| Japanese Comic-Book Hero Headed for Hollywood
Master thief Lupin the Third, a comic book hero in Japan for 30 years, is about to make his Hollywood debut--possibly stealing his way into becoming Japan's next cultural export a la Pokemon and Godzilla. Gerald R. Molen, producer of the Oscar-winning Schindler's List, has acquired the film rights to the work and is determined to make the story of Lupin a box office success. "As far as whether or not we know it will be a success, no one ever knows," Molen said Tuesday while in Japan to meet the comic's artist, Monkey Punch, 65, whose real name is Kazuhiko Kato, and start preparatory work on the film. "We'll go home from here with a lot of wonderful ideas and a lot of enthusiasm and go to work," he told reporters at the Foreign Correspondents Club in Tokyo. Lupin the Third, which started out as a comic in 1967, is extremely popular in Japan, inspiring a TV cartoon show and five animation films. More than 3 million copies of the Lupin comic books have been sold. Lupin, a grinning young man who breaks the law but never anyone's heart, could easily translate into the latest silver-screen heartthrob action hero, much like Spider-Man. Kato, Lupin's creator, said he would leave artistic control to the film professionals and insist on little else than keeping the five main characters. "I'm so thrilled I could fly," he said. "I want the film to continue as long as the 007 series."
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