Sharing a House with the Never-Ending Man: 15 Years at Studio Ghibli

by Steve Alpert

Overview

This highly entertaining business memoir describes what it was like to work for Japan’s premiere animation studio, Studio Ghibli, and its reigning genius Hayao Miyazaki. Steve Alpert, a Japanese-speaking American, was the “resident foreigner” in the offices of Ghibli and its parent Tokuma Shoten and played a central role when Miyazaki’s films were starting to take off in international markets. Alpert describes hauling heavy film canisters of Princess Mononoke to Russia and California, experiencing a screaming Harvey Weinstein, dealing with Disney marketers, and then triumphantly attending glittering galas celebrating the Oscar-winning Spirited Away.

His one-of-a-kind portraits of Miyazaki and long-time producer Toshio Suzuki, and of sly, gruff, and brilliant businessman Yasuyoshi Tokuma, capture the hard work and artistry that have made Ghibli films synonymous with cinematic excellence. And as the lone gaijin in a demanding company run by some of the most famous and influential people in modern Japan, Steve Alpert tackles his own challenges of language and culture. No one else could have written this book.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781611720570
Publisher:	Stone Bridge Press
Publication date:	06/16/2020
Pages:	296
Sales rank:	635,900
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Steve Alpert studied Japanese Literature at Columbia Universityunder Donald Keene and Edward Seidensticker. He speaks Japanese and Chinese fluently, having lived in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Taipei for a combined total of over 35 years. Alpert worked in Tokyo as a vice president at a major bank, as president of an American TV animation company, and as head of international sales at Japan's premier animation studio, Studio Ghibli, cofounded by Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata . He has translated more than a dozen Japanese films and several short works of Japanese fiction. His book in Japanese about his experiences working at Studio Ghibli was published in 2015 by Iwanami Shoten. He lives near New Haven, CT.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Studio Ghibli 7

1 Salaryman 11

Fools Rush In 11

Tokuma-shacho 26

Public Speaking 32

2 A Different Kind of Princess 42

Princess Mononoke 42

Temporarily Misplaced in Translation 54

The Circus 61

The Kiss 68

Going Public 70

3 Culture Wars 75

Minarai (Watch and Learn) 75

Unrepentant Smokers 83

The Big Slaughter 88

First Contact 92

To Russia with Love 101

It's Magic 103

4 Road Warrior 109

You Say Potato I Say Starchy Tuberous Plant from the Perennial Nightshade Solanum Tuberosum L Family 109

California Dreamin' 115

Tequila Sunrise 120

5 Young Men, Be Ambitious! 124

Space Mountain 124

Technical Problems 134

Reality Bites 139

6 On the Road Again 144

LA Confidential 144

Asses in Seats 150

Goodfellas 154

Reversible Destiny Pioneers 156

You'll Never Work in This Town Again 160

7 Asia 172

Doing Business in Korea, Taiwan, and China 172

Korea 174

Taiwan 177

The People's Republic of China 179

8 Spirited Away 185

Blow Not Thine Own Horn 185

The Golden Bear 189

The Twilight Zone 196

The 75th Academy Awards 203

Oscar 209

9 My Ass Is a Chicken 215

The Rest of the World 215

Big Girls Don't Cry 218

You Know You're in France When … 220

We'll Always Have Paris 225

10 Princess Diary 234

Lost in Translation 234

The Stars Align 241

For Love (Not Money) 246

Mixmasters 249

All's Well That Ends… (Well?) 252

11 The Circle of Life 258

To the Clouds 258

Back to Earth 272

12 DirecTV 278

Acknowledgments 292

Editorial Reviews

03/23/2020

This intermittently intriguing memoir offers only limited insight into either its author or the never-ending man of the title, renowned Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki—but it does provide a fresh perspective on the experience of Westerners in Japan. Alpert was, for more than a decade, the only non-Japanese employee at Studio Ghibli, acting as head of international sales for the company behind such popular Miyazaki films as Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away. His account never feels like a fish-out-of-water story, as he begins some 10 years into his time in Japan. He also says less about the nuts and bolts of making movies than about the general experience of doing business as an outsider in Japan, musing, for instance, on how his status as a gaijin, or foreigner, led to him being treated as a kind of status symbol for the company. A few striking characters emerge—notably Tokuma chairman Yasuyoshi Tokuma, depicted here as a ruthless, often frightening businessman with a penchant for Häagen-Dazs ice cream—but Alpert never conveys much of a personal connection with Miyazaki himself. Amounting to an uneven collection of business anecdotes, Alpert’s workmanlike book will appeal more to other expatriate Japan residents than to Miyazaki fans. (June)

Publishers Weekly

"It's a fabulous book. Informative and illuminating."

—Neil Gaiman, author of American Gods, Sandman, and The Ocean at the End of the Lane

"The modern-day Japanese answer to Disney, this company could not be further from the American animation studio model, and Alpert reveals part of why Ghibli's reputation for cinematic excellence is well-deserved, in a memoir that's equal part anecdote and cultural primer."

—Shelf Awareness

"Sharing a House with the Never-Ending Man may be the only behind-the-scenes book about Studio Ghibli we ever get — at least until Miyazaki finally retires for good."

—Nikkei Asian Review

"A massively informative book on Studio Ghibli's pivotal years, with sublime comedy moments."

—The Anime News Network

"A wellspring of sharp insights into the studio’s creative process and fiery gossip about its main players."

—Cartoon Brew

"An utterly priceless insider account, loaded with shouting matches, dastardly deals, moments of searing creative wisdom and fist-gnawing awkwardness. Ghibli, and anime, will never look the same again."

—Jonathan Clements, author of Anime: A History

"A comedic and detailed portal into what it was like to work with one of the world’s most influential animators."

—Metropolis Magazine

“I’ve been waiting a long time for Steve Alpert’s book. With humor and insight he describes his years working at Japan’s premiere animation company—Studio Ghibli—where I always marveled at his ability to survive. Fans of Ghibli and its films, and its best-known founder and director, Hayao Miyazaki, will be delighted. And so, too, will anyone interested in Japanese society and business, the animation industry, and problems of intercultural communication.”

—Frederik L. Schodt, translator, with Beth Cary, of Hayao Miyazaki’s autobiographical books, Starting Point and Turning Point

"A new book by the studio’s long-time international executive, Japanese-speaking American Steve Alpert, lifts the veil on some of the business transactions and industry practices that led to the studio’s success."

—The South China Morning Post

"An insider’s view of how cultural products are translated and transformed, also how art and commerce collide in the world of cinema."

—Japan Forward

"Spirited Away, one of Miyazaki’s most successful films, was my gateway drug to Ghibli’s animation which was in turn my gateway to Japanese culture as a whole, so disenchantment would be a high price for me to pay. Fortunately, though, I derive deep satisfaction from finding out how the things I love are made—it only adds to my experience. For anyone who is like me and who enjoys watching How It’s Made videos and behind the scenes documentaries, Sharing a House with the Never-Ending Man is a must."

—Kyoto Journal

"A snapshot of one of the film industry’s most exciting times, and an intimate portrayal of the people making the movies we love."

—Tokyo Weekender

From the Publisher