Shochiku coup

[Mark Schilling]

 Here's an article on the Shochiku coup I wrote for Screen International
that might of interet to the list.

Shochiku changes management, direction

By Mark Schilling

Tokyo: In a surprise move, the board of directors of Shochiku, one of
Japans' big three film production, distribution and exhibition companies,
voted on January 19 to oust president Toru Okuyama and executive vice
president Kazuyoshi Okuyama, a father and son team that had together guided
the fortunes of the company for the better part of a decade. 
     The new president, Nobuyoshi Otani, said that he had called for the
Okuyamas' dismissal because, under their leadership, Shochiku's film
division had consistently underperformed. The company's distribution
revenues for 1997 totaled only $3.4 billion ($26.3 million), the lowest of
the three domestic majors. Also, last year no Shochiku film exceeded Y1.0
billion ($7.75 million) in film rentals -- the measure of a hit in the
Japanese market. 
     Otani announced that he and his management team were undertaking a
major review of Shochiku's film business, with the aim of trimming
production and concentrating on films with the potential to become hits.
One casualty of this review will be Cinema Japanesque, a pet project of
Kazuyoshi Okuyama for producing and distributing arthouse films, using a
free booking system in Shochiku's theatre chain. Launched last year with 11
titles, Cinema Japanesque produced several critically acclaimed films,
including Shohei Imamura's 1997 Cannes Palm D'Or winner "The Eel" and
Sabu's 1998 Berlin competition entry "Sada," but also generated losses that
Otani considers unacceptable. Shochiku will slash the Cinema Japanesque
lineup from the 30 its had intended to release this year, although it has
yet to decide which projects will be shelved. Total in-house production for
1998 will be reduced to five or six films, with several titles to be
supplied by outside producers. 
     Another target of review is Shochiku's co-production agreements,
including its deal with Tribeca to produce a remake of "Moby Dick" directed
by Robert De Niro. Still another is its agreement with Cinemark, a US
multiplex operator, to build multiplexes in Japan. Otani said that Shochiku
will "proceed in close consultation with our partner," implying a slowdown
in the pace of construction. 
     A company insider said that, while the boardroom coup came as "a
complete surprise" to rank-and-file employees, the mood of the company was
"upbeat." "We have a chance now to make a fresh start," he explained.
"Kazuyoshi Okuyama was supported by many  younger employees because he was
trying new things, such as working with young directors, which is very rare
for a old-line studio like Shochiku. The problem was that his films didn't
make money. He would have been forgiven everything if he had had a few
hits." . 



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