SAMUEL HADIDA’S DAVIS FILMS ACQUIRES ACCLAIMED JAPANESE MANGA GOLGO 13

Major Film Franchise Potential for Longest Running & Most Popular Manga in Japan

Toronto – September 10, 2011: Samuel Hadida announced today that his company, Davis Films, has acquired film rights from Leed Publishing Co. Ltd. to the iconic Japanese cult classic Golgo 13, the longest-running manga (now in publication over forty years), written and illustrated by manga master Takao Saito.

Golgo 13 was introduced in 1968, and the manga series, including compilation books, has sold over 200 million copies worldwide.  It has been made into two live action films (the first starring Ken Takakura and the second starring Sonny Chiba), two animated films, a television series, and various video games. Leed Publishing serves as Saito’s representative and has overseen worldwide licensing of all rights to his work.  

Golgo 13, otherwise known as ‘Duke Togo,’ is a hired gun sniper with unbelievable combat skills, a cross between Dirty Harry and James Bond.  He is a professional assassin with a strict personal code that makes him a modern day samurai. His world of contract killing is not unlike the complex world of espionage.

“We are unbelievably excited about this great property, and the opportunity to bring it to the big screen, “Hadida stated.  “I have long admired Takao Saito’s great work as one of the top gekiga style artists.  We are looking forward to bringing his style sensibilities and this great character to worldwide film audiences.”

The deal was brokered for Davis by Tetsu Fujimura at Filosophia, Inc.

Davis Films is known for its successful adaptations of Japanese media, including Crying Freeman, Silent Hill, and the Resident Evil films. “We see with Golgo 13 the same franchise potential,” Hadida added.  

About Davis Films

Based in Paris and Los Angeles, Davis Films is one of the world’s leading independent production companies and has been directly involved in the production of over forty feature films including the Resident Evil and Silent Hill franchises.  Along with leading French distributor Metropolitan FilmExport, Davis Films is owned and managed by Samuel and Victor Hadida.   Hadida’s first production was Tony Scott’s True Romance, based on Quentin Tarantino’s script. Davis Films’ production credits additionally include Tony Scott’s Domino, 88 Minutes, George Clooney’s Good Night, and Good Luck, Roger Avary’s The Rules of Attraction Killing Zoe, David Cronenberg’s Spider, and the Robert E. Howard properties Solomon Kane and Conan.

About LEED Publishing

Leed Publishing Co. Ltd has long been known as one of the leading publishers of "gekiga" graphic novels, a preeminent style of contemporary Japanese manga involving adult stories with realistic drawings.  Leed was originally founded in 1960 as the publishing division of Saito Production Co., Ltd., and was spun off to become an independent publishing firm in 1974.  Leed has published a wide variety of manga books and magazines for over fifty years.