Thu, July 5, 2007 (6:48pm EDT)
Actor Koji Yakusho has been chosen as the "main character" of the Japan International Contents Festival (also known as CoFesta), a 40-day festival encompassing the Tokyo Game Show, ASIAGRAPH, the Tokyo International Film Festival, DiGRA, the Tokyo Asia Music Market, and other media-related events.
Yakusho has gained international recognition through his films and other appearances in media, which led to his selection for the duty. He will be present at the opening ceremony and at events throughout the festival, which takes place from August 19 to October 28.
Yakusho has gained international recognition through his films and other appearances in media, which led to his selection for the duty. He will be present at the opening ceremony and at events throughout the festival, which takes place from August 19 to October 28.
Thu, July 5, 2007 (6:20pm EDT)
It was announced in May that a live-action series based on Ken Akamatsu's "Negima!" is scheduled to air this fall, and now the 31 members of the main female cast have been revealed. The list is full of idols, models, and teen actresses, with Love Berry model Sara Wakatsuki playing the lead female character, Asuna Kagurazaka.
Other cast members include Mai Nishida, Shizuka Hasegawa, Madoka Ichikawa, Hiroko Matsunaga, Haruki Ichikawa, Sakina Kuwae, Rei Otsuka, and Mei Shimizu. The official site has more cast information.
Other cast members include Mai Nishida, Shizuka Hasegawa, Madoka Ichikawa, Hiroko Matsunaga, Haruki Ichikawa, Sakina Kuwae, Rei Otsuka, and Mei Shimizu. The official site has more cast information.
Thu, July 5, 2007 (4:40pm EDT)
Fuji TV has announced that it is producing a drama special based on the best-selling novel "Bizan" by singer Masashi Sada.
A movie version of "Bizan," starring Nanako Matsushima, opened in theaters in May and has been screened at multiple film festivals. The work is also being turned into a play in December, starring Yuriko Ishida and Nobuko Miyamoto (who also appears in the movie).
The story revolves around a daughter who learns from her dying mother that her father, whom she has never met and she believes to be dead, is still alive. She then sets out on a journey to find him.
While the movie focuses on the daughter's quest, the drama is said to place more emphasis on the mother's past and the love story between the two parents. Fuji TV also said that the story's climax, which takes place at the Awa Odori (a big dance festival) in Tokushima, will differ from the novel and the movie.
Takako Tokiwa will star in a dual role as the daughter and as the young mother, while Sumiko Fuji will play the mother in the present day. Filming begins at the end of the month, but no broadcast date has been announced yet.
A movie version of "Bizan," starring Nanako Matsushima, opened in theaters in May and has been screened at multiple film festivals. The work is also being turned into a play in December, starring Yuriko Ishida and Nobuko Miyamoto (who also appears in the movie).
The story revolves around a daughter who learns from her dying mother that her father, whom she has never met and she believes to be dead, is still alive. She then sets out on a journey to find him.
While the movie focuses on the daughter's quest, the drama is said to place more emphasis on the mother's past and the love story between the two parents. Fuji TV also said that the story's climax, which takes place at the Awa Odori (a big dance festival) in Tokushima, will differ from the novel and the movie.
Takako Tokiwa will star in a dual role as the daughter and as the young mother, while Sumiko Fuji will play the mother in the present day. Filming begins at the end of the month, but no broadcast date has been announced yet.
Thu, July 5, 2007 (5:47am EDT)
At this year's Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest in New York, six-time defending champion Takeru Kobayashi was finally relieved of his title by American phenom Joey Chestnut.
Chestnut broke the world record by eating 66 hot dogs in 12 minutes. Kobayashi kept up until the final seconds, but he ended up vomiting, leading to a penalty that left him with a count of only 63 hot dogs. Kobayashi set the record last year at the same contest with 53 1/3, but Chestnut shattered it last month with 59 1/3 at a different competition.
After Chestnut's performance last month, there was speculation that Kobayashi would skip this year's contest, especially after reports that he was suffering from a sore jaw and recently had a wisdom tooth extracted. But he proceeded to come close to defending his title, and he has reportedly promised to return next year.
Chestnut is only the second non-Japanese person to win the annual contest since 1997.
Chestnut broke the world record by eating 66 hot dogs in 12 minutes. Kobayashi kept up until the final seconds, but he ended up vomiting, leading to a penalty that left him with a count of only 63 hot dogs. Kobayashi set the record last year at the same contest with 53 1/3, but Chestnut shattered it last month with 59 1/3 at a different competition.
After Chestnut's performance last month, there was speculation that Kobayashi would skip this year's contest, especially after reports that he was suffering from a sore jaw and recently had a wisdom tooth extracted. But he proceeded to come close to defending his title, and he has reportedly promised to return next year.
Chestnut is only the second non-Japanese person to win the annual contest since 1997.
Thu, July 5, 2007 (5:29am EDT)
It was revealed on Wednesday that talento Anna Umemiya resigned from her management agency Stardust Promotion on June 30, the same day that her former boyfriend Kenji Haga was arrested for blackmail.
