This year, the Cannes Film Festival celebrates its 60th anniversary. For the occasion, Cannes president Gilles Jacob decided to create a film composed of short sketches, each by a different director. According to Jacob's statement, the directors were asked to reveal "their current state of mind as inspired by the motion-picture theatre."

33 prominent directors from 25 different countries participated in the project, including Japan's Takeshi Kitano. Each produced a 3-minute segment, without knowledge of the contents of any other director's film. The complete film will be unveiled at the festival on May 20, and replayed on television later the same day.

Read the full announcement on the Cannes website.

Management agency Oscar Promotion announced that it will begin recruiting for its new owarai division next month. Plans include the possibility of a talent competition as a means of auditioning applicants. Because of the owarai boom in recent years, the agency has decided to expand into that field.

Singer-songwriter Chihiro Onitsuka, who has been on apparent hiatus since early 2005, will be returning with a new single in early summer. She began recording several songs last spring, and plans to release a new album as well. The music is being produced by Takeshi Kobayashi.

Actor Eiichiro Funakoshi, known as the "emperor of 2-hour dramas" for his many roles in such programs, will star in his first drama series this spring, 25 years after his acting debut. The series will run in TV Asahi's "Mokuyo Mystery" time slot (Thursday 8:00pm). Titled "Kyoto Kawaramachi Fukushocho no Jiken File," the drama features a police officer who takes on difficult cases.

On March 12, NTV will broadcast a drama special titled "Serendip no Kiseki" in its 10:00pm time slot. The special is composed of three stories, based on writer Kundo Koyama's short story "Film." As the title suggests, the theme of the drama is serendipity.

The three stories follow an advertising OL (Yoshino Kimura), a restaurant producer (Ikki Sawamura), and a patissier (Atsushi Ito). Although the stories are separate, they will be connected by an "angel" from above (Ryoko Hirosue), serving as the drama's navigator.

Actor Ken Kaneko, who recently retired as a competitive fighter, will make his acting return as a taxi driver in Ikki Sawamura's story.

The theme song for the special will be Motohiro Hata's "Bokura wo Tsunagu Mono," which goes on sale on March 7.

Popular idol group Kanjani8 has been chosen as the new CM characters for Nissin's instant yakisoba product U.F.O. The commercial is set in a "U.F.O. dojo," where students study how to eat the noodles like true men. The advertisement begins broadcasting next month.

13-year-old actress Suzuka Ohgo will play the heroine in the upcoming drama series "Sexy Voice and Robo," which stars Kenichi Matsuyama. The series is based on the manga of the same name by Iou Kuroda. It will air on NTV on Tuesdays at 10:00pm this spring.

Ohgo has appeared in several dramas and movies. She made her first big appearance in the 2005 film "Kita no Zeronen," which starred Ken Watanabe. That same year, she also appeared in the Hollywood film "Memoirs of a Geisha," playing the role of the protagonist Sayuri as a child.

Tetsuya Takeda and Atsuko Takahata will star together in the TBS home drama "Meotomichi." The two previously worked together on the "3 Nen B Gumi Kinpachi Sensei" series.

Takeda and Takahata will play a middle-aged couple who run a tea shop, with a family of one son and three daughters. The drama will focus mainly on the relationship between the husband and wife.

The series begins in April and will be broadcast in TBS's Thursday 9:00pm time slot. The rest of the cast will include Shizuyo Yamasaki (Shizu-chan of Nankai Candies), Seiko Takuma, Yuika Motokariya, and Isao Hashizume. Filming is scheduled to begin in the middle of March.

Anime News Service reports that the latest issue of Kodansha's Young Magazine includes an announcement that Shuji Abe's manga, "Elite Yankee Saburo," will be adapted into a TV drama. No details were mentioned.

"Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo" ("The Girl Who Leapt Through Time") will be screened at the 25th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, which runs from March 15 to March 25. There will be two screenings during the festival. The first will be on Saturday, March 17, at 1:00pm at the Castro Theatre, and the second will be on Thursday, March 22, at 7:30pm at the Pacific Film Archive Theater in Berkeley.