Annmarie Sairrino

Annmarie Sairrino is an American film producer and president of Akatsuki Entertainment USA, a division of Japanese mobile game developer Akatsuki Inc.[1] She is known for developing and producing film projects based on existing Japanese intellectual properties.

Annmarie Sairrino
Born
Poughkeepsie, New York
OccupationProducer and Development Executive
Years active2012–present
OrganizationAkatsuki Entertainment
Websitehttps://aktsk-ent.com/

Sairrino began her career in the entertainment industry working with film producer and consultant Sandy Climan at his firm Entertainment Media Ventures in 2003. In 2012, she joined All Nippon Entertainment Works (ANEW) as vice president of development and eventually became senior vice president of development and production, serving there for 5 years. In 2017, with her colleague Moeko Suzuki, she established Akatsuki Entertainment and has since led the company in Los Angeles. In November 2018, she announced her first produced project, the videogame adaptation Root Letter, which entered production in September 2019 and was completed in 2020.[2]

Early life and education

Annmarie Sairrino was born in Poughkeepsie, New York and raised in the town of Highland. She is a graduate of State University of New York at New Paltz.[3]

Career

After moving to Los Angeles in the early 2000s, Sairrino joined the entertainment industry as an assistant to Golden Globe-winning producer Sandy Climan (The Aviator); she later transitioned to serve as Climan's director of development and vice president of creative affairs. After working with Climan's company Entertainment Media Ventures and its associated firms, including 3ality Digital (U2 3D), she served from 2012-17 as the senior vice president of creative affairs for All Nippon Entertainment Works (ANEW), a firm which sought to develop Hollywood film projects based upon Japanese-originated properties. During her time at ANEW, Sairrino developed adaptation projects based on the anime series Tiger & Bunny,[4] the novel and live-action film Shield of Straw,[5] the live-action film Ghost Train,[6] the live-action film Birthright,[7] the anime series Gaiking,[8] and the manga series 6000;[9] partners for these projects included Imagine Entertainment, Chris and Paul Weitz, and Valhalla Entertainment. Due to a restructuring of ANEW in 2017-18, many of these projects remain unrealized.

In 2017, Sairrino established a new film production company, Akatsuki Entertainment USA, as a division of leading Japanese mobile game developer Akatsuki.[1] Akatsuki Entertainment's business model is the adaptation of Japanese-originated intellectual properties, including books, comics, film, television, animation, and games, into live-action Hollywood films. Additionally, the company is involved in creating original stories based on Japanese urban legends and folklore. Akatsuki Entertainment's film activities include project development, financing, and production.[10] In 2018, the company announced their first film, an adaptation of the best-selling Kadokawa Games visual novel Root Letter.[2] Sairrino developed and produced and project, which entered production on September 16, 2019 with director Sonja O'Hara, writer David Ebeltoft, and actors Danny Ramirez, Keana Marie, and Lydia Hearst.[11] The film was completed in 2020.[12] Also in 2020, Sairrino produced Akatsuki Entertainment's second project, the supernatural horror film Room 203. Adapted from the novel of the same name written by Kamon Nanami and published by Kobunsha, Room 203 was directed by Ben Jagger, written by John Poliquin, Nick Richey, and Jagger, and stars Francesca Xuereb, Viktoria Vinyarska, and Eric Wiegand. The film was fully-financed and produced by Akatsuki Entertainment and was filmed in Shreveport, Louisiana in fall 2020; the project is currently in post-production and seeking distribution.[12][13]

Filmography
Year Title Position Notes
2020 Root Letter Producer Post-production
Room 203 Producer Post-production

References
  1. Frater, Patrick (October 2, 2017). "Japanese Games Firm Akatsuki Launches U.S. Film Production Venture". Variety. Akatsuki is already a successful company, and is now looking at diversification into film, TV and into the U.S.," Sairrino Bailey told Variety. "Moeko [Suzuki] and I have the ambition to help Akatsuki become a global entertainment company. We will do that though adaptations and through original content.
  2. Hodgkins, Crystalyn (September 20, 2019). "Root Letter Game Gets Hollywood Film Adaptation". Anime News Network.
  3. "New Paltz Alumni Magazine Fall 2018 - Class Notes". New Paltz. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  4. Ressler, Karen (October 9, 2015). "Imagine Entertainment to Produce Live-Action Tiger & Bunny Film". Anime News Network. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  5. McNary, Dave (August 25, 2015). "'Shield of Straw' English-Language Remake in the Works With Chris Weitz". Variety. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  6. Block, Alex Ben (October 30, 2014). "'Ghost Train' on Track as American Remake of Japanese Horror Movie". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  7. Schilling, Mark (December 12, 2014). "Chris and Paul Weitz to Remake Japan's 'Birthright' with ANEW". Variety. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  8. Lieberman, David (December 8, 2012). "Japan's Toei Animation To Hit U.S. Market With Live Action Film 'Gaiking'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  9. Kit, Borys (July 21, 2015). "Mike Medavoy to Produce Adaptation of Manga '6000'". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  10. "Akatsuki Entertainment". Akatsuki Entertainment. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  11. Frater, Patrick (July 19, 2019). "Danny Ramirez to Star in Film Adaptation of 'Root Letter' Video Game". Variety. Retrieved January 7, 2020. Akatsuki Entertainment USA president Annmarie Sairrino Bailey is producer, alongside the company’s Tokyo-based Moeko Suzuki and Los Angeles-based Kat McPhee.
  12. Frater, Patrick (December 3, 2020). "Akatsuki Wraps 'Room 203' U.S. Adaptation of J-Horror Tale". Variety. Retrieved December 3, 2020. Production is by Akatsuki Entertainment president Annmarie Sairrino (formerly Bailey), Moeko Suzuki, Akatsuki Entertainment's head of Tokyo, Kat McPhee, and Ben Anderson, with Ty Whittington as co-producer.
  13. Miska, Brad (December 3, 2020). "Gothic Room 203 Haunted by J-Horror Ghosts". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
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