Wikipedia article "Michael Arias".
Michael Arias discusses Tekkon Kinkreet in December of 2006 (photo by Yoshiaki Miura)
惡童當街 Tekkonkinkreet | ||||||
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導演：麥可阿里亞(Michael Arias) 國別：日 年份：2006 片長：111min 規格：35mm
殘 暴冷酷的小黑和天真無邪的小白是街頭的惡童，以特立獨行的生活方式稱霸他們所居住的寶町；貪財的地主欲將寶町開發為商業區，小黑和小白要如何捍衛屬於他們 的城市？松本大洋經典漫畫奇蹟似地躍上大螢幕！與《心靈遊戲》系出同門，保留了原作的風格與精髓，加上最新的CG技術，將復古又超寫實的奇幻世界塑造得令 人目眩神迷。 In Treasure Town, where the moon smiles and young boys can fly, life can be both gentle and brutal. This is never truer than for our heroes, Black and White, two street urchins who watch over the city, doing battle with an array of old-world Yakuza and alien assassins vying for control of the decaying metropolis.  惡童當街(2)(HC0092) 叢書系列：HIGH COMIC 作者：松本大洋 譯者：林妙賢、高琦智 出版社：時報文化 出版日期：1998年01月18日 世紀末的日本，在一個奇妙的城市中，有兩個被稱為「貓」的少年:小黑與小白。他們為求生存偷搶拐騙無所不來，無法無天的行徑令大人們頭痛不已……。有一 天，和小黑結怨的大尾流氓[老鼠]回來了，為了保護自己的城市，惡童們不惜以暴力為手段，展開一場「貓抓老鼠」的遊戲……。 Thursday, Dec. 21, 2006 'Animatrix' producer Michael Arias becomes the first foreign director to enter Japan's cult domain Special to The Japan Times Much has been written about how Japanese anime has stomped across the globe like an out-of-control juggernaut, scooping up legions of fans along the way. Such unbridled success usually results in cross-pollination; new talent floods in from far-flung shores, as was the case with the hordes of Europeans who swarmed to Hollywood in its golden age and still go there today. But Japan's anime industry has remained largely closeted, and certainly no foreigner has ever made the logical move of stepping behind the camera to seize the controls. Until now, that is. Southern California native Michael Arias is the first foreigner ever to helm a feature-length anime film in Japan. "No one was ever stupid enough to try before," he says of the distinction that defines "Tekkonkinkreet," his animated adaptation of Taiyo Matsumoto's cult-classic manga (published abroad as "Black and White"). Although "Tekkon" is Arias's directorial debut, the Japan resident of 15 years has long been active behind the scenes on a number of high-profile movie projects, including stints as a special-effects technician on James Cameron's "The Abyss" (1989) and "Total Recall" (1990). Arias, who admits that he's "not much of a draftsman," went into developing software, a career move that eventually led to work on animated films in the United States and elsewhere. His patented "Toon Shaders" plug-in (which gave 3-D computer graphics the look of traditional 2-D animation) helped bring life to some of the more fantastic characters in Hayao Miyazaki's Oscar-winning "Princess Mononoke" (1997). He says, "It brought my work to the attention of the industry in Japan and opened quite a few doors." Arias formed a strong relationship with the cutting-edge anime production house Studio 4C and wound up as the producer of "The Animatrix" (2003), a package of short films inspired by "The Matrix" movie series. Says Arias of the project, "I'm not really cut out to be a producer, and there I was wrangling nine different animated films from different directors -- a lot of personalities. But it was great that I got to see a lot of aspects of the industry that I wouldn't have otherwise." Arguably more fun to watch than the two disappointing live-action "Matrix" sequels that followed the original, "The Animatrix" is now the best-selling direct-to-video anime title ever in the U.S. Soon after "The Animatrix," Hollywood started to take a noticeable shine to anime and manga. Quentin Tarantino spiced up "Kill Bill Vol. 1" (2003) with an animated sequence. Samuel L. Jackson provided the voice of the main character in the upcoming Japan-U.S. coproduction "Afro Samurai." Even Arias' old boss Cameron is trying to bring to the screen a live-action film based on the Japanese manga "Battle Angel." Given his experience, Arias could have cashed in on the wave by attaching himself to a big-name project to further bridge the gap between Herculean Hollywood and the animation industry in Japan. Instead, for the last decade he has spent untold hours toiling on a single-minded quest to bring to the big screen Matsumoto's emotional tale of friendship and its stunning European-influenced artwork, which appeared in 33 installments between 1993 and 1994. Rather than mount the project in Hollywood, where a watered-down version would probably (and almost did) result, Arias decided to make the film in Japan, where "there's less money, less time, but the ideas are better." Created in collaboration with Studio 4C, the story of two street orphans struggling to survive in an imaginary surreal Pan-Asian city called Takara Machi was named the No. 1 film of 2006 in the annual "Best of" roundup by the New York Museum of Modern Art's Artforum magazine. Still, Arias believes that the Japanese anime industry, cooler than ever according to rest of the world, may be in danger of drying up at home. It's a good thing then that Arias is in Japan helping to keep it on track. See related stories: Anime through an American eye Outlander gazes into Showa's soul | ||||||
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