The manager of Laputa Asagaya, the small movie theater that saved Sunao Katabuchi's "Mai Mai Shinko and the Millennium Magic," looks back 10 years ago [Anime Industry Watching No.59

Sunao Katabuchi 's latest film, "In (several more) corners of this world," is set for release on December 20, 2019.
Katabuchi's previous film, "Mai Mai Shinko to Sennen no Mahou" (2009), which marks 10 years since its release this year, struggled mightily when it was first released, with poor customer attendance at large multiplexes. As producer Tomohiko Iwase mentioned in a previous interview, the film's popularity was finally ignited when it was screened late over an eight-day period at Laputa Asagaya, a small movie theater in Asagaya, Tokyo.
How did Laputa Asagaya's manager, Murasaki Ishii, view the situation at the time of the screening 10 years ago? We asked her to look back on that time.

Why a small cinema like ours? I was puzzled.


─ Laputa Asagaya is now known as a theater that shows old Japanese movies, but how did you become involved with Laputa?

Ishii: Originally, I joined the distribution and advertising department of Fu-Jyun Print Co. At that time, we were recruiting personnel for screening films directed by Alexander Sokurov. I saw an old Japanese film at the training for new recruits, which I had never had a chance to see before, and I was totally hooked on it. I think it was "Nameless, Poor, and Beautiful" by Hideko Takamine. The first job I was involved in was making a pamphlet for a special screening of cinematographer Kozo Okazaki, and I became even more hooked on Japanese films. However, the company was in a bit of a mess at that time, and the part-time leader who had supported Laputa for a long time went back to the country for family reasons, so someone else had to take his place. I decided that I had no choice but to do it myself, and decided to be transferred to Laputa.

───Then you were not originally an exclusive employee of Laputa Asagaya, were you?

Ishii Yes, I was an employee of Fu-Jon Puppet. The special screening of Kozo Okazaki, whom I was helping, was about to start, and I was like, "I'm going to go to the movie theater for a while," and I have been there up to now. At the time, I knew nothing about the movie business, so I asked the nearby movie theaters, such as Nakano Musashino Hall, to teach me the finer points of the business. ......

─ ─ How did you come across "Mai Mai Shinko and the Millennium Magic"?

Ishii: At that time, our company president only went to see the film on the second day of its release (November 22, 2009), and for me, the offer to screen "Mai Mai Shinko~" came out of the blue. Why to a small cinema like ours? I could not understand the situation. I had not seen "Mai Mai Shinko" myself at the time I was approached.


─ ─ I think I had heard that it was not doing well at the box office. ......

Ishii: I think the fact that Laputa was approached by you means that you want us to show the film because there are not many customers, and that is what you explained to me when you first asked me about it. I was very worried about whether we should originally accept such a talk or not. However, when I was receiving several phone calls in the midst of my confusion, I heard the nuanced words, "You don't have to force us to screen the film," or "We don't mind if it's just for one day. That sort of lit a fire under me, and I decided to screen the film for eight days. I felt that since the film was not doing well at the box office, they were trying to get as many people as possible to see it, and it would be meaningless to just show it for one day and make it look good. I thought that we should spend as many days as possible to convey the message that the film was worth it.

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