Japan remaking Hollywood?

[Mark D. Roberts]

On Nov 15, 2008, at 10:45 AM, Brian Ruh wrote:

> So is there a wine boom going on in Japan these days?

Anecdotal evidence suggests that there is a wine boom of sorts, at  
least in Kanto, with increasing interest in the possibilities of the  
Koshu variety. The wine industry in Yamanashi has recovered somewhat  
from the 1980s, when import duties were lowered, and more foreign  
wines came onto the market, driving the share for domestics from 40  
down to 20%.

We'll have to see what sort of spin a Japanese "Sideways" puts on this  
(if any). Even a bad remake could serve the industry by capitalizing  
on and helping to further a boom (i.e., any interest is positive),  
while on the other hand, an escapist comedy set in California might  
serve the global wine cartel but do little for the domestic producers.  
Would the snob-appeal of imported wine trump the "food nationalism"  
that one tends to find in Japan? How does "Kami no Shizuku" address  
this?

M