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Viz Media Sets up Hollywood Office This Month
posted on by Egan Loo
The press release that announced Shogakukan Shueisha Production's renaming also noted at the end that the North American publisher Viz Media is setting up a Hollywood office in Los Angeles this month. The office is intended to promote Viz's properties to Hollywood interests.
The publishing company was established with seed money from Shogakukan under the name Viz Communications in 1986. Shueisha then invested in Viz in 2002, just before the two collaborated on the American edition of Shueisha's Shonen Jump manga magazine. When Viz and Shogakukan's ShoPro Entertainment merged in 2005, the new company was named Viz Media. Viz Media accumulated 10 billion yen (about US$93 million) in sales last year.
Several of the companies' manga properties have already been shopped around for possible American film projects, including Death Note and Monster. Dragon Ball is being produced as a live-action film for release next April. Madhouse, Nikkatsu, Kadokawa Pictures, and Aniplex are some of the other Japanese companies have established offices in the Los Angeles area recently.
