Takashi Yamazaki facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Takashi Yamazaki
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Yamazaki in October 2023
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| Born | June 12, 1964 Matsumoto, Nagano, Japan
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| Alma mater | Asagaya College of Art and Design |
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| Years active | 1984–present |
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Notable work
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Takashi Yamazaki (山崎 貴, Yamazaki Takashi, born June 12, 1964) is a famous Japanese filmmaker and a visual effects supervisor. He is known for creating big movies that use amazing visual effects. Many people see him as a very important person in the Japanese film industry.
Yamazaki has won many awards, including an Academy Award (also known as an Oscar!), eight Japanese Academy Awards, and several other film awards. His movies have earned a lot of money around the world, showing how popular they are.
He started working at a special effects and animation studio called Shirogumi in 1986. He has worked there for his entire career. His first movies as a director were the science fiction films Juvenile (2000) and Returner (2002). Because of these films, some people called him the "Japanese James Cameron" (who directed movies like Avatar and Titanic).
Later, he became even more well-known in Japan for directing movies based on popular anime, books, and manga. These include Always: Sunset on Third Street (2005), Space Battleship Yamato (2010), The Eternal Zero (2013), and Stand by Me Doraemon (2014). The last two movies won a total of nine awards at the 38th Japan Academy Film Prize. Yamazaki's career continued to grow with films like The Great War of Archimedes, Dragon Quest: Your Story, Lupin III: The First (all from 2019), and Stand by Me Doraemon 2 (2020).
His 2023 movie, Godzilla Minus One, became the most successful Japanese Godzilla film ever and one of his highest-earning movies. Yamazaki and his visual effects team also made history by becoming the first Japanese team to win an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. In 2024, Yamazaki was recognized as one of the "100 Most Impactful Asians" by Gold House. He is currently working on a sequel to Godzilla Minus One and his first Hollywood movie.
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Early Life and Film Inspiration
Takashi Yamazaki was born on June 12, 1964, in Matsumoto, Nagano, Japan. His parents, Yoshisuke and Kikuko, let him explore his interests freely. He believes this freedom helped shape who he is today. He also has a younger sister named Satsuki.
Yamazaki first discovered movies through a special program for children. He remembers seeing classic monster movies like Ishirō Honda's Matango (1963) and King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962). These films, along with American science fiction movies like Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (both from 1977), inspired him to work in the film industry.
When he was in junior high school, Yamazaki made his very first movie. It was a science fiction short film called Glory, which he filmed on 8 mm film with a friend. This film was lost for many years but was found again in 2022 and shown in his hometown.
Building a Career in Film
Starting in Special Effects
In 1984, Yamazaki began his career by building miniature models for Tatsuo Shimamura. After graduating from the Asagaya College of Art and Design in 1986, he officially joined Shimamura's special effects studio, Shirogumi, in Chōfu, Tokyo.
He worked on visual effects for various projects, including the Eko Eko Azarak series and the film Parasite Eve (1997). Yamazaki and his team at Shirogumi then started planning a big movie called NUE. They spent two years getting ready for it, even traveling to Australia to find filming locations. However, the movie would have cost a lot of money, so the studio decided it was too expensive for a first-time director. Yamazaki was asked to make a smaller film instead.
Directing First Movies and Big Success
After NUE was put on hold, Yamazaki used his ideas to create his first movie as a director, Juvenile (2000). He directed, wrote, and supervised the visual effects for this film. Juvenile is a science fiction story about elementary school students who find a talking alien robot. They soon learn that this robot is their only hope to save Earth from evil alien invaders.
The movie was released in July 2000 and earned a lot of money, becoming one of the highest-grossing Japanese films that year. It was also shown at the Giffoni Film Festival in 2000.
His next film was the science fiction action movie Returner (2002). It tells the story of Milly, a young woman from a future torn by war, who teams up with a mysterious time traveler. Returner was released in Japan in August 2002. After this film, Yamazaki wanted to make a sequel, but the studio asked him to create a movie set in the Shōwa era (a period in Japanese history) instead.
