"Nikkatsu revives successful porn genre of ’70s and ’80s"

More from today's Japan Today:

The promotional flyer says it all: “This is not a remake — it’s a return!”

Four decades ago, struggling movie studio Nikkatsu shifted its focus from action and gangster films to a form of soft pornography termed roman porno (a combination of the English words “romance” and “pornography”). It was a breakthrough genre for a major studio: hour-long films with relatively substantial storylines blended with copious nude scenes.

I suppose this might be of interest to at least some visual anthropologists... But what caught my attention appears later in the article.

Opportunity for emerging filmmakers

Nikkatsu sees the roman porno revival as an opportunity for emerging filmmakers and actors to make their mark. Over the last few years, Japan’s box office has been dominated by TV network-produced films, which are staffed by their own production crews — a trend that many in the industry believe is shutting out new directors.

“It is hard for young talent to make a debut,” says Yoshinori Chiba, a producer of the new films. “We are hoping that the ‘Returns’ series will bring opportunities to young directors to break through this closed environment.”

Times are tough and jobs are hard to get, especially in the film industry. So perhpas here is a chance for some...

Read the whole story and reader comments:
http://www.japantoday.com/category/entertainment-arts/view/nikkatsu-revives-successful-porn-genre-of-%E2%80%9970s-and-%E2%80%9980s