Fran Rubel Kuzui | |
|---|---|
 Kuzui in 2023 | |
| Born | United States |
| Alma mater | New York University |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1988–present |
| Spouse | Kaz Kuzui |
Fran Rubel Kuzui is an American film director and producer. She directed the films Tokyo Pop (1988) and Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992). [1] She also produced the films Orgazmo (1997) and Telling Lies in America (1997). [2]
Kuzui received her master's degree from New York University and was a script supervisor for a decade, prior to her first film, 1988's Tokyo Pop , which she co-wrote and directed. The movie was shown at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival and received critical acclaim[ citation needed ] for its depiction of an American woman trying to make sense of the Japanese youth culture. [3]
She is best known as the director of the 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer (which was the basis for the television series). [4] She discovered the screenplay of writer Joss Whedon, expanded the Buffy character with him, and together with producer Kaz Kuzui put together the financing to produce the picture. [5] Kuzui served as an executive producer on the TV series and its spin-off Angel , having packaged Buffy along with Kaz Kuzui, Sandollar TV's Gail Berman and Sandy Gallin.
Since 2000, Kuzui has lived in Tokyo. [6] Along with husband Kaz Kuzui, she founded Kuzui Enterprises, a leader in independent film distribution in Japan that distributes U.S. films there and imports Japanese films for the U.S. market. In 2003, the Kuzuis were among the executive producers for the Thai-Japanese film Last Life in the Universe . [7] In 1997, Kuzui began working with Trey Parker and Matt Stone and produced their film Orgazmo . The Kuzuis also localized and distributed the duo's TV series South Park in Japan. Kuzui Enterprises was among the financiers for Orgazmo and Telling Lies in America .[ citation needed ]
The Kuzuis worked with artist Keith Haring to establish Pop Shop Tokyo, an art project recognized by museums around the world.[ citation needed ]
In 2018, it was reported that the Kuzuis are involved with the development of a reboot of Buffy. [8] [9]
Kuzui is a contributing writer at the Nikkei Asian Review and Tokyo bureau chief for Culinary Backstreets.
Feature films
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Tokyo Pop | Yes | Yes | No |
| 1992 | Buffy the Vampire Slayer | Yes | No | No |
| 1997 | Orgazmo | No | No | Yes |
| 1997 | Telling Lies in America | No | No | Yes |
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a 1992 American comedy vampire film directed by Fran Rubel Kuzui and written by Joss Whedon. It stars Kristy Swanson as the eponymous Buffy Summers, a Valley Girl cheerleader who learns it is her fate to hunt vampires. Donald Sutherland, Paul Reubens, Rutger Hauer, and Luke Perry appear in supporting roles.
Buffy Anne Summers is the title character of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchise. She first appeared in the 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer before going on to appear in The WB/UPN 1997–2003 television series and subsequent 1998–2018 Dark Horse and 2019–present Boom! Studios comic series of the same name. The character has also appeared in the spin-off series Angel, as well as numerous expanded universe materials such as novels and video games. Buffy was portrayed by Kristy Swanson in the film and by Sarah Michelle Gellar in the television series. Giselle Loren has lent her voice to the character in both the Buffy video games and an unproduced animated series, while Kelly Albanese lent her voice to the character in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight motion comics.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is an American supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. The concept is based on the 1992 film, also written by Whedon, although they are separate and unrelated productions. Whedon served as executive producer and showrunner of the series under his production tag Mutant Enemy Productions. It premiered on March 10, 1997, on The WB and concluded on May 20, 2003, on UPN.
William "Spike" Pratt, played by James Marsters, is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. Spike is a vampire and played various roles on the shows, including villain, anti-hero, trickster and romantic interest. For Marsters, the role as Spike began a career in science fiction television, becoming "the obvious go-to guy for US cult [television]." For creator Whedon, Spike is the "most fully developed" of his characters. The character was intended to be a brief villain, with Whedon originally adamant to not have another major "romantic vampire" character like Angel. Marsters says "Spike was supposed to be dirty and evil, punk rock, and then dead." However, the character ended up staying through the second season, and then returning in the fourth to replace Cordelia as "the character who told Buffy she was stupid and about to die."
Angel is an American supernatural television series, a spinoff of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The series was created by Buffy's creator, writer and director Joss Whedon, in collaboration with David Greenwalt. It aired on The WB from October 5, 1999, to May 19, 2004, consisting of five seasons and 110 episodes. Like Buffy, it was produced by Whedon's production company, Mutant Enemy.
