NY Anime Festival announces premieres and previews
Exclusive Premieres of Adventures in Voice Acting and One PieceNorwalk, CT, November 2, 2007: The New York Anime Festival (NYAF) today announced it will feature a selection of highly-anticipated premieres and previews at its inaugural event December 7 - 9, 2007, at the Jacob Javits Center in Midtown Manhattan. These special screenings include Adventures in Voice Acting, Appleseed: Ex Machina, and One Piece: Episode of Alabaster. The screenings are the most recent additions to a full schedule of events that have already been announced by NYAF. The debut festival, which promises to be an extravaganza featuring the latest in anime, manga, cinema, music, comics, and games, is anticipating a significant launch that will focus on all aspects of Japanese anime and culture.
The New York Anime Festival has previously made news with guests including Kobun Shizuno (Co-Director of Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone) and Peter Fernandez (the voice of Speed Racer). Show officials also recently announced an exclusive partnership with the World Cosplay Summit, which will allow American cosplayers the chance to have their costumes and talent recognized on both a national and international stage. NYAF's new premiere announcements represent some of the largest titles currently in America and some of the biggest hits in Japan that will be reaching the US in 2008.
"These amazing movies are a huge addition to our quality programming," notes John McGeary, Show Manager of NYAF. "Of course, the fact that they will be screened for the first time at NYAF only adds to their value. We have been committed from the beginning to providing a broad cross-section of entertainment that will supplement the dynamic activity that we anticipate on our show floor. These exclusive screenings go a long way towards accomplishing that goal."
NYAF is anticipating more than 120 exhibitors, including top "movers and shakers" such as ADV Films, Bandai Entertainment, FUNimation Entertainment, Media Blasters, Random House, Inc. (including the imprints Random House, Del Rey, and Pantheon), TOKYOPOP, and VIZ Media. In addition, show organizers note that top cultural exhibitors participating in the festival include Arise, CHUU, Greentea Designs, Japan External Trade Organization, and Kujaku Trading, among others. "Anime has taken the nation by storm, and the professional and fan community in New York is looking for more," McGeary continues. "We want to give them as much as possible."
The premieres at NYAF include:
Adventures in Voice Acting Preview
Bang Zoom! Entertainment interviewed over 100 voice actors, producers, and casting directors to make this authoritative look at the voice acting industry. Now, for the first time, Bang Zoom! presents a special preview of this upcoming documentary.
ANIPLEX Premiere
ANIPLEX is a leading anime and music producer originally formed as Sony Pictures Entertainment Visual Works in 1995 in Japan. It's been responsible for hits including Fullmetal Alchemist, Rurouni Kenshin, and Blood+, and the company's traveled all the way to New York to present an exciting, new anime!
Appleseed: Ex Machina Preview
The Appleseed sequel is still months away, but Warner Bros. will be presenting a selection of the most explosive scenes for the first time at the New York Anime Festival.
Anime Innovation Tokyo
THINK Corporation's Anime Innovation Tokyo provides creators and production companies, either professionals or amateurs, with the funds, equipment, and opportunities to create their own, original animations. They've flown all the way from Japan to show an exclusive first-look and a new animation under development for the first time in America!
CATBLUE Dynamite
Set in the 1970s, CATBLUE Dynamite is the story of a girl named Blue and her mix-up with the mob over a missing Frank Sinatra album. And while going up against an army of hitmen might make a normal woman shake, Blue's anything but normal. Blue has all the agility and finesse (and ears and a tail) of a cat, and when her reflexes alone aren't enough, she can also count on an undead sidekick. Sinatra, catgirls, and ghosts are just the start of the psychedelic flick that is CATBLUE Dynamite. Directed by Romanov Higa, Director of URDA and TANK SWAT 01 and Action Director of the Hellsing Ultimate series. From Wedge Holdings.
Honey and Clover
Takemoto Yuuta, Mayama Takumi, and Morita Shinobu are college students who share a small apartment. Even though they're poor, they're able to find happiness together. But what happens when a girl appears? Based on the manga by Chica Umino. From VIZ Pictures.
