Sports Hochi reports that Fumihiko Sori's CG anime film, "Vexille 2077 Nihon Sakoku," will be the opening film at the 60th Locarno International Film Festival, which runs August 1-11. The last Japanese work to kick off the festival was "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within" in 2001.

American-born actor Jerry Ito died of pneumonia on Sunday morning in his California home. He was 79.

Although Ito was born in the U.S., he started an acting career in Japanese films during the fifties. He appeared in movies such as "Mothra" and "The Elegant Life of Mr. Everyman," and he was also active in musicals and television.

A fashion magazine reported that model Seri Iwahori, the wife of TAKURO from GLAY, is seven months pregnant.

TAKURO and Iwahori have been married since 2004, and they already have one son.

Actress Maki Horikita, who is currently starring as a girl posing as a boy in the drama series "Hanazakari no Kimitachi e," will again appear in a male role for a film due out next year.

Shunichi Hirano's "Tokyo Shonen" is the story of Minato, a girl who lost her parents at a young age. She has a pen pal named Night (or Knight) whom she confides in, but she knows nothing about him except that he is supposedly a boy her age. In reality, he is actually her alter ego.

Her two personalities are very different - Minato is usually cheerful, while Night is much more dark. Things turn interesting when she tells Night that she is falling in love with a boy she meets (Takuya Ishida). Unfortunately, her Night side has also fallen for Minato, creating a complex love "triangle."

Filming started in January and has already wrapped up. "Tokyo Shonen" is scheduled to hit theaters on February 2, 2008.

Actor Masanobu Ando has been given a main role in a new film by acclaimed Chinese director Chen Kaige, titled "Mei Lanfang." This is Ando's first role in a foreign film.

In commemoration of Beijing hosting next year's Olympics, the Chinese government asked Chen to create a film based on the Beijing opera art form. Leon Lai will star as the famous performer Mei Lanfang. Zhang Ziyi has been cast as the lead female, and Sun Honglei plays Mei's friend. Ando will play another of Mei's friends, an officer in the Japanese army.

The film is expected to be released near the start of the Olympics (August 8). Kaige is also aiming to take the film to Cannes. A more detailed announcement will be made in China around the 20th of this month, and filming will begin shortly after.

27-year-old Yoshimi Asada, known as half of the good-looking comedy duo Pirates, announced on her official blog that she is getting married. Her partner is an office worker one year older than her. According to her blog, the ceremony will be held this month.

Reports have surfaced that Asada is pregnant, but she avoided mentioning the subject in her announcement. Her agency neither confirmed nor denied the rumor.

Susumu Terajima will be starring in the movie "GROW," the first feature-length film directed by actor Hideo Sakaki.

The story revolves around a distressed teenager who is about to commit suicide, but he is saved by a trio of strange "ojisans" (Terajima plays one of them) who show him what it means to be a man.

Other cast members include Kenichi Endo, Hiroyuki Watanabe, Itsuji Itao, Kenta Kiritani, and Shun Sugata. The film opens in theaters on September 8.