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<DIV><FONT size=2> Mr. Koreeda's remarks involved
concerns which had been brought to him by someone else about U.S.
distribution. The assistant in question was present at the event I intended. As
best I can recall, he was not very specific about who, what, when, and where.
I was left with the impression that he was referring to the
distributors of the film, but Dennis Doros's theory may well be correct--that he
was in fact referring to a conversation which took place with another
party before the company itself became involved. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2> I wouldn't know if he invented the rest of
the story or not. I know that is the story he told at the event I attended. It
was not a point he particularly stressed, I believe he mentioned it in answer to
a question from the audience regarding whether the title was meant to have
religious overtones. He replied that it actually had a very pragmatic
origin involving these concerns about distribution, and suggested that it was
an ad-hoc, stopgap title which he did not feel particularly
expressed any artistic intent on his part. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>
Mark Anderson</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=MileFilms@aol.com
href="mailto:MileFilms@aol.com">MileFilms@aol.com</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=KineJapan@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu
href="mailto:KineJapan@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu">KineJapan@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, December 04, 2002 1:00
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: What's in a name</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT
style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff" face=Geneva color=#000000 size=2
FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><BR>In a message dated 12/4/02 1:36:29 PM, <A
href="mailto:ander025@umn.edu">ander025@umn.edu</A> writes:<BR><BR><BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE
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cite="" TYPE="CITE"></FONT><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff"
face=Geneva color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF">Dear Roland,<BR>At a
presentation at the Guthrie Museum in Minneapolis a couple of years<BR>ago,
Koreeda related that the U.S. distributors were fearful of having
the<BR>film confused with Frank Capra's, "It's a Wonderful Life", and
Koreeda was<BR>persuaded to take them at their word and approve an
alternative title for<BR>the English language market. He suggested that the
decision was driven<BR>solely by a concern for potential misunderstanding on
part of American<BR>viewers and programmers. He prefers the original title
himself.<BR><BR>Mark Anderson<BR></BLOCKQUOTE></FONT><FONT
style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff" face=Geneva color=#000000 size=2
FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><BR><BR></FONT><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff"
face=Geneva color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF">The story is possible, but
if true, it was most likely a conversation between Mr. Kore-eda and his
American advisor/friend who helped on his first two films. By the time the
film premiered and was offered for distribution, the title was already
AFTER LIFE.<BR><BR><BR>Dennis Doros<BR>Milestone Film & Video<BR>PO
Box 128<BR>Harrington Park, NJ 07640<BR>Phone: (800) 603-1104 or (201)
767-3117<BR>Email: milefilms@aol.com<BR>www.milestonefilms.com</FONT><FONT
style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff" face=Courier color=#000000 size=1
FAMILY="FIXED"><I><BR></BLOCKQUOTE></I></FONT><FONT
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