By Yuri Kageyama, Business Writer
TOKYO (AP) --Studio Ghibli, the famed Japanese animation studio of Hayao Miyazaki, will become a subsidiary of Nippon Television Network Corp., both sides said Thursday.
Succession worries had been a priority at Ghibli, as Miyazaki has turned 82, and producer Toshio Suzuki is 75, the companies said in a joint statement.
The boards of both companies agreed at meetings Thursday that the major commercial broadcast network will become Studio Ghibli's top shareholder, with a 42.3% stake. Financial details were not given.
Nippon TV said it will send executives to support Ghibli's management, while honoring its creative independence so it can focus on animation and other artistic projects.
The deal was first discussed last year at an "onsen" hot springs, the companies said, when Suzuki asked Nippon TV executive Yoshikuni Sugiyama for help in managing Ghibli. Sugiyama promised to give support.
Miyazaki's son Goro is also an animation director and has been mentioned as a possible successor. But he had expressed doubts, saying the responsibility was too great.
Ghibli and Nippon TV have collaborated in the past, since "Nausicaรค of the Valley of the Wind" aired on TV in 1985. Nippon TV has also helped produce various Ghibli works, starting with Miyazaki's 1989 "Kiki's Delivery Service." It also helped set up the museum devoted to Ghibli works in Tokyo.
Earlier this year, Miyazaki finished "The Boy and the Heron," completed after seven years. It is based on a book but is also loosely based on Miyazaki's wartime childhood. The Japanese title, which better expresses its theme, translates to: "How Will You Live?"
Miyazaki won an Oscar for his 2001 "Spirited Away." He has occasionally declared he was retiring but has always returned to his craft.
He has produced an extensive range of animation works enjoyed by adults as well as children, including "My Neighbor Totoro" and "Ponyo."
Jean Smart, Ariana Grande, Michael Keaton among hosts for “SNL” season 50
Fresh off her Emmys win, Jean Smart will kick off the landmark 50th season of "Saturday Night Live."
NBC on Thursday announced the lineup of hosts for the season, which premieres Sept. 28. Joining Smart on the first show will be Jelly Roll as the musical act. He was also at the Emmys, singing during the ceremony's in memoriam segment.
It will be Smart's first time hosting "SNL."
Comedian Nate Bargatze will host on Oct. 5, with Coldplay as the musical guest.
Ariana Grande will host Oct. 12, with musical guest Stevie Nicks.
"Beetlejuice" star Michael Keaton will host on Oct. 19, the last show before Halloween, and Billie Eilish will be that night's musical guest.
The host on Nov. 2 will be "SNL" alum John Mulaney, with breakout sensation Chappell Roan as the music guest.
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