Television Award” in conjunction with TBS. The winner chosen from over 1400 entries, “Torishimarareyaku Shinnyushain” is scheduled to be made into a TV series and published from next spring.　

Kunikane Shuji, head of Kodansha’s secondary literature publishing division, says: “With publishing and screen [interests working together], one plus one can equal three or four. If people watch a good adaptation, they’re bound to want to read the book.” (source: Iza)