Yūdai Yamaguchi
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

is a Japanese film director who has worked mainly in the comedy and horror genres. He has "made a name for himself by mixing goofy gore with manga-esque escapades and plain utter weirdness".


Life and career

Yamaguchi was born in 1971 and attended the . After graduation he won a number of awards at independent film festivals. In 2000 he co-wrote (with director
Ryuhei Kitamura is a Japanese film director, producer, and screenwriter. Kitamura relocated to Sydney, Australia at age 17 and attended a school for visual arts for two years. In 1997, Kitamura directed and produced the short film ''Down to Hell'', which receiv ...
) the action-horror film ''
Versus Versus (Latin, 'against') may refer to: Film and television * ''Versus'' (2000 film), a Japanese zombie film * ''Versus'' (2016 film), a Russian sports drama film * ''Versus'' (2019 film), a French thriller film * Versus (TV channel), form ...
'' (VERSUS ヴァーサス) starring
Tak Sakaguchi is a Japanese actor, director, stage combat, fight choreographer, stuntman and martial artist. He is best known for his role in Ryuhei Kitamura's cult film, ''Versus (2000 film), Versus''. Since his debut, Sakaguchi has worked with Kitamura s ...
. Yamaguchi was also a second-unit director on the movie. He made his debut as a feature film director with ''
Battlefield Baseball is a 2003 Japanese film directed by Yūdai Yamaguchi. The film is written by Gatarō Man, based on his manga series of the same name, and stars Tak Sakaguchi, Atsushi Itō, and Hideo Sakaki. It was produced by Ryuhei Kitamura. The film is a ...
'' released theatrically in July 2003. This horror-sports-comedy again starred Tak Sakaguchi and the film won the Grand Prize at the 14th
Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival The , also sometimes called YIFFF, is held in a resort-like environment in the small town of Yūbari on the northernmost Japanese island of Hokkaidō. From 1990 to 1999, the festival was known as the Yubari International Fantastic Adventure Fil ...
held in February 2003. Yamaguchi was a guest at the festival. He followed this in 2004 with ''Babaa Zone'', a compilation of five short skits in collaboration with
manga 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 history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...
artist Gatarō Man. In late 2004, Yamaguchi was one of the directors of
Takashi Shimizu Takashi Shimizu (清水 崇 ''Shimizu Takashi'', born 27 July 1972) is a Japanese people, Japanese filmmaker. He is best known for being the creator of the Ju-On, ''Ju-On'' franchise, and directing four of its films, internationally, in both Jap ...
's comedy-horror TV series . As with ''Battlefield Baseball'', his next feature, ''
Cromartie High - The Movie Cromartie or Cromarty may refer to: People Sports * Antonio Cromartie (born 1984), American football cornerback * Da'Mon Cromartie-Smith (born 1987), American football safety * Marcus Cromartie (born 1990), American football cornerback * Russell C ...
'' from July 2005, was based on a
manga 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 history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...
series (
Cromartie High School is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiji Nonaka. It was serialized in Kodansha's manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from August 2000 to May 2006, with its chapters collected in 18 volumes. It follows the everyd ...
). This episodic comedy, which made its New York premiere at the 2006
New York Asian Film Festival The New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF) is a film festival held in New York City dedicated to the display of Asian film and culture. The New York Asian Film Festival generally features contemporary premieres and classic titles from Eastern Asia ...
, revolves around the hapless Cromartie High with a student body composed of thugs,
yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media (by request of the police) call them , while the yakuza call themselves . The English equivalent for the term ''yak ...
look-alikes, a giant, a gorilla and an obnoxious robot. Kamiyama, seemingly the only normal student, tries to improve things - but then the aliens invade. Yamaguchi's September 2006 film ''
Meatball Machine is a 2005 Japanese tokusatsu horror film directed by Yūdai Yamaguchi and Jun'ichi Yamamoto based on a film by Yamamoto from 1999. Special effects and makeup effects were by Yoshihiro Nishimura. It was followed by a sequel, ''Meatball Machine: Ko ...
'', which he co-directed with Jun'ichi Yamamoto based on an earlier film by Yamamoto, has aliens taking over human bodies and turning them into bio-mechanical monsters. In August 2008, Yamaguchi released '' Tamami: The Baby's Curse'', a horror story about a monster-baby which is a more subdued work than his previous manic comedy efforts. Along with
Noboru Iguchi (born June 28, 1969) is a Japanese film director, screenwriter and actor. He has worked as a director in adult video (AV) as well as in the horror and gore genres. Life and career Iguchi was born on June 28, 1969. In an interview he said he w ...
, Yamaguchi directed the fake TV commercials for good friend
Yoshihiro Nishimura is a Japanese film director, special effects and makeup effects artist, and a screenwriter who has worked predominantly in the horror genre. Nishimura has been described as "a legendary director and effects artist" and "the Tom Savini of Japan" ...
's cult horror film ''
Tokyo Gore Police is a 2008 Japanese science fiction horror film co-written, edited and directed by Yoshihiro Nishimura and starring Eihi Shiina as Ruka, a vengeful police officer. ''Tokyo Gore Police'' was released to several film festivals in North America. ...
'' after Yamaguchi suggested that it might balance out the dark tone of the movie. In a change of pace, Yamaguchi left the horror aspects behind to direct a straight comedy in the February 2009 release ''Elite Yankee Saburo'' with special makeup effects by
Yoshihiro Nishimura is a Japanese film director, special effects and makeup effects artist, and a screenwriter who has worked predominantly in the horror genre. Nishimura has been described as "a legendary director and effects artist" and "the Tom Savini of Japan" ...
. The film followed a Japanese TV comedy shown on
TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as is a Japanese television station that serves as the flagship of the TX Network.yankee The term ''Yankee'' and its contracted form ''Yank'' have several interrelated meanings, all referring to people from the United States. Their various meanings depend on the context, and may refer to New Englanders, the Northeastern United Stat ...
". The movie retained the original cast from the TV series including lead actor Hideo Ishiguro.


Filmography


References


Bibliography

* * *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yamaguchi, Yudai Japanese screenwriters 1971 births Living people Japanese horror film directors