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Yamazaki became very successful when he directed Always: Sunset on Third Street (2005). This movie was different from his previous science fiction films. It was based on a manga series and told a heartwarming story about people living in Tokyo after World War II. The film received excellent reviews and was a huge hit at the box office.
In 2005, a film critic named Tadao Satō praised the movie for its use of computer-generated imagery (CGI) and Yamazaki's directing. At the 29th Japanese Academy Awards, Always: Sunset on Third Street won twelve awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.
Yamazaki then directed and co-wrote Always: Sunset on Third Street 2 (2007), a sequel to the popular film. This movie starts with an exciting scene of Godzilla attacking Tokyo before returning to the story of the characters. Yamazaki, a big fan of Godzilla, said he included this scene to surprise the audience. He mentioned that even though Godzilla only appears for two minutes, it took a huge amount of work from half the crew for six months! When it was released in November 2007, Always: Sunset on Third Street 2 became Yamazaki's biggest box office success at that time.
Adapting Popular Stories
From Action to Animation
In 2008, Yamazaki helped his future wife, Shimako Satō, with the visual effects and script for her action film, K-20: Legend of the Mask. This movie is set in an alternate version of Japan in the 1940s and features a mysterious masked hero who robs the rich. K-20 was released in December 2008 and was one of the highest-grossing Japanese films of 2009.
In 2009, Yamazaki worked on the visual effects for Sanpei The Fisher Boy. He also directed, wrote, and created the effects for the live-action romance film Ballad. This movie was inspired by an anime feature and Yamazaki wanted to make a historical drama about battles after visiting the filming location of The Last Samurai.
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In October 2009, Yamazaki began filming Space Battleship Yamato, his first science fiction film since Returner. This movie was based on a famous 1974 anime series. It had a large budget and used CGI for 80% of the film. It was expected to be a huge science fiction hit. Space Battleship Yamato was released in Japan in December 2010 and earned a lot of money.
Yamazaki also co-directed his first animated film, Friends: Naki on Monster Island, which came out in December 2011. This movie is about a monster named Naki who protects a young boy lost on Monster Island from other monsters. The film was nominated for a Japan Academy Film Prize.
In 2012, Yamazaki released Always: Sunset on Third Street '64, another sequel in the Always series. He said making this movie was very challenging but expressed his wish to make another sequel set during Expo '70.
Godzilla and Future Projects
In July 2018, Yamazaki's next film, The Great War of Archimedes, was announced. This movie, based on a manga, is about the building of the battleship Yamato. It was released in July 2019 and was one of the highest-grossing Japanese films that year.
After The Great War of Archimedes, Yamazaki was given the chance to make a Godzilla film by a Toho film producer. Yamazaki spent three years writing the script for the film, titled Godzilla Minus One. It was released in Japanese theaters in November 2023 and became one of the most praised films in the Godzilla series. For their work on the movie, Yamazaki and his team became the first Japanese film crew to win an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.
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In December 2023, Yamazaki directed a short web film for a major food company. This film, called Foodlosslla, also featured visual effects from the same team behind Godzilla Minus One.
In February 2024, Yamazaki announced he was developing a new film. The following month, Variety magazine reported that he had joined a talent agency in America, which could help him work on Hollywood movies. At Godzilla Fest in November 2024, he shared that he had turned down other offers to direct another Godzilla film. Deadline later reported that Yamazaki is set to make his Hollywood debut with a film called Grandgear for Bad Robot and Sony Pictures. He will write, direct, and produce this film.
Personal Life
Yamazaki is married to fellow filmmaker Shimako Satō. They met at the Asagaya College of Art and Design. The couple has several cats, and one of them even influenced Yamazaki while he was making Godzilla Minus One.
