Wed, June 13, 2007 (5:17pm EDT)
Distributor Toei has announced that Jiro Nitta's novel "Tsurugidake: Ten no Ki" is being turned into a movie. It will be the first film directed by well-known cinematographer Daisaku Kimura.
The story, set in the Meiji era, focuses on a team looking to explore the last empty space on Japan's maps: the peak of Tsurugidake in the Hida Mountains. The main cast includes Tadanobu Asano, Teruyuki Kagawa, Ryuhei Matsuda, and Toru Nakamura.
Principal photography, which began on location in April, is scheduled to continue until July of next year, though the cast will not participate until this September.
The story, set in the Meiji era, focuses on a team looking to explore the last empty space on Japan's maps: the peak of Tsurugidake in the Hida Mountains. The main cast includes Tadanobu Asano, Teruyuki Kagawa, Ryuhei Matsuda, and Toru Nakamura.
Principal photography, which began on location in April, is scheduled to continue until July of next year, though the cast will not participate until this September.
Wed, June 13, 2007 (4:52pm EDT)
Haruka Ayase will star in a movie titled "ICHI," in which she plays a role described as a "female Zatoichi."
Ayase's character is a blind woman who roams about town with her shamisen, but she has exceptional sword skills with which she fights off yakuza and other villains. According to director Fumihiko Sori (of "Ping Pong" fame), no doubles are being used for the swordfight scenes. At the start of this year, Ayase spent a month in special training for the role.
Shido Nakamura has also been cast in the movie. Filming started on May 3. The picture is slated for release next year, though no specific target date has been announced.
Ayase's character is a blind woman who roams about town with her shamisen, but she has exceptional sword skills with which she fights off yakuza and other villains. According to director Fumihiko Sori (of "Ping Pong" fame), no doubles are being used for the swordfight scenes. At the start of this year, Ayase spent a month in special training for the role.
Shido Nakamura has also been cast in the movie. Filming started on May 3. The picture is slated for release next year, though no specific target date has been announced.
Wed, June 13, 2007 (4:34pm EDT)
Actress Yasuko Matsuyuki has been selected to star in her first television drama since 2004. She will play the role of a public prosecutor in "Hou no Niwa," adapted from a manga by Seiki Tabara and Shigeru Noda.
The story concerns a prosecutor (Matsuyuki), a lawyer (Tomomitsu Yamaguchi), and a judge (Eisaku Yoshida) who once studied law together, and were even involved in a love triangle. They later meet again in the courtroom, where both the trial and their emotions unfold.
Fuji TV will broadcast the special on July 27.
The story concerns a prosecutor (Matsuyuki), a lawyer (Tomomitsu Yamaguchi), and a judge (Eisaku Yoshida) who once studied law together, and were even involved in a love triangle. They later meet again in the courtroom, where both the trial and their emotions unfold.
Fuji TV will broadcast the special on July 27.
