is a Japanese film and television director, screenwriter,

manga author A is a comic artist who writes and/or illustrates manga. As of 2006, about 3,000 professional manga artists were working in Japan. Most manga artists study at an art college or manga school or take on an apprenticeship with another artist bef ...

, and novelist. Iida has worked continually in Japan's film, television,

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

and manga industries since the early 1980s, predominantly in the genres of horror and science fiction.

Career

Iida was first discovered when his 8mm short ''Intermission'' (''Kyukei'') was screened at the 1980

PIA Film Festival The (also known as the PIA Film Festival or PFF for short) is an annual film festival established in 1977. According to film scholar Jasper Sharp, the festival "not only ranks as a vital hotbed from which the careers of some of Japan's most talen ...

. For the next few years, Iida found work alternating as a scriptwriter for pink films and as an

assistant director The role of an assistant director on a film includes tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, and maintaining order on the set. They also have to tak ...

for other productions.Joji Iida profile
subtitledonline.com. Retrieved 16, March 2013 He was subsequently given the opportunity to direct his own project, the straight-to-video production ''

Cyclops In Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, the Cyclopes ( ; el, Κύκλωπες, ''Kýklōpes'', "Circle-eyes" or "Round-eyes"; singular Cyclops ; , ''Kýklōps'') are giant one-eyed creatures. Three groups of Cyclopes can be distinguish ...

'' (1987). Iida soon followed this with his theatrical debut, ''

Battle Heater A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

'' (1989), a

horror comedy Comedy horror, also known as horror comedy, is a literary, television, and film genre that combines elements of comedy and horror fiction. Comedy horror has been described as able to be categorized under three types: "black comedy, parody and spo ...

about a man-eating ''

kotatsu A is a low, wooden table frame covered by a ''futon'', or heavy blanket, upon which a table top sits. Underneath is a heat source, formerly a charcoal brazier but now electric, often built into the table itself. ''Kotatsu'' are used almost ...

'' that terrorizes the tenants of a rundown apartment block. In the 1990s Iida branched out into television, creating the series ''

Night Head ''Night Head Genesis'' is a Japanese anime television series adapted from the 1992 TV drama ''Night Head''. It began airing on the anime television network Animax on July 27, 2006. The series was licensed for a North American release on Febru ...

'' (1992–1993), which would go on to spawn an entire franchise including a made-for-TV movie of the same name in 1994 as well as manga and books. An anime series, ''

Night Head Genesis ''Night Head Genesis'' is a Japanese anime television series adapted from the 1992 TV drama ''Night Head''. It began airing on the anime television network Animax on July 27, 2006. The series was licensed for a North American release on Febr ...

'', was subsequently produced in 2006. Other notable productions include the 1998 '' Rasen'', the original sequel to

Hideo Nakata is a Japanese filmmaker. Life and career Nakata was born in Okayama, Japan. He is most familiar to Western audiences for his work on Japanese horror films such as ''Ring'' (1998), ''Ring 2'' (1999) and ''Dark Water'' (2002). Several of these we ...

's film ''

Ring Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...

'' (before Nakata directed the better known, and otherwise unrelated, ''

Ring 2 is a 1999 Japanese supernatural horror film, directed by Hideo Nakata and serves as a sequel to '' Ring''. ''Ring'' was originally a novel written by Koji Suzuki; its sequel, ''Rasen'' (a.k.a. ''Spiral''), was also adapted into a film as the ...

'' in 1999), and the police procedural/horror '' Another Heaven'' (2000). ''Rasen'' was based on

Koji Suzuki is a Japanese writer, who was born in Hamamatsu and lives in Tokyo. Suzuki is the author of the Ring (novel series), ''Ring'' novels, which have been adapted into other formats, including films, manga, TV series and video games. He has written ...

's second novel of his

Ring Trilogy is a series of horror novels written by Koji Suzuki. The novels were initially a trilogy, consisting of ''Ring'', ''Spiral'', and ''Loop''. A short story collection called ''Birthday'' was released shortly after, introducing extra stories interc ...

of the same name, also known as ''Spiral''. ''Another Heaven'' was based on one of Iida's own books. Iida's most recent theatrical production as director was ''

Dragon Head is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Minetaro Mochizuki. It was published by Kodansha in ''Weekly Young Magazine'' from 1994 and 1999 and collected in ten ''tankōbon'' volumes. It was licensed in English by Tokyopop, wi ...

'' (2003), a live-action adaptation of the

manga series Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is used ...

by Minetaro Mochizuki.

Filmography

Film

*''

'' (1987) *''Battle Heater'' (1989) *''Tokyo Babylon 1999'' (1993) – live-action feature film adaptation of the

. *''Akagi'' (1995) – the first of two feature film adaptations of the manga of the same name. *'' Rasen'' (1998) *''Another Heaven'' (2000) *''

Jam Films ''Jam Films'' and its sequels are collections of short films, each by a different Japanese director. ''Jam Films'' ''Jam Films'' is a 2002 suite of 7 shorts produced by Sega/Amuse (various production companies participated in the production of the ...

'' (2002) – segment: ''Cold Sleep''. *''

'' (2003) *'' Black Belt'' (2007) (as writer)

Television

*''Tales of the Unusual'' (1992) (2 episodes) *''Night Head'' (1992–1993) *''Night Head'' (1994) – TV movie based on the series. *''

'' (1995) (as writer) – TV movie based on the 1991 novel

. *''Another Heaven: Eclipse'' (2000) – TV spin-off series based on Iida's ''Another Heaven''. *''

Sci-Fi Harry is a 1995 Japanese manga series written by George Iida and illustrated by Asami Tohjoh which was adapted into an anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. ...

'' (2000–2001) – anime series based on Iida and Asami Tohjoh's manga of the same name. *''

'' (2006) *''

Strangers 6 ''Strangers 6'' ( Japanese: ストレンジャーズ6), (), (), is a 2012 Japanese-South Korean-Chinese co-production television series. With a budget of 1 billion yen, filming portion in Japan began on July 1, 2011. The first episode premiered i ...

'' (2012) *''

Night Head 2041 ''Night Head 2041'' (stylized as ''NIGHT HEAD 2041'') is a Japanese anime television series based on the 1992 Japanese television drama series ''Night Head''. The series is animated by Shirogumi, directed by Takamitsu Hirakawa and written by ...

'' (2021)

Other work

Iida wrote the storyline for his own video game ''Iida Joji Nightmare Interactive: Moon Cradle''. It was released in 1995 for the

3DO Interactive Multiplayer The 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, also referred to as simply 3DO, is a home video game console developed by The 3DO Company. Conceived by entrepreneur and Electronic Arts founder Trip Hawkins, the 3DO was not a console manufactured by the company ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Iida, George Horror film directors Japanese film directors 1959 births Living people