Lovely Complex
Risa is taller than the average girl, and Otani is shorter than the average boy. They've always been unlucky in love and relied on each other for support. Could they rely on each other for more? Based on the manga by Aya Nakahara. From VIZ Pictures.
NANA
Two young women, both named Nana, one a punk rocker and the other from the upper middle class, find each other in Tokyo as their lives, loves, and careers intertwine. Based on the manga by Ai Yazawa. From VIZ Pictures.
One Piece: Episode of Alabaster
Colleen Clinkenbeard (the voice of Luffy), Sonny Strait (the voice of Usopp), Producer Justin Cook, and ADR Director Mike McFarland introduce the first all-new One Piece movie with FUNimation at the helm. This is a fan's chance to see FUNimation's One Piece on the big screen and meet the men and women behind it.
Tsubasa and xxxHOLiC: The Movie
All-female manga studio CLAMP has some of the most fervent fans around the world, with every one of the their titles eagerly devoured. FUNimation will give CLAMP fans, old and new, their first chance to eat up CLAMP's newest work -- Tsubasa and xxxHOLiC: The Movie -- at NYAF.
NOTE: Tickets to the New York Anime Festival have been selling fast, and NYAF officials recommend that interested fans purchase their tickets online at www.newyorkanimefestival.com. Tickets may be limited at the door to prevent overcrowding.
ABOUT THE NEW YORK ANIME FESTIVAL:
The New York Anime Festival takes place December 7-9, 2007 at the Jacob K. Javits Center in Midtown Manhattan and is organized by Reed Exhibitions, the creators of New York Comic Con. The New York Anime Festival will showcase the best of anime pop culture, including the latest anime, manga, Japanese cinema, music, and games, and anime-influenced comics, animation, and films from around the world. The festival will feature exclusive and extensive screenings, a gala cosplay masquerade, sessions with the some of the biggest names in anime from Japan, Asia, and America, and explore the Japanese cultural experience with displays of both traditional and cutting-edge Japanese life.
The New York Anime Festival is sponsored by ADV Films, Anime Innovation Tokyo, Anime Insider, Anime Network, Anime News Network, AnimeNEXT, BookExpo America, Diamond Book Distributors, Entertainment Consumers Association, FUNimation Entertainment, ICv2, ImaginAsian, Kinokuniya Bookstores, License! Global, Manga Video, New York Comic Con, NEW YORK - TOKYO, Newtype USA, Publishers Weekly, Starz Media, THINK Corp, TOKYOPOP, Video Business, VIZ Media, Wedge Holdings, Wizards of the Coast, and the World Cosplay Summit.
The New York Anime Festival's Guests of Honor include Peter Fernandez, Corinne Orr, Kobun Shizuno, and Aimee Major Steinberger. The New York Anime Festival's musical guests include HAPPYFUNSMILE, UNICORN TABLE, and Voltaire.
Further information and tickets can be found at www.newyorkanimefestival.com.
ABOUT REED EXHIBITIONS:
The New York Anime Festival is operated by Reed Exhibitions, the world's leading events organizer. In 2006, Reed brought together over six million industry professionals from around the world generating billions of dollars in business. Today, Reed events are held in 34 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, and organized by 37 fully staffed offices.
Reed organizes a wide range of events, including exhibitions, conferences, congresses, and meetings. Its portfolio of over 460 events serves 52 industry sectors, including aerospace and defense, building and construction, design, electronics, energy, oil and gas, entertainment, food and hospitality, gifts, healthcare, IT/telecoms, jewelry, manufacturing, marketing and business services, pharmaceuticals, property, publishing, security, sport and recreation, transport and logistics, and travel.
Working closely with professional bodies, trade associations, and government departments, Reed ensures that each and every event is targeted and relevant to industry needs. As a result, many Reed events are market leaders in their field.
Reed Exhibitions is part of Reed Elsevier Group plc, a FTSE-100 company and world-leading publisher and information provider. In 2005, Reed Elsevier made adjusted profit before taxation of £1,002 million on turnover of £5,166 million.
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