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Quentin Tarantino, the filmmaker behind classics likeKill Bill,Inglourious Basterds, andDjango Unchained, almost got himself involved with a popular Hayao Miyazaki movie. The film in question isPrincess Mononoke, which became the highest-grossing box office movie in Japan after its release in 1997.
Written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki,Princess Mononokefocuses on Ashitaka, an exiled prince who finds himself smack in the middle of the struggle for survival between humans and nature. After family-friendly releases likeKiki’s Delivery ServiceandMy Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononokemade the Ghibli audience realize that the studio can deal with much more than fluffy and warm stories.
Quentin Tarantino Declined to Write the English script for Hayao Miyazaki’sPrincess Mononoke
AfterPrincess Mononokedebuted in Japan, Disney wanted to release it for the US audience. Having already been impressed with Ghibli’s previous family-friendly movies, Disney wanted to profit more from Hayao Miyazaki’s latest movie, which has made a huge splash in Japan.But after seeing its gory content, Disney put the responsibility of its release on Miramax, a then-Disney subsidiary.
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One fine day, Neil Gaiman, a famous British fantasy author, received a call from Harvey Weinstein, the then-CEO of Miramax. Theconversation sounded something like this:
This animated film, Princess Mononoke, it’s the biggest thing in Japan right now. So I thought I’ve got to get the best to do it. I called Quentin Tarantino and said, ‘Quentin, will you do the English language script?’ And he said, you don’t want me, you want Gaiman. So, I’m calling you.
Neil Gaiman is the author ofGood Omens, The Sandman, The American Gods, and many other popular book series. No doubt, the English script forPrincess Mononokeis splendid, but it is intriguing to wonder how exactly a script from Tarantino would have turned out. Given the director’s unique charm, he might have put a separate spin on the movie altogether. But at the end of the day, Gaiman was the most logical choice.
Miramax Removed Neil Gaiman’s Credits from Princess Mononoke’s Poster
Weinstein wanted to fly Gaiman to Los Angeles to watch a cut of the movie. But the author confessed to BBC Culture that he initially had zero plans to do it. However, when he saw a scene of raindrops hitting a pebble and the beginning of rain,he realized that he had never seen anything like it. Gaiman even compared it to David Lean and Akira Kurosawa’s level of filmmaking.
Studio Ghibli’s Adaptation of Hayao Miyazaki’s Favorite Childhood Novel Had a Disturbingly Concerning Twist
Thus, Neil Gaiman did end up making the English script forPrincess Mononoke.But why have you never heard of it before? BecauseMiramax conveniently removed his name from the credits portionof the film’s poster. In a tweet, the author explained what had happened at the time, calling it his biggest secret.
My biggest secret. (Studio Ghibli asked for some of the Miramax execs to be removed from the poster and credits. The execs looked at all the names, determined that theirs would remain, and realised that mine was contractually expendable.)https://t.co/fm7BRFpp1W
Thus, when Ghibli asked the poster to be made more concise by removing some credits of Miramax executives, those at the company ended up removing Neil Gaiman’s name. The author further clarified that while the executives’ names were on the poster and DVD box, his was not.
Princess Mononokeis available to stream on Hulu, Disney+, and Max on Amazon Prime.
Aaheli Pradhan
Anime Content Writer
Articles Published :1558
Aaheli is an Anime Content Writer at FandomWire with 1300+ published articles. With five years of experience under her belt, she is a living, breathing encyclopedia for anime and manga. From Shonen and Shojo to the most niche anime, nothing escapes her radar. Her poisons of choice are Assassination Classroom, Gintama, Ouran High School Host Club and every Ghibli movie ever. She believes in living a slow life, surrounded by incomplete art projects and her beloved cats.
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Hayao Miyazakineil gaimanPrincess MononokeQuentin Tarantino
