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Hiromasa Yonebayashi Wants to Film Scottish Writer Alex Shearer
posted on by Andrew Osmond
In an interview with Britain's Guardian newspaper, Hiromasa Yonebayashi, who directed Studio Ponoc's Mary and The Witch's Flower as well as Studio Ghibli's Arrietty and When Marnie Was There (all based on British children's books) said that he was interested in adapting the work of the Scottish writer Alex Shearer. Yonebayashi said, “I've read all his works, and I would really, really love to make a film out of one of his books.”
The prolific Shearer, who has written for television and the stage as well as novels, has been adapted for anime before. His 2003 book Bootleg, about the government banning chocolate, was adapted by Production I.G under the title Chocolate Underground (left). The anime was first premiered as an ONA on Japanese mobile phones in 2008 on Valentine's Day.
Subsequently, a film version opened in Japan in January 2009. The theatrical release added 20 minutes of new footage. Takayuki Hamana (The Prince of Tennis, Library War) directed the project.
