July 27, 2006

Production I.G proudly announces the official selection of Mamoru Oshii's latest feature film Tachigui: The Amazing Lives of the Fast Food Grifters (original Japanese title: Tachiguishi Retsuden, 2006) for the Horizons Section at the 63. Venice Film Festival (63. Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica, Sezione Orizzonti), to be held in Venice from August 30, 2006 to September 9, 2006.

Director Mamoru Oshii comments, "I have things that I keep in mind when I make a movie. For animation, I try to imagine it as closely as possible to live action, and for live action, I interpret it as animation. A movie that has as much information as live action, while maintaining the logical hierarchy of animation, is what I consider the most ideal movie. I made The Amazing Lives of the Fast Food Grifters to show how it reflects this ideal form. The movie also examines Japan's postwar history from the dietary culture's standpoint. The historical accounts mentioned in the movie are all facts, the majority of the other elements including the eight main characters are fictitious, so please do not be deceived. I want to express my appreciation for choosing this eccentric movie. Thank you."

Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, President and CEO of Production I.G, as well as producer of the movie, comments, "When I heard of the news, it made me believe once again that the goddess of the movies indeed exists! I also believe that The Amazing Lives of the Fast Food Grifters was selected for the Venice Film Festival because people knew that this was the type of movie that Director Oshii had been longing to create for years, and they recognized his achievements during his career. On behalf of the production team, I would like to express my sincere appreciation."

Tachigui: The Amazing Lives of the Fast Food Grifters retells Japan's history from 1945 to our days through the feats of self-proclaimed dine and dash professionals -the Fast Food Grifters. They are phantoms that rise and fall with Japan's shifting diet-styles, dissenting heroes who carved their names on the dark side of dietary culture with their glare. And now their legend revives, strong than ever!
The movie has received particular attention for the revolutionary visual technique adopted, called "superlivemation," in which real people still photos are first digitalized and then computer-animated. The extraordinary cast includes Toshio Suzuki (Studio Ghibli's producer), Kenji Kamiyama (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex director), Shoji Kawamori (Macross and Aquarion director), and Shinji Higuchi (Lorelei and Japan Sinking director). The music score is written by Oshii's most trusted composer, Kenji Kawai (Ghost in the Shell, Innocence), who is also playing a role in the movie.

Mamoru Oshii (Tokyo on August 8, 1951) is one of the most remarkable personalities in modern Japanese filmmaking. He introduced introspective philosophical speculation into the world of animation, while influencing Hollywood creators with his visionary style. His main works are the epoch-making Ghost in the Shell (1995, N. 1 in Billboard Top Video Sales Chart), Innocence (2004, nominated for the Palme d'Or at the Festival de Cannes) and the live-action Avalon (2001). His latest directorial effort, Tachigui: The Amazing Lives of the Fast Food Grifters (2006), is based his own novel.

Established by Mitsuhisa Ishikawa in 1987, Production I.G has grown through the years as one of the world's leading animation studios. With its cutting-edge works, such as Ghost in the Shell (1995), Jin-Roh (2000), Blood: The Last Vampire (2000), Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (2002~), Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (animation segment, 2003) and Innocence (2004), I.G has gained a high reputation around the globe, inspiring Hollywood creators such as James Cameron, Quentin Tarantino and the Wachowski brothers. The studio has recently produced Mylene Farmer's videoclip Peut-etre toi. Tachigui: The Amazing Lives of the Fast Food Grifters is the latest feature film produced by I.G.