Thu, January 31, 2008 (5:38pm EST)
Actress Ryoko Yonekura will appear in her first musical later this year. She is set to star in a Japanese production of the Broadway hit "Chicago," which will run at the Akasaka ACT Theater from October to November. It will share the same director (Bob Fosse) and staff as the original 1975 production.
Yonekura is said to be a fan of musicals, and has spent some of her holidays taking lone trips to Broadway. In particular, she has apparently watched "Chicago" four or five times.
The role will be a challenge for the actress, who has only a little experience singing and dancing on stage. However, she stated that doing a musical was her wish for this year. "I feel it will be a very high hurdle, but I don't want to waste this opportunity so I want to try my best," she said.
Yonekura is said to be a fan of musicals, and has spent some of her holidays taking lone trips to Broadway. In particular, she has apparently watched "Chicago" four or five times.
The role will be a challenge for the actress, who has only a little experience singing and dancing on stage. However, she stated that doing a musical was her wish for this year. "I feel it will be a very high hurdle, but I don't want to waste this opportunity so I want to try my best," she said.
Thu, January 31, 2008 (4:31pm EST)
The latest issue of FRIDAY magazine reports that KAT-TUN's Jin Akanishi was recently seen on a date in the Daikanyama area of Tokyo.
Akanishi and the woman, described as a foreigner with blond hair, were together at a restaurant on the night of the 21st. They spent about an hour and a half there, then Akanishi dropped her off at her apartment in a high-class foreign car.
Akanishi's management says that the woman is just a friend.
Akanishi and the woman, described as a foreigner with blond hair, were together at a restaurant on the night of the 21st. They spent about an hour and a half there, then Akanishi dropped her off at her apartment in a high-class foreign car.
Akanishi's management says that the woman is just a friend.
Thu, January 31, 2008 (2:27pm EST)
L'Arc~en~Ciel's official website has announced a new 10-concert tour starting in April.
The first five stops will take the band to Shanghai, Taipei, Paris, Seoul, and Hong Kong, while the second half of the tour consists of three Tokyo Dome shows and two Osaka Dome shows. The Paris concert, which will be held at the Zenith, is the band's first performance in France.
The first five stops will take the band to Shanghai, Taipei, Paris, Seoul, and Hong Kong, while the second half of the tour consists of three Tokyo Dome shows and two Osaka Dome shows. The Paris concert, which will be held at the Zenith, is the band's first performance in France.
Thu, January 31, 2008 (6:00am EST)
The Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan (Eiren) published its movie industry data for 2007 on Thursday. While the so-called "hoga boom" of 2006 led to domestic films comprising the majority of the industry's revenue for the first time in 21 years, that trend reversed last year.
Total box office receipts fell 2.2% from about 203 billion yen to 198 billion yen, while admissions dropped by only 0.8%. Domestic films accounted for 47.7% of the revenue, down from the 53.2% share in 2006. Still, the percentage was significantly better than the decade before the "hoga boom."
The top three foreign films were all franchise flicks: "Pirates of the Caribbean: World's End" (10.9 billion), "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" (9.4 billion), and "Spiderman 3" (7.1 billion).
Meanwhile, the top three domestic hits were "HERO" (8.1 billion), "Dialga VS Palkia VS Darkrai" (5.0 billion), and "Always: Zoku Sanchome no Yuhi" (4.6 billion). With the exception of "Love and Honor," distributor Toho released all of the top 10.
The complete data can be found at the Eiren website (in Japanese).
Total box office receipts fell 2.2% from about 203 billion yen to 198 billion yen, while admissions dropped by only 0.8%. Domestic films accounted for 47.7% of the revenue, down from the 53.2% share in 2006. Still, the percentage was significantly better than the decade before the "hoga boom."
The top three foreign films were all franchise flicks: "Pirates of the Caribbean: World's End" (10.9 billion), "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" (9.4 billion), and "Spiderman 3" (7.1 billion).
Meanwhile, the top three domestic hits were "HERO" (8.1 billion), "Dialga VS Palkia VS Darkrai" (5.0 billion), and "Always: Zoku Sanchome no Yuhi" (4.6 billion). With the exception of "Love and Honor," distributor Toho released all of the top 10.
The complete data can be found at the Eiren website (in Japanese).
Thu, January 31, 2008 (4:47am EST)
Actress Rinko Kikuchi suffered an injury last month that has forced her to leave the cast of Yoichi Sai's action film "The Legend of Kamui," which is based on a manga by Sanpei Shirato.
Sources say that the injury occurred on December 18 during filming in Nago, Okinawa. The scene involved Kikuchi running across a beach, but afterwards she complained of pain in both legs. She returned to Tokyo the next day and was examined by a doctor, who diagnosed her with torn muscles in both thighs. It was estimated that she would take 8 weeks to fully recover, and her scenes were initially postponed until mid-May.
About three weeks prior to Kikuchi's incident, starring actor Kenichi Matsuyama had also suffered an injury that required 3 weeks of recovery. That had already set the film's schedule back, as filming was originally planned to wrap up in February.
The combination of setbacks and other logistical considerations meant that delaying the film much longer was impossible, and producers had to make adjustments to their plans. Based on the length of Kikuchi's recovery, it was determined that she would not have enough time to prepare for the difficult action scenes. As an unavoidable result, Kikuchi had to be dropped from the cast. It is not yet clear if she will be replaced by another actress or if her character will be removed entirely.
"The Legend of Kamui" has been scheduled for release sometime in 2009.
Sources say that the injury occurred on December 18 during filming in Nago, Okinawa. The scene involved Kikuchi running across a beach, but afterwards she complained of pain in both legs. She returned to Tokyo the next day and was examined by a doctor, who diagnosed her with torn muscles in both thighs. It was estimated that she would take 8 weeks to fully recover, and her scenes were initially postponed until mid-May.
About three weeks prior to Kikuchi's incident, starring actor Kenichi Matsuyama had also suffered an injury that required 3 weeks of recovery. That had already set the film's schedule back, as filming was originally planned to wrap up in February.
The combination of setbacks and other logistical considerations meant that delaying the film much longer was impossible, and producers had to make adjustments to their plans. Based on the length of Kikuchi's recovery, it was determined that she would not have enough time to prepare for the difficult action scenes. As an unavoidable result, Kikuchi had to be dropped from the cast. It is not yet clear if she will be replaced by another actress or if her character will be removed entirely.
"The Legend of Kamui" has been scheduled for release sometime in 2009.
Thu, January 31, 2008 (3:29am EST)
On Wednesday, Tsuyoshi Domoto announced through his official website that he has renamed his solo project. Previously known as ENDLICHERI ENDLICHERI, it will now be called 244 ENDLI-x (pronounced "Tsuyoshi Endorikkusu").
So far, he has maintained the project as a separate identity from his regular work as Tsuyoshi Domoto, but with the addition of his name to the project, he intends to bring the two worlds closer together.
So far, he has maintained the project as a separate identity from his regular work as Tsuyoshi Domoto, but with the addition of his name to the project, he intends to bring the two worlds closer together.
