TOKYOPOP's "Van Von Hunter" at Fantasia

Press release:

TOKYOPOP's Van Von Hunter an Official Selection at Fantasia Festival 2010


Van-tastic live-action mockumentary to premiere at North America's top genre film festival

TOKYOPOP, the leading manga-lifestyle entertainment company, is delighted to announce the selection of their mockumentary feature film Van Von Hunter into Fantasia 2010, North America's largest genre film festival. TOKYOPOP's first live-action film, starring voice actor extraordinaire Yuri Lowenthal (Naruto, Ben 10), marks the directorial debut of TOKYOPOP founder Stu Levy, along with Steven Calcote. The pair also wrote, produced and even acted in the film.

Inspired by and based upon TOKYOPOP's original manga series, Van Von Hunter is a live-action mockumentary-style film that follows its title character on a journey deep into the heart of manga and anime fandom. From the mythical world of Dikay to the cold, hard streets of Hollywood and across the ocean to Tokyo, this Van-tastic voyage is also filled with cameos of top manga and anime personalities as it embraces otaku culture around the globe.

"It's a great honor to be selected by Fantasia and give our first feature film an opportunity to get in front of a wide audience," says Levy. "From comic-cons to cosplayers, we've had so much fun traveling the world, meeting fans of manga and anime, and embracing otaku culture. And the festival has been so great to us, we're thinking of asking them to change their name, just for this year, to Van-tasia."

Van Von Hunter will make its debut screening on Monday, July 17, and Lowenthal and Levy will be in attendance for a Q&A and autograph signing. After the screening at Fantasia, Van Von Hunter will appear on Hulu.com in late July.

Van Von Hunter
TOKYOPOP
Credits:
Director: Stu Levy, Steven Calcote
Screenwriters: Stu Levy, Steven Calcote
Based on the graphic novel by: Mike Schwark, Ron Kaulfersch
Producers: Stu Levy, Steven Calcote
Editor: Daisuke Kinouchi
Director of Photography: Jake Avignone
Visual Effects: Jason Milligan
Music: Benjamin Chan

Cast:
Van Von Hunter: Yuri Lowenthal
Holly O'Hara: Heather Marie Marsden
Patrick Shaunessey: Travis Stevens
Sho Matsuhashi: Himself
Hiromoto Sensei: Shin-ichi Hiromoto
Shoji Kawamori: Himself

Running Time - 102 minutes


About TOKYOPOP
Founded by multi-cultural media visionary Stu Levy, TOKYOPOP is hailed as a leading youth-oriented entertainment brand and an innovator of manga creation, with a revolutionary artistic vision that transcends countless platforms. From the introduction of the first-ever extensive manga publishing program in North America, to the development of its manga-originated intellectual properties into film, television and digital entertainment, TOKYOPOP has changed the way teens experience pop culture. The company's global reach has expanded to Europe and Asia, with offices in the UK and Germany, in addition to its Los Angeles and Tokyo operations. With millions of fans logging onto the new social networking site www.TOKYOPOP.com, reading its books, which are licensed in 50 countries in more than 30 languages, and watching its DVDs and television programs, TOKYOPOP's award-winning catalogue of licensed and original properties has made the company a visionary in an ever-growing teen entertainment marketplace. Visit www.TOKYOPOP.com for additional information.