U.S. anime producer/distributor ADV Films will premiere its first animated feature, LADY DEATH: THE MOTION Picture on July 23, 2004 at 9:00 pm at the Comic-Con 2004 in San Diego in room 5AB. Director Andrew Orjuela and creator Brian Pulido, among other members of the LADY DEATH creative team, are scheduled to be on hand at the screening Friday night and will also be signing autographs and talking to fans at the ADV booth at 1:00 pm July 22-24 at the convention.
Set in 15th century Sweden, a wrongly accused young woman named Hope is sent to Hell where she is transformed into Lady Death and forced to battle Lucifer in his own domain.
First-time director Orjuela collaborated extensively with Chaos! Comics founder Pulido, who created the Lady Death comic and many other dark, supernatural comics. Orjuela also served as producer and art director of ADV Films animation co-production, SIN, and has some 10 years experience with ADV Films.
The screenplay was written by renowned writer Carl Macek, developer and story editor for ROBOTECH; producer of the English-language version of Miyazaki's classic MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO; and producer/director of the English language version of VAMPIRE HUNTER D. Famed composer Bill Brown (ANY GIVEN SUNDAY, ALI and FINDING FORRESTER) composed the original musical score for this epic tale.
When production commenced in early 2002, exec producer and ADV co-founder John Ledford said he had hoped to create a new production model with LADY DEATH that redefines the relationship between Asian animation studios and Western creators. Artists at SunMin Image Pictures in Asia under the supervision of director Young H. Sang animated the digital feature.
A Lady Death walk-around character will be there in the flesh at Comic Con mingling with her fans and handing out free Lady Death movie-sized posters at the ADV booth (#3628) while supplies last. There will also be a Behind the Scenes discussion panel on July 23 with director Orjuela and ADV sr. marketing manager Rod Peters, along with other members of the creative team, dishing up behind-the-scenes tidbits at 2:30 pm in room 9.
Its a very exciting time for ADV Films and myself, said Orjuela. As a huge fan of comic books and anime films, I hope to incorporate the best of both worlds and deliver a film that will entertain fans by staying true to the integrity of the character, while using both old and new animation techniques to tell an epic story that all people can relate to.
For the latest production updates, character gallery and to view the upcoming movie trailer visit the Lady Death Website at www.ladydeathtmp.com.
ADV Films is one of the top producer-distributors of anime for the North American market. Parent company, A.D. Vision, Inc., publishes NEWTYPE USA, the premier anime and manga monthly magazine, and operates Anime Network, broadcasting anime and anime-related programming via digital cable, 24 hours a day. Headquartered in Houston and with additional offices in the Europe and Japan, the company operates ADV Manga, dedicated to publishing graphic novels and ADV Toys, a new division that creates exclusive toys and collectible merchandise based upon the company's extensive original content holdings. For more information, visit www.advfilms.com.
