Date:       Tue, 9 Feb 1999 21:53:20 -0800
From:       Ryoko Toyama <ryokot@ROCKETMAIL.COM>
Subject:    MH's worldwide release
To:         Multiple recipients of list NAUSICAA <NAUSICAA@BROWNVM.BROWN.EDU>


Houchi Shinbun, a Japanese "sports" newspaper is currently running a series of
articles about MH and Ghibli. (Reprinted in Yashuhide Mohri's web page,
http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~hn7y-mur/mononoke2/monolink06link30.htm in
Japanese - thanks, Mohri-San!).

Here are several news from the articels:
(As usual, since Houchi is a kind of tabloid, please take any info with a
grain of salt, though it seems that Houchi is getting their info from Ghibli
and Tokuma International)

*MH will be released in 15 countries; US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Brazil,
Australia and such.

(My comment: it *might* be just that Disney is just "thinking about" releasing
MH in these countries, but has no concrete plan yet. Houchi tends to report
things in a planning stage as a done deal.)

*At a press conference held on Jan. 25th, 1999, Mr. Tokuma said that MH will
be released in July, at 1,000 theaters in 100 cities in the US.

(My comment: there are several posiblities.
1. MH will be indeed released in 1,000 theaters. - yes!
2. Mr. Tokuma just believes that Miramax would do it, but there is no ground
for this figure.
3. Mr. Tokuma knows that there is no ground for this figure, but just keeps
saying it to make MH look bigger in Japanese reporters' eyes. This is possible
as Mr. Tokuma is known to be a big mouth.)

*Toki is played by Jada Pinckett (Scream 2, The Nutty Professor).

*Mr. Alpert, the president of Tokuma International attented all the recording
session for the English dub.

*The sub was directed by Jack Fletcher, but Harvey Weinstein, the CEO of
Miramax wasn't satisfied with the result at first. He thought that actors's
performance level wasn't satisfying enough, in terms of expressing emotions.
For example, Clarie Danes (San) had a very difficult time to express the
complex emotion of San. But Minnie Driver who played Eboshi did a superb job
expressing Eboshi as a noble woman. (Miramax wanted British accent from her.)

(My comment: I think that the article will talk about how Miramax ammended
this problem later. I certainly hope so.)

*MH will not be cut. Mr. Suzuki, the producer says that it's in the contract,
and he made sure that Harvey "the scissor-hand" Weinstein promised that he
would not cut or change the music. He even made a point by giving Weinstein a
fake Japanese sword. But Weinstein is still calling Ghibli from time to time,
asking if he could cut the film a littel bit.

*The cost to make the English dub is 350 million yen (about 3 million dollar),
and of it, the fee for Neil Gaiman (who polished the English script) was 25
million yen (about $200,000 in 1$=Y115 rate).


Ryo