JeuxIndustrie.biz
reports that Hideo Kojima’s Kojima Productions expands attention to video games as the enigmatic hit of 2019 Death stranding in music, television and film. Originally established in 2005 as a subsidiary of Konami, the company was reformed into an independent studio after the dismantling and restructuring of the internal department as a result of a rift between Kojima and Konami during the manufacture of Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.
The new pop culture team will be led by former PlayStation General Counsel and VP of Business Affairs Riley Russell. “The new division will be responsible for working with creative and talented professionals in television, music and film, as well as the more well-known games industry,†Russell told GamesIndustry.
He went on to say, “The charter of the team is to expand the reach and awareness of properties currently under development at Kojima Productions, and to integrate them even more into our popular culture.”
Kojima has long been known for his love of cinema and as an author who directs every part of the process of his video games, known for their lengthy cutscenes. The above Death stranding Joel Coretliz’s sound design is closely linked to working with actors, writers and directors around the world, so Kojima Productions has already established relationships with people familiar with filmmaking. These, including North Americans Norman Reedus, Liam O’Brien, Conan O’Brien, Geoff Keighley and Edgar Wright; Finnish game developer Sam Lake; Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen; Finnish-Norwegian director-producer Tommy Wirkola; and Japanese creators like Junji Ito and Metal Gear veterans Akio Otsuka, Kikuko Inoue, Nana Mizuki and Satoshi Mikami. It stands to reason that Kojima is already known and respected by those in an industry in which he is starting to push his brand and his creative direction. Parking a new studio division in Los Angeles focused on other aspects of show business will give the artist more reach, not what he is currently lacking.
Last year it was reported that Sony was working on a Metal Gear Solid movie starring Oscar Isaac. Maybe this will be the first Kojima Production non-video game?
