"Cowboy Bebop: Knocking on Heaven's Door" is coming to Japanese theatres sometime in August. Vincent and Electra will be key guest characters in the movie, along with Lee Samson and Rashid. And the film will be set in the timeline between episodes 23, "Brain Scratch," and 24, "Hard Luck Woman." Directed by "Bebop's" television series director Shinichirou Watanabe, and character designed by Toshihiro Kawamoto, who's also worked on several Gundam series, "Knocking on Heaven's Door's" US distribution fate will be decided by Sony Pictures. The rumour circulating is that it may even get an American theatrical release. However, films seem to get lost in the gigantic maw of the monolithic Sony Pictures. "Astro Boy," the hot topic of 1999 and formerly slated for a release date this summer as the first in a series of films, seems to have dropped off the face of the earth. Originally "Antz" writer Todd Alcott was to have penned the script, Don Murphy and Jim Henson Pictures were involved in the production and it was to combine CGI, animatronics and live action. Sony's staff remembers it vaguely, but seem to think filming has yet to start.

"Genso Maden Saiyuki," the popular Japanese TV series adapted from Kazuya Minekura's manga about the legend of the Monkey King, is currently being made into a movie by Studio Pierrot. Set to be released in Japanese theatres by the end of summer, the movie will have on board most of the TV crew, including the voice actors and director Date Yuto. And "The Adolescence of Utena" will be released by CPM in the fall. Fans waiting for the "Ghost in the Shell 2: ManMachine Interface" movie, shouldn't hold their breaths. While the manga comes out this month and rumors purport that work on the TV series has begun at Production I.G, not much is known about plans for a movie. However, the good news is that Mamoru Oshii has agreed to direct the movie if it happens, and his fecund mind behind the project should help get it moving.

Many long awaited film releases will get their day in the sun this summer, helping to raise anime consciousness above the stereotypes of eye candy and cartoon sex. If the films do well, the US will see more animation hitting the theatres, so fill up those seats and add to the box office figures.

by Luis Reyes

Studio Ghibli has projected a July release for the much anticipated Hayao Miyazaki release "Sen to Chihiro no Kami Kakushi," a new film about a little girl who must journey into the Land of Spirits to rescue her parent's from a curse. Learn more about the film at Nausicaa.net. Miyazaki's classic "Laputa: Castle in the Sky" has been held by Disney for years now, scheduled for many releases that have come and gone. It's possible that 2001 might finally see the release of the Disney-treated version, which includes James Van Der Beek, Anna Paquin, Mark Hamill and Cloris Leachman among its cast and a completely re-recorded score by original composer Joe Hisaishi, but it is unclear about whether the Mouse will decide to brave a theatrical release or relegate this acquisition to the video shelf.

Madhouse and Klockworx are on the verge of releasing "Millennium Actress" in Japan. From director Satoshi Kon, whose inaugural film ("Perfect Blue") enjoys critical success in the US, "Millennium Actress" is a beautiful film about an aging big screen star whose identity is reflected in her cinematic canon. The work weaves time, space and the emotional journey to find her true love into a tight, almost magical, narrative. Most likely destined for the art house circuit in the US, "Millennium Actress" will be the faintly heralded gem in the mass exodus of anime into North American theaters.

Cowboy Bebop © Sunrise / Bandai Ent.

Blood © Production I.G / SPE Visual Works. SCEI. IG PLUS. IPA.

Millennium Actress © The Klockworx Co. LTD.