Hayao Miyazaki is a prominent filmmaker of many popular animated feature films. He is also a co-founder of Studio Ghibli,
an animation studio and production company. He remained largely unknown to the West, outside of animation communities, until
Miramax released his 1997 Princess Mononoke. By that time, his films had already enjoyed both commercial and critical success
in Japan and abroad.
Joan Fontaine (born October 22, 1917) is a British American actress. She became an American citizen in April 1943. She is
the younger sister of actress Olivia de Havilland, also an Academy Award winner. Along with Luise Rainer, Gloria Stuart, Shirley
Temple, Deanna Durbin and Olivia de Havilland, Fontaine is one of the last surviving female stars from Hollywood of the 1930s.
She is notably the only actress to ever win the Leading Lady Oscar in a film directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
Megumi Hayashibara (born March 30, 1967) is a Japanese seiyū, singer, radio personality and lyricist from Tokyo. She is currently
affiliated with Aksent. Her nicknames include "Megu-san", "Megu-nee", "Bara-san", "Kakka" and "Daijin".
Shōhei Imamura (今村 昌平, Imamura Shōhei, Tokyo, 15 September 1926 – 30 May 2006) was a Japanese film director. Imamura was the
first Japanese director to win two Palme d'Or awards, and is regarded as one of the most important and idiosyncratic filmmakers
in the history of cinema. However, despite being one of the greatest Asian directors, he was never Oscar nominated in any
category.
Mamoru Oshii is a Japanese filmmaker and writer famous for his philosophy-oriented storytelling. Presently, Oshii lives in
Atami, Shizuoka prefecture, Japan with his dogs – a basset hound named Gabriel (ガブリエル) and a mutt named Daniel. Oshii has
stated his approach to directing is in direct contrast to what he perceives to be the Hollywood formula, i.e. he regards the
visuals as the most important aspect, followed by the story and the characters come last.
Akio Ōtsuka is a Japanese actor and seiyū from the Tokyo Metropolitan area. He is currently attached to Mausu Promotion. He
stands at 182 centimeters (6 feet), weighs 73 kilograms (about 161 lbs. ) and has a blood type of B. He married fellow seiyū
Yōko Sōmi on February 11, 2005, but later divorced her in 2009. He is the son of seiyū Chikao Ōtsuka. The astringent and calm
quality of his voice has landed him many roles in films, dubbing, animation, and video games.
