Satoshi Kon has passed

[Tron Bonne]

I know this may seem more in place at the Anime/Manga board, but Kon really was a great filmmaker and I think that this is a blow to cinema in general, not just Japanese anime. His films Perfect Blue and Millennium Actress are among some of my favorite films (not just anime, but films in general), and Paprika, Tokyo Godfathers, and Paranoia Agent where also great. A filmmaker who danced with reality, unreality, and surreality, truly one that could have been for the ages, and I hope his small library of work eventually reaches broader audiences in time. A shame, really, I really feel this guy had many years of filmmaking ahead of him (his idea for the film he was working on, The Dream Machine, was an interesting one).

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2010-08-24/award-winning-director-satoshi-kon-passes-away

Jim Vowles, a member of the Otakorp Board of Directors for the Otakon convention, has announced on Tuesday that director Satoshi Kon has passed away. Kon was 47. The staff of Otakon confirmed his passing with MADHOUSE studio founder Masao Maruyama. Maruyama had wrote on his Twitter account on Tuesday night in Japan that an important director of the studio had suddenly passed away. However, Maruyama declined to name the director at the time.

Kon began working as a manga creator on such works as Kaikisen (1990) before deciding to delve into the anime industry with the art design of Hiroyuki Kitakubo and Katsuhiro Otomo's Roujin Z video in 1991. He then worked on the script and art direction of "Magnetic Rose," a segment of Otomo's 1995 science-fiction anthology film Memories.

Kon first drew worldwide attention with his feature film directorial debut, the psychological suspense film Perfect Blue, in 1997. He would follow that with a string of critically acclaimed anime projects: Millennium Actress (2001), Tokyo Godfathers (2003), Paranoia Agent (2004), and Paprika (2006). At the time of his passing, Kon was working at MADHOUSE on a new feature film called Yume-Miru Kikai.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

I was addicted to Paranioa Agent back when it was on adult swim. This guy pushed the bounderies of what anime could be. One of the greats.

 

[childeroland]

How close is Dream Machine to being finished?

 

[Tron Bonne]

Not sure, but I believe it was scheduled to be release late this year (could be wrong, not totally sure), so maybe it was far enough along to be completed by others without compromising anything.