Kadokawa Pictures

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Kadokawa Herald Pictures, Inc. (角川ヘラルド映画株式会社, Kadokawa Herarudo Eiga Kabushiki Kaisha^?) is a Japanese movie studio.

[edit] History

Founded in 1942 as Daiei Motion Picture Company (大映株式会社, Daiei Kabushiki kaisha^?), the studio went bankrupt in 1971. In 1974 it was bought by Tokuma Shoten; and in 2002 was sold to Kadokawa Shoten and renamed Kadokawa Daiei Motion Picture Co. Ltd., later Kadokawa Pictures. In March 2004, Kadokawa Pictures acquired a 44% stake in Nippon Herald Films and acquired the remaining 56% stake the following year. [1][2] Following the passing of Yasuyoshi Tokuma, Daiei was sold to the massive Kadokawa Publishing Company. In November 2002, Chairman Maihiko Kadokawa announced that Daiei would merge with the company’s own film division to form the Kadokawa-Daiei Motion Picture Company. Shortly thereafter, the company’s name was simplified to Kadokawa Pictures. On March 1, 2006, it merged with the Kadokawa Herald to become Kadokawa Herald Pictures Inc. One of the most famous studios in Japan, it is best known for having produced the giant monster Gamera film series and the Daimajin Trilogy. It also produced the Zatoichi film series and the television series Shōnen Jet.

The new studio quickly went to work on several projects. It approached Toho about co-producing Godzilla vs. Gamera, but the offer was rejected, so Kadokawa turned its attention to reviving some of the combined studio’s best known properties. 2005 saw successful releases for both Masāki Tezuka’s Samurai Commando: Mission 1,549 (Sengoku Jieitai 1,549) and Takashi Mīke’s The Great Yokai War (Yokai Daisenso). As these two films opened in Japan, Kadokawa Pictures revealed that the studio would begin shooting the twelfth Gamera film in July 2005.

[edit] External links

• Company Web Site (Japanese)
• Kadokawa Pictures at the Internet Movie Database