VENICE (Reuters) - Japan's Hayao Miyazaki was awarded a lifetime achievement award at the Venice Film Festival on Friday, and said he was unconcerned that his films, hugely popular at home, had failed to match that success abroad.

[today.reuters.com]


I, for one, love Asian film and Miyazaki's animated films are some of my favorite movies. I'm so glad that he received this award because his work is really wonderful. If you've never seen a Miyazaki movie, pick one up or rent one. Disney has been distributing some of Miyazaki's more kid friendly stories (Nausicaa, Spirited Away, Castle in the Sky and Kiki's Delivery Service are the ones that we've collected on DVD via Disney) so they aren't that hard to find now. Each one is really very special. Princess Mononoke isn't really for children but it is a great film. One thing that I can say about Miyazaki is that he is able to capture truly powerful moments in his films that just simply take your breath away.

The one thing that perturbed me in the article was James Cameron reworking the anime, Battleangel Alita, to "US taste". I think it's not only a shame that they're going to make this movie into a live action but that they're going to alter it. I probably won't see it. It does seem to be a bit of a craze for Hollywood to turn animated films/series into live movies though. Aeon Flux, a series that many will probably remember from MTV's airing of it in segments years ago, is also being made into a movie with Charlize Theron cast as the raven haired heroine. I don't mind that so much but eh, what next? Ghost in the Shell? Akira?

Stephanie

In every man there is something wherein I may learn of him, and in that I am his pupil.--Ralph Waldo Emerson