Gregory Hatanaka
| Gregory Hatanaka | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Occupation | Film distributor, director, writer, producer, cinematographer, editor |
Gregory Hatanaka is an independent filmmaker and film distributor based in Los Angeles, California.
Career
Hatanaka is the founder of film distribution and production company Cinema Epoch. He first became involved in film distribution working for Headliner Productions on the re-release of films by cult director Edward D. Wood, Jr.[1] He founded Phaedra Cinema to distribute international films in the U.S. With a specialization in cult films, Phaedra released such films as Toshimichi Ohkawa's Nobody, Cha Chuen Lee's Triad Story and Jimmy Wang Yu's Master of the Flying Guillotine (1975) and Toshiharu Ikeda's Evil Dead Trap. Explaining this interest in Asian cult cinema, Hatanaka explained, "I grew up going to the drive-ins, watching Sonny Chiba movies-- I've always had a passion for that."[2]
In 1998, Phaedra films released the two Nikkatsu Roman porno films, Masaru Konuma's Wife to be Sacrificed (1974) and Noboru Tanaka's A Woman Called Sada Abe (1975) on a theatrical double-bill. The films premiered in San Francisco in June, opening to very favorable reviews.[3] Beginning October 30, 1998 and then played for a week at the Monica 4-Plex theater in Los Angeles.[4]
His directing credits include Until the Night starring Norman Reedus, the award-winning cult film Mad Cowgirl and Samurai Cop 2: Deadly Vengeance. During this time, he collaborated with the noted distribution company Circle Releasing on the release of the John Woo cult film The Killer under the guidance of crime novelist George Pelecanos.[5] His subsequent films are Violent Blue and Blue Dream. He distributed the critically acclaimed film "The Terrorist" by Santosh Sivan which was presented by John Malkovich.
He has distributed the works of a wide variety of internationally renowned filmmakers and directors, including Satyajit Ray, Claude Chabrol, Andre Techine and Leni Riefenstahl, and films with such award-winning actors as Catherine Deneuve, Ewan McGregor, Billy Bob Thornton, Vince Vaughn, Colin Firth, Bridget Fonda, Isabelle Adjani, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Isabelle Huppert, and Gérard Depardieu.
Filmography
As director
- Until the Night (2004)
- Mad Cowgirl (2006)
- Violent Blue (2011)
- Blue Dream (2013)
- Hunter (2015)
- Samurai Cop 2: Deadly Vengeance (2015)
- Darling Nikki (2016)
As distributor
- Agantuk by Satyajit Ray
- A Woman Called Sada Abe by Noboru Tanaka starring Junko Miyashita[6]
- Black Cat by Stephen Shin
- Blood Tea and Red String by Christiane Cegavske
- Blue Juice by Carl Prechezer
- Butterfly by Matt Cimber
- Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby
- Gozu by Takashi Miike
- La separation by Christian Vincent
- L'Ennui by Cedric Kahn
- Les Biches by Claude Chabrol
- Life Tastes Good by Philip Kan Gotanda
- Master of the Flying Guillotine by Jimmy Wang Yu
- Mikres Aphrodites by Nikos Koundouros
- My Favorite Season by Andre Techine
- Olympia by Leni Riefenstahl
- Private Lessons by Alan Myerson
- R'Xmas by Abel Ferrara
- Samurai Cop by Amir Shervan
- South of Heaven, West of Hell by Dwight Yoakam
- Spring in a Small Town by Fei Mu
- The Killer by John Woo
- The Sinister Urge by Edward D. Wood, Jr.
- The Terrorist by Santosh Sivan
- Tokyo Decadence by Ryu Murakami
- Un pont entre deux rives by Gérard Depardieu
- Wife to Be Sacrificed by Masaru Konuma starring Naomi Tani
- Yellow by Chris Chan Lee
References
- ↑ Doyle, Wyatt. (1999). "Blood Spattered Hero in Hollywood" in Asian Cult Cinema Number 22, 1st Quarter 1999. p. 8.
- ↑ Doyle (1999). p. 9.
- ↑ Tani, Naomi. (1998) "Introduction" in Weisser, Thomas; Yuko Mihara Weisser (1998). Japanese Cinema Encyclopedia: The Sex Films. Miami: Vital Books : Asian Cult Cinema Publications. p. 9. ISBN 1-889288-52-7.
- ↑ Thomas, Kevin. (1998). "Entertainment Desk" in the Los Angeles Times, October 29, 1998., p.21.
- ↑ Doyle (1999). pp. 8-9.
- ↑ Asian Cult Cinema, #22, 1st Quarter 1999, p.10.