Page 1 of Japan`s Toei to produce Battle Royale sequel

Saw this article in Screendaily yesterday, what do you think of a sequel?


Mamiko Kawamoto in Tokyo

Japan's leading distributor/exhibitor Toei, is to produce a sequel to the smash-hit feature Battle Royale.

Directed by Kinji Fukasaku, Battle Royale earned $25.8m (Y3.1bn) in Japan from 2,150,000 admissions and went on to sell more than 29,000 video and DVD copies.

The film's violence became an issue at the Japanese national assembly when politicians attempted to get the film banned. The film was released in December 2000 with an R-15 rating from the Eirin industry censorship board and despite this restriction, has attracted long lines of teens and young adults.

"Compared to Battle Royale, the sequel will have more violence but the story will give more hope to the audience," said Kenta Fukasaku, the son of the director, producer and the scriptwriter of Battle Royale and its sequel at the press conference in Tokyo on September 25.

Battle Royale 2 will not follow the story based on the original novel, but will be a "war movie" reflecting the director's personal experiences during World War II.

Currently in pre-production, Battle Royale 2 is scheduled to be in production in December 2002 and will be released in summer 2003. Toei will handle the domestic distribution of the film.

Fukasaku, a 73-year-old veteran celebrated abroad for his Battles Without Honour Or Humanity series about gang wars in early post-war Hiroshima, has been suffering from marrow cancer since after the completion of Battle Royale in 2000 and Battle Royale 2 will possibly be the director's last work.

sounds intresting.

I usually have great faith in sequels when its made in a different country such as Japan. Unlike Hollywood they do think about story and character development rather than, `Who cares what its about, as long as we make as much money as we can out of it`.

floyd

as interesting as it sounds i will not be partaking of propaganda. especially japanese propaganda about the war.

Please define propaganda. Are you suggesting that any acknowledgement that the Japanese also suffered heavy losses in World War II is propaganda? Should any mention of the civilian casualties of Hiroshima, Nagasaki or (bringing it much closer to home) Dresden be censored? Life must be a lot simpler for those people who can just demonise "the enemy" as a homogenised entity of pure evil.

everything is one sided even the news we watch on tv. a film by a jap about what happened in their war is going to have a feel for the japs being right, justified, and victims.

i just don`t like the ways japs look at me either. i am english and was round at a germans house last night and the kitchen nearly burnt down and we could`ve died from smoke inhalation. i didn`t point out how this was reminiscent of the jews being killed but i still don`t think the germans appreciate their hitlers xenophobic ways.

ps i don`t actually see anyone as the enemy either but they were at one time.

"i just don`t like the ways japs look at me either."

Bear in mind that accusing an entire race of people of looking at you in a funny way is both racist and extremely paranoid.

Perhaps Germans don`t appreciate the gravity of their recent past. Would you want to acknowledge the fact that there was widespread support in your nation (possibly even from your own parents or grandparents) for the extermination of an immigrant population? Even us British were quite happy to turn a blind eye to what was happening, just as long as the Nazis posed no threat to us. If you think that World War II had anything to do with British concern over the Holocaust, think again.

How does a post about Battle Royale turn into a debate about WWII ?

Every race has a past it`s not proud of, even us British, so why not just leave it at that and abstain from this petty quarrelling?

Having said that, I don`t like Germans, but more for their mullet hairstyles than anything else !!

I think that`s valid?

oh yeh i forgot to say, but i was born in germany but only class myself as british.

chill my friends