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Kodansha Establishes Studio in Hollywood With Award-Winning Director Chloe Zhao
posted on by Joanna Cayanan
Publishing company Kodansha announced on Tuesday that it has established Kodansha Studios in Hollywood with award-winning Chinese director Chloé Zhao (Nomadland) and film producer Nicolas Gonda. Zhao is serving as the new company's chief creative officer, and Gonda as president and chief operations officer.
Kodansha Studios is Kodansha's first company based in Hollywood, and it is dedicated to creating, producing, and promoting live-action film and television adaptations of Japanese manga and novel titles globally. At a press conference on Tuesday, Kodansha President and CEO Yoshinobu Noma stated that Kodansha is currently focusing on overseas expansion, and the establishment of Kodansha Studios will allow the company to be actively involved in production as well, and establish direct partnerships with global artists, producers, and partner studios.
Zhao's 2020 film Nomadland won Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress (for Frances McDormand) at the 93rd Academy Awards in 2021. Zhao also wrote and directed the film The Rider, which won the Art Cinema Award at the Cannes Film Festival in 2017. At Tuesday's press conference, Zhao expressed her deep affection for Japanese manga and anime, and recalled being inspired to draw her own manga-inspired works during childhood.
Gonda is known for producing several films including the Oscar-nominated film The Tree of Life. Most recently, Gonda produced Zhao's Hamnet film which will open in the U.S. on November 26, and both are involved in the upcoming Buffy the Vampire Slayer revival series. Zhao and Gonda also have their own production company Book of Shadows, which will continue to operate as a separate entity from Kodansha Studios.
Kodansha's popular manga titles include Attack on Titan, Akira, Blue Lock, Cells at Work!, Tokyo Revengers, Initial D, and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime (which itself adapts a light novel series).
Sources: Deadline (Anthony D'Alessandro), Comic Natalie
