China/Japan-Produced SILVERING SPEAR To Be First In Nine Unfilmed Kurosawa Screenplays Now In The Works

Late film legend and Palme d’Or winner Kurosawa Akira (Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, Kagemusha) left behind a widely-celebrated film legacy following his passing in 1998. It’s a legacy currently upheld by his grandson, Kato Takayuki who heads 58-year old Kurosawa Production Co., and is now sharing space on the frontlines with Chinese mobile game development firm, Jinke Entertainnent, for a new investment plan to finish out remainder of Kurosawa’s nine unfilmed screenplays, the first of which will be Chinese language actioner, Silvering Spear.

Silvering Spear tells the story of a samurai named Ishigaki Jyube who demonstrates remarkable marksmanship while living during the Warring States period, a turbulent time in Japan’s history. Ishigaki Jyube searches for a way to utilize his special talents, while not exploiting them for personal gain. 

The Samurai aspires to be a leader who would help to usher in a peaceful time for all. Dedicated to this lofty goal, he refuses to casually pursue his marksmanship talent as a means of subsistence. However, as circumstances in the country go from bad to worse, Ishigaki Jyube’s spear finally becomes a useful tool, when he is tricked into a scam and manipulated by a gang of bandits.

As reported on Thursday, the other eight films could very well be produced in varying languages depending on who gets involved. Casting and crewing remain pending while plans are in motion to start filming in 2018.

via THR:

“My family and I are extremely pleased to work with Jinke Entertainment on the completion of my grandfather’s film Silvering Spear,” Kato said. “We look forward to giving his millions of fans around the world the chance to experience one of his final masterpieces. We hope this will be the first of many projects on which we work together with Jinke Entertainment.” 

Zhang Zhengfeng, deputy general manager of Jinke Entertainment, added: “We hope to replicate the success we have achieved in the mobile gaming space in the motion picture genre. We are deeply humbled that our first film project will be that of one of the cinema world’s most revered directors. We’re pleased to have the full support of Mr. Kurosawa’s family and team on this important endeavor, and will honor the work of the Asian film master by creating a high quality production of one of his last film projects.”

The deal excludes Kurosawa’s other unfilmed script, The Masque Of The Black Death, which is currently being housed at Huayi Bros. and CKF Pictures for completion by 2020.

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