FUNimation and Nikkatsu to Bring Films from the Sushi Typhoon Label to North America Source: FUNimation Entertainment, Subway Cinema press releases Official Site: The Sushi Typhoon Special Thanks to Marc Walkow, Jackie Smith, Manny Alcala, and Grady Hendrix
Nikkatsu Corporation, Japan’s oldest film studio, and FUNimation Entertainment, the leading distributor of Japanese animation in North America, have announced an agreement that gives FUNimation Entertainment an exclusive first look option on the home entertainment distribution of titles premiering from Nikkatsu Corporation’s new genre film label, The Sushi Typhoon. The first two films slated for release on DVD and Blu-ray through the partnership are the action gore comedy film ALIEN VS. NINJA and the splatter action comedy MUTANT GIRLS SQUAD in early 2011. “The Nikkatsu Corporation is delighted to bring The Sushi Typhoon brand to this side of the Pacific,” said Akifumi Sugihara, Executive Producer of The Sushi Typhoon. “We believe FUNimation Entertainment’s experience with the Japanese entertainment industry is a great asset to helping our films succeed in the North American market.” “It is a privilege to work with The Nikkatsu Corporation on The Sushi Typhoon label,” said Gen Fukunaga, President and CEO of FUNimation Entertainment. “We can’t wait to scare and thrill audiences with our upcoming slate of films.” The Sushi Typhoon is the brainchild of veteran producer Yoshinori Chiba, responsible for introducing directors Takashi Miike (ICHI THE KILLER, AUDITION), Noboru Iguchi (ROBOGEISHA, THE MACHINE GIRL), and Yoshihiro Nishimura (VAMPIRE GIRL VS. FRANKENSTEIN GIRL, TOKYO GORE POLICE) to Western audiences. The new label seeks to satisfy worldwide audiences who crave the good taste of bad taste, and for whom too much is never enough. The Sushi Typhoon has brought together the best and brightest of Japan`s cult cinema world, with Miike, Iguchi and Nishimura joined by the festival award-winning Sion Sono (EXTE- HAIR EXTENSIONS, LOVE EXPOSURE), Tak Sakaguchi (SAMURAI ZOMBIE) and Yudai Yamaguchi (BATTLEFIELD BASEBALL, MEATBALL MACHINE). To celebrate the launch of The Sushi Typhoon in North America, The New York Asian Film Festival will host the world premiere of ALIEN VS. NINJA and the international premiere of MUTANT GIRLS SQUAD, beginning 6pm on July 3rd at New York’s Japan Society (333 East 47th Street, between 1st and 2nd Avenues). In attendance will be directors Yoshihiro Nishimura and Noboru Iguchi, as well as legendary producer Yoshinori Chiba, and actors Masanori Mimoto, Cay Izumi and Asami.
After the MUTANT GIRLS SQUAD premiere (which ends around 10:30pm), the audience will attend The Sushi Typhoon launch party for free food, free beer, and a costume contest. NYAFF reps have invited attendees to "come dressed as an alien, a ninja or a mutant girl and Nishimura and Iguchi will determine who has the best costume. The winner will receive a head. That`s right - Nishimura has brought heads from his special effects workshop and the best costume will get to take one of the grossest home." Following the New York dates, ALIEN VS. NINJA and MUTANT GIRLS SQUAD will screen at film festivals around the world including The Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal, Canada, and the Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival in Switzerland. The Sushi Typhoon will also have a presence at this year’s San Diego Comic Con. Fans will have a chance to meet Nishimura and the stars of ALIEN VS. NINJA, attend The Sushi Typhoon panel previewing upcoming films from the label, and see Friday night screenings of both films. Connoisseurs of dangerous and wild Japanese cinema need look no further to satisfy their hunger for comedy, action, horror, splatter and raucous cult entertainment: The Sushi Typhoon is headed for America`s shores, ready to fill your belly with the raw entertainment you¹ve been craving! Keep up with The Sushi Typhoon on its official Twitter and Facebook.
About FUNimation Entertainment
FUNimation Entertainment, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Navarre Corporation, is the leading company for home video sales of Japanese animation in the United States. FUNimation has a proven formula for launching and advancing brands, and manages a full spectrum of rights for most of its brands including broadcasting, licensing, production, internet, and home video sales and distribution. For more information about FUNimation Entertainment and its brands, visit funimation.com.
About Nikkatsu Corporation
Nikkatsu Corporation is proud to be Japan’s oldest major film studio still in operation. Since 1912, Nikkatsu continues to bring quality entertainment to Japanese audiences with its expansive library of over three thousand titles. The studio is known for producing and distributing the best from Japanese filmmakers, importing high caliber films from around the world to Japan, and operating broadcast networks that reach millions of homes daily.
About The Sushi Typhoon
Born in 2010, The Sushi Typhoon is the the upstart, wild offspring of respectable parent, Nikkatsu Corporation, once home to legendary 1960`s action stars like Joe Shishido, Akira Kobayashi, Tetsuya Watari, Meiko Kaji and Yujiro Ishihara. With a long history of genre films and violent gangster epics, the company was also the leader of Japan`s erotic renaissance of the 1970¹s with their Roman Porno lineŠand now, Nikkatsu`s latest offering, The Sushi Typhoon, takes their century-old extremes to the next level. The brainchild of veteran producer Yoshinori Chiba, The Sushi Typhoon seeks to satisfy audiences who crave the good taste of bad taste, and for whom too much is never enough. A tour-de-force of inventive, boundary-pushing entertainment, the first phase of The Sushi Typhoon`s films will be released in late 2010 and early 2011, with the company self-distributing their titles in North America with the assistance of FUNimation Entertainment. FUNimation will begin releasing Sushi Typhoon titles to DVD and BluRay in early 2011.