Gregory Hatanaka
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| Gregory Hatanaka | |
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| Occupation | Film distributor, director, writer, producer, cinematographer, editor |
Gregory Hatanaka is an independent filmmaker and film distributor based in Los Angeles, California, USA.
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[edit] Career
Hatanaka first began in film distribution working for Headliner Productions on the re-release of films by cult director Edward D. Wood, Jr.[1] He founded Phaedra Cinema to distribute international films in the U.S. With a specialization in cult films, Phaedra released such films as Toshimichi Ohkawa's Nobody, Cha Chuen Lee's Triad Story and Jimmy Wang Yu's Master of the Flying Guillotine (1975) and Toshiharu Ikeda's Evil Dead Trap. Explaining this interest in Asian cult cinema, Hatanaka explained, "I grew up going to the drive-ins, watching Sonny Chiba movies-- I've always had a passion for that."[2]
In 1998 Phaedra films released the two Nikkatsu Roman porno films, Masaru Konuma's Wife to be Sacrificed (1974) and Noboru Tanaka's A Woman Called Sada Abe (1975) on a theatrical double-bill. The films premiered in San Francisco in June, opening to very favorable reviews.[3] Beginning October 30, 1998 and then played for a week at the Monica 4-Plex theater in Los Angeles.[4]
His directing credits include Until the Night and the award-winning cult film Mad Cowgirl. During this time, he collaborated with the noted distribution company Circle Releasing on the release of the John Woo cult film The Killer under the guidance of critically acclaimed crime novelist George Pelecanos.[5]
He has also distributed the works of Satyajit Ray, Andre Techine, Claude Chabrol, Leni Riefenstahl, Cedric Kahn, Christian Vincent, Takashi Miike and films with such acclaimed actors as Catherine Deneuve, Ewan McGregor, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Isabelle Huppert, Chow Yun Fat, Billy Bob Thornton, Vince Vaughn, Bridget Fonda, Gerard Depardieu and Jimmy Wang Yu. Hatanaka is the founder of film distribution and production company Cinema Epoch.
[edit] Filmography
[edit] As director
- Le Critique 2009
- No Regrets 2008
- Mad Cowgirl 2006
- Until the Night 2004
[edit] As distributor
- The Killer by John Woo
- Blood Tea and Red String by Christiane Cegavske
- Ma Saison Preferee by Andre Techine
- The Stranger by Satyajit Ray
- Master of the Flying Guillotine by Jimmy Wang Yu
- Gozu by Takashi Miike
- The Sinister Urge by Edward D. Wood, Jr.
- La Separation by Christian Vincent
- L'Ennui by Cedric Kahn
- Olympia by Leni Riefenstahl
- South of Heaven, West of Hell by Dwight Yoakum
- Blue Juice by Carl Prechezer
- Un Pont Entre Deux Rives by Gerard Depardieu
- Mikres Aphrodites by Nikos Koundouros
- Les Biches by Claude Chabrol
- Spring in a Small Town by Fei Mu
- The Terrorist by Santosh Sivan
- Wife to Be Sacrificed by Masaru Konuma starring Naomi Tani
- A Woman Called Sada Abe by Noboru Tanaka starring Junko Miyashita[6]
[edit] References
- ^ Doyle, Wyatt. (1999). "Blood Spattered Hero in Hollywood" in Asian Cult Cinema Number 22, 1st Quarter 1999. p. 8.
- ^ Doyle (1999). p. 9.
- ^ Tani, Naomi. (1998) "Introduction" in Weisser, Thomas; Yuko Mihara Weisser (1998). Japanese Cinema Encyclopedia: The Sex Films. Miami: Vital Books : Asian Cult Cinema Publications, p.9. ISBN 1-88928-852-7.
- ^ Thomas, Kevin. (1998). "Entertainment Desk" in the Los Angeles Times, October 29, 1998., p.21.
- ^ Doyle (1999). pp. 8-9.
- ^ Asian Cult Cinema, #22, 1st Quarter 1999, p.10.
[edit] External links
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