First Look nabs rights to 'Sukiyaki'

Co. will distribute Miike western in U.S.

By PATRICK FRATER

Miike

First Look Studios has picked up North American rights to "Sukiyaki Western Django," which reps one of the strangest films to unspool at the AFM.

Pic, helmed by the prolific and eccentric Miike Takashi (second ref Miike) ("Audition" "Ichi the Killer"), is Nipponese oater based on a spaghetti-Western ripoff of a samurai movie and performed entirely in subtitled, heavily Japanese-accented English. It also boasts Quentin Tarantino in a cameo role.

It is released in its home country by Sony Pictures Entertainment (Japan) and handled in int'l territories by Paris-based sales house Celluloid Dreams, which struck First Look deal during AFM.

Pic, which preemed at Venice and Toronto fests earlier this fall, was also licensed to Universum (sic) in all German-speaking territories.