2019 (Special Screening) Astro Boy and the Two-Way Street Between Japanese & American Animation (1963) - Panel Discussion NEW

SPECIAL SCREENING - The Birth of “Astro Boy” (1963) and panel discussion.  Astro Boy and the two-way street between Japanese and American Animation.

Tezuka Osamu's “Astro Boy” brought an epic-making change in the history of Japanese animation.

This first animated TV series in Japan formed the basis for a long lasting and flourishing culture of Japanese animation.

Macoto Tezka
Born in Tokyo in 1961, Macoto TEZKA (TZK) is a “Visualist”.

Tezka began filmmaking while in high school and won several film awards including Pia Film Festival. Since then, Tezka has turned into a successful creator in various fields; as a director of films, TV, commercial ads and PV, and also as an author of various books.

Tezka made his commercial debut with the release of the film “The Legend of the Stardust Brothers” (1985). In 1995, he produced a PC software “TEO-The Magical Planet” (1995), which was published and sold in 19 countries with annual sales of over half a million copies.

In 1999, he directed a feature length film “Hakuchi: the innocent” (1999), which he worked on developing for over 10 years. The film won many awards, including the Digital Award at the Venice International Film Festival. In 2001, Tezka acted as a General Director for the opening ceremony of “East Asian Games 2001”. He also directed TV animation “Black Jack” and won Tokyo Anime Award at Tokyo International Anime Fair in 2006. Tezka supervised manga “Pluto” (original author: Osamu Tezuka, Manga: Naoki Urasawa, producer: Takazhi Nagasaki). Tezka’s latest film “Barbara” (original author: Osamu Tezuka) is planned to be released in late 2019.

Charles Solomon
Charles Solomon is a lecturer in animation at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. An internationally respected animation critic and historian, Solomon has written on the subject for the New York Times, TV Guide, Newsweek (Japan), Rolling Stone, the Los Angeles Times, The International Herald Tribune, Amazon.com, Variety, Modern Maturity, Télérama, Film Comment, The Hollywood Reporter, the Manchester Guardian, and National Public Radio. His work has also appeared in publications in Canada, France, Russia, Britain, India, Taiwan, Germany, Finland, Israel, the Netherlands and Japan. He is the author of numerous books including “The Art and Making of Peanuts Animation: Celebrating Fifty Years of Television Specials” (2012), “The Toy Story Films: An Animated Journey” (2012), “Tale as Old as Time: The Art and Making of Disney’s Animated Classic Beauty and the Beast” (Disney Editions, 2010), “The Art of Toy Story 3” (Chronicle, 2010), “Disney Lost and Found” (Disney Press, 2008), “The Prince of Egypt: A New Vision in Animation” (Abrams, 1999), “The Disney That Never Was” (Hyperion, 1995), “Les Pionniers du Dessin Animé Américain” (Dreamland, Paris, 1996) and “Enchanted Drawings: The History of Animation” (Knopf, 1989; reprinted, Wings, 1994). “Enchanted Drawings” was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year and the first film book to be nominated for a National Book Critics’ Circle Award. In 2008, he received the L.A. Press Club Award for radio feature reporting.

Date
July 30 (Tuesday)

Times
Cocktail: 6:30pm
Screening: 7:30pm
Panel discussion with Macoto Tezka & animation critic and historian, Charles Solomon to follow

Costs
$20 General Admission (Drinks/ light refreshments provided)

Location
JAPAN HOUSE Salon, Level 5, 6801 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90028