Faith Lehane is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Played by actress Eliza Dushku, Faith was introduced in the third season of Buffy and was a focus of that season's overarching plot. She returned for shorter story arcs on Buffy and its spin-off, Angel. The character's story is continued in the comic book series Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, and she also appears in apocryphal material such as other comic books and novels. Faith was set to receive her own spin-off television series after the final season of Buffy, but Eliza Dushku declined the offer, and the series was never made. The character later co-stars in the 25-issue comic book Angel & Faith beginning in August 2011 under the banner of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine, the story taking place mostly in London and the surrounding area. Seven years after the character's creation, Whedon granted her the surname Lehane for a role-playing game and subsequent material. The last issue of Season Eight was the first source officially confirmed to be canon that referred to Faith by her full name.
Gail Berman is an American producer and television executive. She is co-owner and founding partner of The Jackal Group, a production entity formed in partnership with Fox Networks Group. The Jackal Group develops and produces scripted, unscripted and factual entertainment programming for FNG's channels, including Fox Broadcasting Company, FX/FXX, the National Geographic Channels, and Fox International Channels. The partnership also provides for opportunities in digital and film, as well as for non-21st Century Fox distribution entities.
Kristine Sutherland is an American actress best known for her starring role as Buffy Summers' mother Joyce Summers on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, where she appeared in every season (1997–2003), and her role as Mae Thompson in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989).
Tokyo Pop is a 1988 musical romantic comedy film directed by Fran Rubel Kuzui, who co-wrote the screenplay with Lynn Grossman. The film follows a young American singer who travels to Tokyo and meets a local rock musician, with whom she develops a romantic and musical connection. It contrasts American customs with Tokyo lifestyles, while presenting an evolving love story between the two main characters.
Buffy studies, also called Buffyology, is the study of Joss Whedon's popular television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and, to a lesser extent, its spin-off program Angel. It explores issues related to gender, family, ethics and other philosophical issues as expressed through the content of these shows in the fictional Buffyverse.
The Buffyverse canon consists of materials that are thought to be genuine and those events, characters, settings, etc., that are considered to have inarguable existence within the fictional universe established by the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The Buffyverse is expanded through other additional materials such as comics, novels, pilots, promos and video games which do not necessarily take place in exactly the same fictional continuity as the Buffy episodes and Angel episodes. Star Trek, Star Wars, Stargate and other prolific sci-fi and fantasy franchises have similarly gathered complex fictional continuities through hundreds of stories told in different formats.
Buffy: The Animated Series is an animated television series concept based on Buffy the Vampire Slayer created by Joss Whedon. Initially greenlit by 20th Century Fox in 2002, it went ultimately unproduced and unaired when no network was willing to buy the series. The series would have taken place in the middle of Buffy season 1, as writer Jeph Loeb described the continuity as "Episode 7.5".
Monica Owusu-Breen is an American television producer and screenwriter.
Katsusuke Kuzui is a Japanese film producer. His wife, Fran Rubel Kuzui, has also directed movies.
"Welcome to the Hellmouth" is the series premiere of the American supernatural drama television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It originally aired on The WB on March 10, 1997 in a two-hour premiere along with the following episode, "The Harvest". The episode was written by the series creator and executive producer Joss Whedon and directed by Charles Martin Smith. "Welcome to the Hellmouth" received a Nielsen rating of 3.4 upon its original airing and received largely positive reviews from critics.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight is a comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics from 2007 to 2011. It serves as a canonical continuation of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and follows the events of that show's final televised season. It is produced by Joss Whedon, who wrote or co-wrote three of the series arcs and several one-shot stories. The series was followed by Season Nine in 2011.
Satsu is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, a comic book continuation of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Introduced as one of the strongest Slayers, she has a close relationship with her mentor Buffy Summers. Satsu develops romantic feelings for Buffy, and the two have a brief sexual relationship. She becomes the leader of her own Slayer squadron in Tokyo, and forms a friendship with fellow Slayer Kennedy during her performance review. She also makes a minor appearance in Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Ten.
The first season of the American supernatural drama television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer originally aired between March 10 and June 2, 1997, on The WB. Conceived as a mid-season replacement, the season consists of twelve episodes, each running approximately 45 minutes in length, and originally aired on Mondays at 9:00 pm ET.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is an ongoing comic book series published by Boom! Studios. It is a reboot of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer created by Joss Whedon, and thus sets in a different canon from the television series and film. The series is written by Jordie Bellaire and primarily illustrated by Dan Mora.
You don't have to be a fan of rock music to get a kick out of Tokyo Pop, a wedding of American and Japanese youth cultures as seen through a fun-house mirror.
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