A hilarious U.S.-Japanese co-production with a riveting homicide thriller at its core and an adaptation of the award-winning Japanese crime novel, The Aosawa Murders , the upcoming six-episode collection, opens this week at MIA in Rome Marketplace for promotion.
The collection is customized from the novel of the identical title by Japanese writer Riku Onda and is produced by Jonathan Kier of Improve Productions, the Los Angeles-based firm based in 2021 by former Sierra/Affinity president Kier and former Disney Plus and Netflix government Matt Japan Publishing and media moguls Kadokawa’s Broadley and Takeo Kodera.
The play begins in 2004, when freelance author Yuko arrives within the lovely coastal metropolis of Kanazawa to research the notorious “Aozawa Incident.” Members died after ingesting poisoned sake and delicate drinks throughout a household celebration.
There she meets Makiko Saiga, the key writer of “The Forgotten Pageant,” a guide set within the context of a homicide case. However when the writer says nothing concerning the notorious case, Yuko decides to delve into the previous herself to seek out the elusive Hisako Aosawa – a blind 12-year-old lady who’s the one surviving member of her household from the incident member—and hopes to uncover a darkish episode that solely turns into extra mysterious as she digs deeper.
“The Aosawa Homicide Case” was first printed in Japan in 2005 and gained the Japan Thriller Writers Award for Finest Novel. It instantly attracted Gere’s consideration, and he gained the award after studying the English translation of the guide in 2020. acquired crucial acclaim.
This drama is customized from the best-selling novel by Onda Riku.
Offered by Improve Manufacturing
The veteran producer mentioned he was drawn to Onda’s depiction of the “lovely,” “mysterious” and contemplative area the place the story takes place, which he in comparison with the Pacific Northwest and coastal Maine (noting , Onda has been aptly described as “Japan’s Stephen King”). The guide additionally opened the door for him to collaborate together with his previous buddy and enterprise accomplice Takeo Kodera, whose Kadokawa Publishing Home holds the rights to the novel.
“We talked about discovering methods to collaborate and do some issues in Japanese,” Kiel mentioned. As Kodera and his colleagues on the publishing big more and more regarded to adapt their catalog into English, Gere requested his Japanese counterpart if the corporate could be keen to co-produce the present.
The collection’ rigorously crafted story — described by one New York Occasions critic as “stubbornly non-linear fiction” when it appeared on the paper’s Finest Books of 2020 listing — spans six episodes , the story flashes forwards and backwards in time as Yuko tries to resolve the thriller. The collection is written by Naoko Adachi, whom Gere calls “one among Japan’s biggest tv writers.”
“She was nice to work with,” he mentioned. “It is all a Japanese thought, and we hope to convey a global perspective to the event course of.”
This has been a core tenet of Improve Productions since its launch in 2021, with the corporate backed by German big Constantin Movie and centered on creating and producing high-quality local-language productions for world audiences.
“We’re at all times in search of tasks that we predict are additionally internationally accessible, so in the event that they’re produced and produced of their nation of origin… we work with native producers to make it one thing that is accessible to worldwide audiences,” Broadley mentioned. Concerning “The Aosawa Murders,” he added: “I am actually completely happy to be concerned in one thing that has confirmed enchantment each domestically and internationally. Individuals know that.
The duo mentioned the crime drama may be buoyed by the runaway success of FX’s hit “Shogun,” set in feudal Japan and a crucial and viewers favourite that additionally broke the U.S. market this yr. document, successful 18 Emmy Awards.
“‘Shogun’ did such a fantastic job on the Emmys and it is actually value watching,” Gere mentioned. “It is nice to see one thing like this performed so effectively and bodes effectively for ‘Aozawa’ and different Japanese tasks now we have underway.”
The MIA Market can be held in Rome from October 14th to 18th.
