Porn On Demand

[Mulboyne]

Nikkatsu's "Sasurai no Koibito"
Gamespot: Namco sells movie subsidiary
Namco announced today that it will sell its movie subsidiary Nikkatsu Corp. to USEN, a broadband Internet service provider. Details have not yet been finalized, but the multibillion-yen deal is expected to be completed in May...During the 1970s, Nikkatsu Corp. was reduced to producing soft-core pornography; in 1993 it filed for bankruptcy. The company made a comeback after Namco invested approximately 3 billion yen in 1993. In 1997, Nikkatsu was made into a Namco subsidiary after it helped produce and distribute the film, Neon Genesis Evangelion. Namco currently owns 74.44 percent of Nikkatsu shares, most of which are scheduled to be handed over to USEN.

[Ptyx]

The Nikkatsu is a legendary studio, the oldest in the japanese movie industry. It wasn't only porn and even the porn they produced wasn't really porn to begin with. This is where Suzuki Seijun, Kumashiro Tatsumi and Imamura Shohei made most of their first movies.
I didn't know it belonged to namco.
More on Nikkatsu.

[Red Floyd]

They couldn't have been too bright. They fired Suzuki after he made the brilliant Branded To Kill.

[Ptyx]

They were'nt bright indeed. They were supposed to do only cheap b flicks and softcore porn and they let themselves invaded by crazy filmakers that went new wave on their asses.
But thanks to that we have a bunch of great movies to watch. Actually this is something common in the japanese movie industry, most indy filmakers start as direct to video flesh flicks directors before finally being able to do what they really want.
Kurosawa Kyoshi and Miike started that way too, actually Miike is still kind of doing that.

[kotatsuneko]

there was a nikkatsu weekend special at the electric cinema in brixton the other month, couldnt be arsed to go tho...

[Mulboyne]

RedNova: Cable Broadcaster Usen Gives Up Trying to Acquire Film Firm Nikkatsu

Cable broadcaster Usen Corp. said Monday it has told Namco Ltd. that it will withdraw its plan to acquire Namco's movie unit Nikkatsu Corp. Strong opposition from Nikkatsu's labor union has resulted in negotiations between Usen and Namco becoming bogged down, the cable broadcaster said.

Gamespot: Namco sells movie subsidiary...again

After a failed first attempt at selling its movie subsidiary, Nikkatsu, Namco today announced new plans to sell the company to Index Corporation, a mobile-phone content distributor in the country...While specific figures are still being discussed between the two companies, the acquisition is expected to cost Index an estimated 4 billion yen ($36.3 million). However, the transaction has to be completed by September 28, just one day before Namco's merger with Japan's largest toymaker, Bandai. Namco will hold on to some of its shares in Nikkatsu even after the deal...Index's acquisition would allow it to make use of Nikkatsu's substantial film library for its services, including on-demand video distribution through its subsidiary, Neo Index Corporation. The company is also looking into the possibility of releasing Nikkatsu's movies through its business partners to the overseas market, including North America, Europe, and Asia.

MDN: Porn screening to scuttle local film festival

AOMORI -- A popular movie festival that has been staged here since 1992 is expected to be scuttled after this year because organizers plan to show pornographic films, it has been learned. The decision to screen films of Tatsumi Kumashiro, a director hailed as a master of a porn genre produced by the Nikkatsu company, prompted the Aomori Municipal Government to cut its 1.3 million yen subsidy to the event. The municipality also decided not to lend organizers of the Namioka Movie Festival a hall to stage the event, scheduled for Nov. 19 to 23. Still, the organizers on Thursday vowed to go ahead with the event by reducing its scale, although they added that this year's festival would be the last.