Umemiya and Haga were a celebrity couple for five years in the late 1990s, but they eventually broke up due to a large debt that Haga had accumulated - at one point, she even posed nude to help pay off the debt. It appears that the current investigations into Haga's blackmail case likely led to Umemiya's decision to leave Stardust.
In 2001, Umemiya married a businessman, but they divorced in 2003, and he was convicted of illegal gambling the following year. That was also Umemiya's last year as an actress until she returned to the screen this past March.
It is unclear what she intends to do with her career at this point, though she may end up taking another break from show business.
Umemiya and Haga were a celebrity couple for five years in the late 1990s, but they eventually broke up due to a large debt that Haga had accumulated - at one point, she even posed nude to help pay off the debt. It appears that the current investigations into Haga's blackmail case likely led to Umemiya's decision to leave Stardust.
In 2001, Umemiya married a businessman, but they divorced in 2003, and he was convicted of illegal gambling the following year. That was also Umemiya's last year as an actress until she returned to the screen this past March.
It is unclear what she intends to do with her career at this point, though she may end up taking another break from show business.
Thu, July 5, 2007 (3:38am EDT)
Director Kenji Uchida is working on his first film since his 2005 "Unmei Janai Hito" (also known as "A Stranger of Mine"), which earned him a great deal of attention when it picked up four awards at Cannes two years ago.
The new work is titled "After School" and stars Yo Oizumi as a junior high teacher who teams up with a shady detective (Kuranosuke Sasaki) to search for his missing childhood friend (Masato Sakai), encountering a former idol (Takako Tokiwa) along the way. This is Oizumi's first time in a solo lead.
"After School" is a big step up from "Unmei Janai Hito," in terms of the story's complexity and the movie's scale. While the earlier film was shot on 16mm with a budget of 25 million yen, the new project is being shot on 35mm with a budget of 180 million yen. Uchida compared the leap to racing, saying that he felt like he was "moving from the Formula 3000 to the Formula One."
Filming began in Yokohama on June 28. The movie is slated for a May 2008 release, but ten other countries have already put in inquiries and distribution offers. Uchida also hopes to take the film to Cannes, Berlinale, and other film festivals.
The new work is titled "After School" and stars Yo Oizumi as a junior high teacher who teams up with a shady detective (Kuranosuke Sasaki) to search for his missing childhood friend (Masato Sakai), encountering a former idol (Takako Tokiwa) along the way. This is Oizumi's first time in a solo lead.
"After School" is a big step up from "Unmei Janai Hito," in terms of the story's complexity and the movie's scale. While the earlier film was shot on 16mm with a budget of 25 million yen, the new project is being shot on 35mm with a budget of 180 million yen. Uchida compared the leap to racing, saying that he felt like he was "moving from the Formula 3000 to the Formula One."
Filming began in Yokohama on June 28. The movie is slated for a May 2008 release, but ten other countries have already put in inquiries and distribution offers. Uchida also hopes to take the film to Cannes, Berlinale, and other film festivals.
Thu, July 5, 2007 (2:58am EDT)
Oricon recently surveyed 2,000 people for its "Fresh Star Ranking" for the first half of 2007.
In first place among the men was 15-year-old amateur golfer Ryo Ishikawa, who won the Munsingwear Open KSB Cup in May to become the youngest winner of a Japan Golf Tour event. Right behind him in the rankings was another teen athlete, Waseda's star pitcher Yuki Saito. The two were followed by comedian Moody Katsuyama, Rakuten Eagles pitcher Masahiro Tanaka (who lost to Saito in last summer's Koshien tournament), actor Kenichi Matsuyama, Arashi member Jun Matsumoto, actor Shota Matsuda, comedy duo Taka and Toshi, actor Shun Oguri, and NEWS member Tomohisa Yamashita.
Meanwhile, actress Masami Nagasawa was #1 in the female category with almost twice as many votes as the #2 choice, singer YUI. The rest of the top ten contained idol Leah Dizon, actresses Erika Sawajiri, Yu Aoi, Yui Aragaki, and Erika Toda, beach volleyball star Miwa Asao, former Morning Musume member Nozomi Tsuji, and comedian Sumiko Nishioka.
In first place among the men was 15-year-old amateur golfer Ryo Ishikawa, who won the Munsingwear Open KSB Cup in May to become the youngest winner of a Japan Golf Tour event. Right behind him in the rankings was another teen athlete, Waseda's star pitcher Yuki Saito. The two were followed by comedian Moody Katsuyama, Rakuten Eagles pitcher Masahiro Tanaka (who lost to Saito in last summer's Koshien tournament), actor Kenichi Matsuyama, Arashi member Jun Matsumoto, actor Shota Matsuda, comedy duo Taka and Toshi, actor Shun Oguri, and NEWS member Tomohisa Yamashita.
Meanwhile, actress Masami Nagasawa was #1 in the female category with almost twice as many votes as the #2 choice, singer YUI. The rest of the top ten contained idol Leah Dizon, actresses Erika Sawajiri, Yu Aoi, Yui Aragaki, and Erika Toda, beach volleyball star Miwa Asao, former Morning Musume member Nozomi Tsuji, and comedian Sumiko Nishioka.