Film Work
Takashi Yamazaki has worked on many films, both as a director and in visual effects. Here are some of his notable works:
- 1987: The Drifting Classroom (Special Effects)
- 1988: A Taxing Woman's Return (Special Effects)
- 1989: Sweet Home (Special Effects)
- 1997: Parasite Eve (Special Effects, Storyboarder)
- 2000: Juvenile (Director, Writer, Visual Effects)
- 2002: Returner (Director, Writer, Visual Effects)
- 2005: Always: Sunset on Third Street (Director, Writer, Visual Effects)
- 2007: Always: Sunset on Third Street 2 (Director, Writer, Visual Effects, Godzilla designer)
- 2008: K-20: Legend of the Mask (Associate Writer, Associate Visual Effects)
- 2009: Ballad (Director, Writer, Visual Effects)
- 2010: Space Battleship Yamato (Director, Visual Effects)
- 2011: Friends: Naki on Monster Island (Director, Writer)
- 2012: Always: Sunset on Third Street '64 (Director, Writer, Visual Effects)
- 2013: The Eternal Zero (Director, Writer, Visual Effects)
- 2014: Stand by Me Doraemon (Director, Writer)
- 2014: Parasyte: Part 1 (Director, Writer, Visual Effects, Special Effects)
- 2015: Parasyte: Part 2 (Director, Writer, Visual Effects, Special Effects)
- 2016: Fueled: The Man They Called Pirate (Director, Writer, Visual Effects)
- 2017: Destiny: The Tale of Kamakura (Director, Writer, Visual Effects)
- 2019: The Great War of Archimedes (Director, Writer, Visual Effects)
- 2019: Dragon Quest: Your Story (Director, Writer)
- 2019: Lupin III: The First (Director, Writer)
- 2020: Stand by Me Doraemon 2 (Director, Writer)
- 2021: It's a Flickering Life (Visual Effects)
- 2022: Ghost Book Obakezukan (Director, Writer, Visual Effects, Character designer)
- 2023: Godzilla Minus One (Director, Writer, Visual Effects, Godzilla designer)
- 2024: Foodlosslla (Director, Visual Effects)
- Upcoming: Untitled Godzilla Minus One Sequel (Director, Writer, Visual Effects)
- Upcoming: Grandgear (Director, Writer, Visual Effects, Producer)
Awards and Recognitions
Takashi Yamazaki has received many awards for his work in film. Here are some of the most important ones:
- 2000: Giffoni Film Festival - Won for Juvenile
- 2005: Hochi Film Awards - Won Best Picture for Always: Sunset on Third Street
- 2006: 29th Japan Academy Film Prize - Won Picture of the Year, Director of the Year, and Screenplay of the Year for Always: Sunset on Third Street
- 2014: 38th Japan Academy Film Prize - Won Picture of the Year and Director of the Year for The Eternal Zero
- 2014: 38th Japan Academy Film Prize - Won Animation of the Year for Stand by Me Doraemon
- 2019: Nikkan Sports Film Awards - Won Yūjirō Ishihara Award for The Great War of Archimedes
- 2021: Hawaii Film Critics Society Awards - Won Best Animated Film for Lupin III: The First
- 2023: Hochi Film Awards - Won Best Director for Godzilla Minus One
- 2023: Nikkan Sports Film Award - Won Yūjirō Ishihara Award for Godzilla Minus One
- 2024: 96th Academy Awards - Won Best Visual Effects for Godzilla Minus One
- 2024: 17th Asian Film Awards - Won Best Visual Effects for Godzilla Minus One
- 2024: Blue Ribbon Awards - Won Best Film for Godzilla Minus One
- 2024: 47th Japan Academy Film Prize - Won Picture of the Year and Best Screenplay for Godzilla Minus One
- 2024: Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards - Won Best Science Fiction, Fantasy or Horror for Godzilla Minus One
- 2024: Music City Film Critics' Association Awards - Won Best International Film for Godzilla Minus One
- 2024: Portland Critics Association Awards - Won Best Science Fiction Feature for Godzilla Minus One
- 2024: San Diego Film Critics Society Awards - Won Best Visual Effects for Godzilla Minus One
- 2024: Seattle Film Critics Society Awards - Won Best International Film and Best Visual Effects for Godzilla Minus One
- 2024: Utah Film Critics Association Awards - Won Best Visual Effects for Godzilla Minus One
See also
In Spanish: Takashi Yamazaki para niños
