TOKYO -- Celluloid Dreams has bought all worldwide rights outside Asia to Takashi Miike's "Sukiyaki Western Django," the company announced on Monday.

Tokyo-based Sedic Intl. is repping the pic in Asia, while Sony Pictures Intl. Japan will release it in Japan on Sept. 15.

Skedded for an international bow in the competition section of this year's Venice Film Festival, "Sukiyaki" is Miike's attempt to channel the spaghetti Westerns he used to watch as a boy with his father.

Shot entirely in English, the pic depicts a face-off between rival clans in a mountain town as both search for a pile of buried treasure. Then a lone gunman wanders into town and upsets the balance of power.

The town's architecture is a mix of medieval Japan and Wild West, while the characters wield everything from swords to six-shooters and dress in an eclectic mix of samurai armor and six-gallon hats.

Stars include Hideaki Ito ("Umizaru," "Umizaru 2"), Koichi Sato ("Crest of Betrayal"), Yusuke Iseya ("Casshern"), Masanobu Ando ("Battle Royale") and Kaori Momoi ("Memoirs of a Geisha"). Miike pal Quentin Tarantino appears in a cameo. The pic was produced by a consortium that includes Sedic Intl.; Geneon Entertainment; Sony Pictures Entertainment (Japan); Dentsu; TV Asahi; Shogakukan; A Team; Nagoya Broadcasting Network and Tokyu Recreation.

© Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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