Actress Yu Aoi will star in a new film directed and written by Yuki Tanada, titled "Hyakumanen to Nigamushi Onna."

Aoi has recently gained attention for a string of supporting roles in movies such as "Hula Girl," "Honey and Clover," and "Rainbow Song." However, this will be her first starring role since the 2005 "Niraikanai Kara no Tegami."

Her character this time is a 21-year-old junior college graduate with no job and no friends. One day, an incident leads to her getting arrested and found guilty, leaving her with a criminal record. As a result, she flees from home and begins moving from town to town, briefly working part-time jobs as she works towards saving up one million yen.

Mirai Moriyama will co-star. Principal photography begins on the 15th. The movie will open in 2008.

Kabuki actor Shido Nakamura has landed his first starring role in a television drama in two years. He will appear in NTV's special, "Shinjitsu no Shuki BC-kyu Senpan Kato Tetsutaro: Watashi wa Kai ni Naritai," scheduled for August 24 at 9:00pm.

The drama is being aired to commemorate the end of World War II. It is based on the writings of a soldier named Tetsutaro Kato, and tells of a man unjustly sentenced to death as a war criminal.

The story was originally turned into the classic 1958 drama, "Watashi wa Kai ni Naritai" (also known as "I Want to Be a Shellfish"), starring Frankie Sakai. It was later remade as a film in 1959 and a drama in 1994. This past May, it was announced that it will be adapted as a movie again next year, starring Masahiro Nakai.

According to the new issue of Josei Seven, talento Eriko Sato was seen on a date with actor Koji Yamamoto last month. Yamamoto has reportedly said that they are just friends. Sato's agency initially had no comment.

On Thursday, Sato attended an event for the new magazine "Feel Love," in which she is co-writing a story called "Trois" with authors Ira Ishida and Kei Yuikawa. While there, Sato denied the rumors about her and Yamamoto.

Gravure idol Eri Murakami died of appendix cancer on Sunday morning, her agency announced on Thursday. She was only 25 years old.

Last November, she began suffering from stomach pains. At the start of this year, she underwent an examination and was diagnosed with cancer. She attempted to have the tumors removed, but by then it had already spread to her lungs and other areas.

Murakami was the Sapporo Beer Campaign Girl in 2003 and served as the mascot girl for fabrics company Unitika in 2004-2005. She was also once a member of the futsal team HbG (which later became chakuchaku J.b).

Producer and musician Tsunku has announced that he will be releasing a "best works" album titled "Tsunku Best Sakuhinshu." It will contain 58 songs he has produced in the 15 years since his debut. The 4-disc set includes tracks such as Sharam Q's "Single Bed" and "Zurui Onna," as well as Morning Musume's "Love Machine" and Aya Matsuura's "Love Namidairo." The album goes on sale on September 26 with a price tag of 6300 yen.

A second "best works" album will be released on December 5.

36-year-old comedian Hide (of popular duo Penalty) recently got married. He and his 30-year-old wife registered their marriage on July 7, the day of the Tanabata festival.

According to Yoshimoto Kogyo, the two have been dating for a while and are already living together. They currently have no plans for a ceremony, reception, or even a press conference.

Hide, whose real name is Hideki Nakagawa, revealed the news on Tuesday while he was hosting a radio program on CBC.

It was announced on Thursday that NEWS members Yuya Tegoshi and Takahisa Masuda will each be performing in a one-man show at The Globe Tokyo. The shows, which are being sponsored by Fuji TV, will include both singing and acting.

Tegoshi will go first in a production titled "Tego Raji," which tells the story of Tegoshi sneaking into a radio station late at night to broadcast his own show. The show runs from July 27 to 31.

Then on August 23-27, Masuda will perform in "MachiMasu." Masuda somehow gets imprisoned in his dressing room, and he tries various means of escape.

It was announced on Wednesday that rock band Monkey Majik has topped the USEN request charts with "Sora wa Maru de," the title track of their new album (on sale July 25). This is the first time that an unreleased song has reached #1 on the chart.

The tune is currently being used in a Yokohama Rubber Company commercial that has been airing since January, and music stores initially received many inquiries about a release date. In May, the song finally went into rotation on music channels. It first appeared in 963rd place on the request charts, but it has now climbed to the top. The song has also reached as high as #7 on the mobile download rankings.

Former Morning Musume member Mari Yaguchi has been chosen to host a new program on cable/satellite channel Kids Station. The show, titled "Chao TV," begins airing on September 2.

Also appearing on the show are Makoto of Sharam Q and seven girls chosen from the Hello! Project Eggs.

Five members of the Takarazuka Snow Troupe are forming a special unit called AQUA5. The group consists of the troupe's top star, Natsuki Mizu, along with Mao Ayabuki, Kei Otozuki, Oto Ayana, and Kaname Ouki.

AQUA5 is scheduled to perform at the IAAF World Championship in Athletics Osaka 2007, which opens on August 25. They will sing a song titled "TIME TO LOVE," created by vocal group The Gospellers.

The five actresses will not be the only Takarazuka representatives at the event. The opening ceremony is being produced by Takarazuka director Shuichiro Koike, while top star Sumire Haruno will be singing the national anthem.

Actress Atsuko Takahata will star in a drama special on TBS, tentatively titled "Glass Tooth." The work, which is being produced by CBC, is based on a true story of a probation officer dealing with reforming youngsters. TBS plans to broadcast the drama on October 6 at 2:00pm.

Actress Risa Junna will be releasing her first album as a singer on August 22, titled "Misty Moon." Most of the tracks are versions of well-known songs from musicals and movies, including "Over the Rainbow" and "Moon River." Junna says she is aiming to become like Sarah Brightman and Barbara Streisand.

Junna has recorded a song before, when she sang on the theme for her 1994 drama series, "Piano." However, she has never recorded an album before.

On Wednesday, actor Tatsuya Fujiwara attended a press conference for Gregory Doran's production of "The Merchant of Venice." The play, which runs from August 17 to September 30, also features Masachika Ichimura, Shinobu Terajima, and Tokuma Nishioka.

During the event, Fujiwara revealed that he was studying in London between February and June. He said that he attended language classes on weekdays, and mainly attended plays on weekends.

The recently formed enka trio consisting of young singers Aiko Moriyama, Columbia Rose III, and Miki Komura has finally settled on a name. They will now be known as Gu Choki Pa, which is a term for the game "rock, paper, scissors."