Memoirs of a Geisha: A Portrait of the Film

A stunning visual companion to the highly anticipated new film from director Rob Marshall (Chicago), based on the international bestseller by Arthur Golden—a major holiday release from Columbia Pictures.

Featuring over 150 full-color photographs and drawings, this lavishly illustrated book captures the artistry and romance behind the exquisite new film from Rob Marshall, the director of the Oscar^®-winning film Chicago, starring Ziyi Zhang (House of Flying Daggers) and Ken Watanabe (The Last Samurai).

Directed by Academy Award^®-nominee Rob Marshall (Chicago) and produced by Lucy Fisher, Douglas Wick, and Steven Spielberg, from a screenplay by Robin Swicord and Doug Wright, Memoirs of a Geisha features an all-star Asian cast including Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), Koji Yakusho (Shall We Dance?), Youki Kudoh (Snow Falling on Cedars), and Gong Li (Raise the Red Lantern).

Based on the internationally acclaimed novel by Arthur Golden, Memoirs of a Geisha is a sweeping romantic epic set in the mysterious and exotic world that still casts a potent spell today. The story begins in the years before WWII when a penniless Japanese child is torn from her family to work as a servant in a geisha house. Despite a treacherous rival who nearly breaks her spirit, the girl blossoms into the legendary geisha Sayuri (Ziyi Zhang). Beautiful and accomplished, Sayuri captivates the most powerful men of her day, but is haunted by her secret love for the one man who is out of her reach (Ken Watanabe).

The Newmarket Pictorial Moviebook explores the intricate process of re-creating the period and world of the geisha. Special sections showcase production design, makeup, choreography, and costumes, featuring kimonos created especially for the movie by five-time Oscar^®-nominated costume designer Colleen Atwood. Sidebars throughout also provide fascinating historical background on the geisha culture.

"Arthur Golden's 1997 tale appealed to director Marshall (Chicago) for the same reasons it attracted millions of readers: because it 'not only peers into the fascinating and forbidden world of a geisha's life in 1930s Japan, but also tells the emotional tale of one particular girl's journey.' This accompanying volume to the forthcoming film based on the book will certainly enchant fans. In his introduction, Golden recalls how 'curious' it was for him to walk around a full-scale geisha district of the 1930s built on a field in California and know that such a detailed set grew out of his grueling experience writing the novel. A history of the geisha comes next, and then a portfolio of images from the film, some quite striking (such as the one of geisha practicing movements with fans, hair down, relaxed in their dressing robes and lit from behind). The book's final portion is devoted to the making of the film, with archival images of geisha, a concept illustration of a cherry-blossom-viewing party and notes on how, for example, the structural surfaces of the buildings on the set were sandblasted to add texture and age." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Featuring over 150 full-color photographs and drawings, this lavishly illustrated book captures the artistry and romance behind the exquisite new film from Rob Marshall. The pictorial moviebook explores the intricate process of re-creating the period and world of the geisha.

- Official book tie-in to multimillion-dollar marketing campaign from Columbia Pictures for December 23, 2005, national release

- Tie-in to Memoirs of a Geisha bookseller promotions

Dreamgirls is directed by Bill Condon from a screenplay he adapted from the stage musical's original book by Tom Eyen. Condon (Oscar^® winner for his screenplay for Gods and Monsters, which he also directed) received another Oscar^® nomination for his screenplay adaptation of Chicago. He more recently wrote and directed Kinsey.

David James's photographs previously appeared in the moviebooks of Memoirs of a Geisha, Chicago, and Saving Private Ryan.