THE HANDLER

 

FORMAT: MOVIE

 

GENRE: DRAMA / BIOPIC

 

SALES REP: WILLIAM MORRIS ENDEAVOR

 

LANGUAGE: MANDARIN, CANTONESE, JAPANESE

 

STATUS: PRE-DEVELOPMENT

 

LOGLINE:

 

In 1990’s Tokyo, Chinese immigrant LEE XIAO MU survives vicious gangs, jilted love and treacherous brotherhoods in Asia’s most dangerous red light district, all to reinvent himself as the larger-than-life “Kabukichō Handler”.  Based on a true story, kind of.

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Lee Xiao Mu (李小牧 A.K.A. Ri Komaki) is the author of 20+ best-selling books in Japan and China, a columnist for several major publications, including Newsweek Japan, an adviser to Jackie Chan’s 2009 blockbuster “Shinjuku Incident”, Japan’s most notorious pimp (or “Handler”, as he calls himself) and a three-time candidate for Shinjuku assemblyman. Married 6 times to 4 wives (he remarried one of them three times), with 3 children, Lee’s personal life is perhaps just as storied as his public one.

 

Pursuing his dreams of becoming a Japanese fashion designer, Lee left China for Japan in 1988. He made ends meet by working menial jobs in Kabukichō, Tokyo’s infamous red light district, at love hotels, restaurants, and even as a dancer at a transgender strip club. Lee soon found a niche for himself, guiding Chinese-speaking tourists through the town’s tricky streets. This then became the foundation for a profitable business, which allowed Lee to build his own sex industry empire, buttressed by prominent figures from both sides of the law.  His fame on the strip has contributed to his success as an author, media personality and now, aspiring first Chinese politician in Japan.