Hayao Miyazaki, whose Spirited Away was the first anime to win an Oscar (see 'Spirited Away Takes Best Animated Feature Oscar'), will receive the Golden Lion for career achievement at the Venice Film Festival in August.  He will be the first director of animated films, and the first Japanese director, to be honored in this way. 

 

Miyazaki's latest film, Howl's Moving Castle, was a big hit at the festival last year (see 'Howl's Moving Castle Wows Venice').  It opens in the U.S. June 10th (see 'Howl's Moving Castle Debuts in U.S. June 10th'), and will probably hit DVD by the end of the year.  His last two films were both huge DVD hits.