AZN Acquires Japanese Action Film from FUNimation

CENTENNIAL, August 15: AZN Television, the Comcast-owned
channel for Asian Americans, has secured the Japanese action film Shinobi from distributor FUNimation for premiere this
September.

AZN will air the original 2005 film in Japanese with English
subtitles. The acquisition follows Universal Pictures’ recent announcement that
it would release a modern-day remake of the film. Shinobi is set in 1614 during a war between two ancient ninja
clans. The rivalry forces secret lovers, Oboro, the granddaughter and heir to
the Iga clan, and Danjo Koga, the son and heir to the Koga clan, to go against
each other in a duel to the death.

AZN has also picked up an additional two titles for its
movie lineup in September, including the award-winning Beijing Bicycle from Sony Pictures Television and Initial
D from Tai Seng.

Premiering September 27 exclusively on AZN in Mandarin with
English subtitles, Beijing Bicycle is
the story of a country boy who moves to Beijing and gets a job as a bicycle
messenger. When his bicycle, which was paid for out of his wages, is stolen, he
stubbornly tries to reclaim it. However, for the boy who stole the bicycle, to
lose it would mean humiliation.

Initial D will air on
AZN in Cantonese with English subtitles on September 20. The film delves into
the world of street-car racing known as drifting and sees 18-year-old Takumi
delivering tofu orders for his former racecar-driver father at night while
perfecting the dangerous art of drifting.