Hayao Miyazaki to Retire from Filmmaking

Japanese filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki is retiring.  Studio Ghibli president Hoshino Koji announced earlier today at the Venice Film Festival that the 72-year-old filmmaker and master of animation is retiring, but further questions about the decision were not answered.  Miyazaki first started working as an animator in 1961, going on to co-found the wonderful Japanese animation studio Studio Ghibli, where he directed a number of highly regarded animation features including 1988’s My Neighbor Totoro, 1989’s Kiki’s Delivery Service, 1995’s Princess Mononoke, and 2007’s Ponyo.

This is not the first time that Miyazaki has announced retirement, as he previously took a sabbatical after Princess Mononoke, only to come return to direct 2004’s Howl’s Moving Castle.  Miyazaki’s latest—and probably final—film, The Wind Rises, is currently making the festival rounds and is poised to play Telluride this weekend and the Toronto International Film Festival next week.

"Kiki's Delivery Service" currently being made into a live-action movie

Hayao Miyazaki is one of the most popular icons (perhaps even greater than Walt Disney) in the world of animation and animated cinema. In some aspects, he can be considered as a god when it comes to animated cinema. One of his timeless cinematic gems "Kiki's Delivery Service" has now been adapted into a live-action movie. Director Shimizu Takashi who is known for directing Ju-On and The Grudge (Hollywood version/remake of Ju-on) will be taking time away from his horror roots into the more light, fun and fantastical world of Kiki's Delivery Service. The movie is currently in active production, and is set for a 2014 release. [more details, such as a production still, after the jump]