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Yep, just the other day we were wondering when Ponyo (aka Ponyo on the Cliff), the latest film from Studio Ghibli, would get a UK release, seeing as it opens in US cinemas in a couple of weeks. Now, according to a quick look at Launchingfilms.com, the film has just been slated for UK release by Optimum Releasing…
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki, who seems to have given up suggesting he’s ever going to retire now, the film marks a return to form after Ghibli’s release of the disappointing Tales From Earthsea adaption by Hayao’s son Goro Miyazaki.
Now the bad news: according to Launchingfilms, we’re going to have to wait till 5 February 2010! Say what?
Perhaps this is part of the arrangement they have with Disney over licensing, or maybe they’re hoping for some good news in next years Oscars, but once again this seems a great way to bury a film. I mean, the DVD and Blu-ray are already widely available from Asia, and by the time this gets released the Walt Disney DVDs and Blu-rays will have been out for a while too – so will anyone want to see this in a cinema?
Whether this will be released in the original language or the ‘all-star’ Disney dub (or both – not uncommon for Optimum releases of Ghibli films) remains to be seen.
While we’re looking ahead to next year (!) a couple of other releases in the calendar that may be of interest include the remake of Karate Kid, Kung Fu Kid, directed by Harald Zwart (who? Agent Cody Banks, Pink Pather 2? Oh dear…) and starring Jackie Chan and Will’s boy Jayden Smith (no doubt gettin’ jiggy wit it) – due for release on 16 July 2010.
A week later, on the 23 July, the series that brought Bruce Lee to the attention of America and the West (even though most of us then prompty forgot) The Green Hornet is finally due to make it to the big screen. After countless aborted projects, the latest production has not been without problems. Stephen Chow was due to direct and star as Kato, but left after creative differences. (Ah, that old chesnut!) Now director Michel Gondry (fresh from his Flight Of The Conchords episode) is attached to the project, with Seth Rogan (oh please!) to star alongside Nicholas Cage and Cameron Diaz, but no-one cast in the Kato role as yet. (Though rumours abound that Kwone Sang-woo, who starred in Once Upon a Time in High School, itself a nice take on the Bruce Lee mania in Korea in the 70s, might get the role.) Could we be looking along the same lines as when Burton did Batman?
Of course, they’ve actually got to make the thing first, so don’t be surprised if dates change – a lot!
