"James Dean Archives Seita Ohnishi Collection" Begins Crowdfunding Blitz for Publication of New Photobook on 65th Anniversary of His Passing
- Including Some Never-before Seen Images out of 1,600 Photos of Dean from Renowned Private Collection -
KOBE, Japan, Dec. 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- James Dean Archives Seita Ohnishi Collection (based in Kobe, Japan, https://jamesdean.jp/en) launched a 60-day crowdfunding campaign on November 29, 2019 (JST 19:00) in an effort to finance the publication of a photobook, to be titled "James Dean 1955 - (infinity mark)." If successful, the photobook will be published in 2020 upon the 65th anniversary of Dean's passing. The crowdfunding site is as follows.
Image: hardcover. 216 pages, H350mm x W290mm
https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M105836/201911294174/_prw_PI1fl_zP3BeXDP.jpg
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWOHmGrRHQw&t=3s
This photobook will show 1,600 images, including never-before seen ones, taken during the last 85 days of the famed Hollywood actor's life, who died in an auto accident at the age of 24 in 1955. The images were all taken in 1955 by photographer Sanford Roth (1906 - 1962) and the original negatives are part of the world class private collection owned by Seita Ohnishi, a Japanese businessman as well as an avid and passionate fan of Dean.
Digital restoration of 1,600 images over a 3 years-period in Japan "East of Eden," "Rebel Without a Cause" and "Giant" are the three films that lifted Dean to global stardom. In 1977, Ohnishi built a steel monument at the scene of the accident that killed Dean because, in his words, "there was nothing to commemorate his legacy and there should be some." Beulah Roth, the wife of the late Sanford, established a friendship with Ohnishi and entrusted him with the original negatives as well as their copyrights in 1987, describing the decision "like leaving one dear and near friend to another with equal degree."
The 1,600 images are from the last 85 days of Dean's life, including those taken during the production of the movie "Giant" and the private time spent with the Roths. All the images have been digitally restored by experts of James Dean Archives Seita Ohnishi Collection since March 2016 in Japan.
"It took us more than 3 years to complete digital restoration processes with the speed of only one or two images a day because the negatives were far from their ideal conditions for obvious reasons," says Tomofumi Nakano, the project manager of James Dean Archives who came up with the idea to publish a photobook. "But we believe that, having this photobook out in the public eyes, we can present rare opportunities to rediscover details in the context for not only fans of Dean but fans of cinema at large, fans of automobiles and photography as well."
- Official website
https://jamesdean.jp/en
- For press kits, please visit:
https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/release/201911294174?p=images
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