Sun, February 3, 2008 (5:33pm EST)
Kozak Maeda, the 28-year-old vocalist of punk band Gagaga SP, revealed on Sunday that he is getting married this month.
Sources say his partner is a 25-year-old nurse who is currently four months pregnant. They met about two years ago through a mutual friend.
Sources say his partner is a 25-year-old nurse who is currently four months pregnant. They met about two years ago through a mutual friend.
Sun, February 3, 2008 (5:14pm EST)
Veteran entertainer Masaaki Sakai and actress Yui Natsukawa will co-star in a new Fuji TV drama series currently titled "Muri na Renai." This is Sakai's first starring drama role in 13 years.
The series uses an original screenplay by Yoshikazu Okada. Sakai plays the role of Shogo, a divorced man with one daughter. In his younger days, he was briefly in a band but it quickly broke up, and he took on a job at a record company. At the age of 60, he falls in love with the 35-year-old Kaede (Natsukawa), but her career and values are very different from his own. In addition, Kaede already has an "ikemen" boyfriend (currently being cast).
Sakai commented that the role is very similar to his own life. He has been divorced twice and has two daughters, and is said to be dating a former model 22 years younger than him.
Other cast members include Hiroshi Kamayatsu (also known as Monsieur Kamayatsu), Mari Natsuki, Toshinori Omi, Sayaka Aoki, Sawa Suzuki, and Kei Tanaka. The drama will fill the Tuesday 10:00pm time slot, starting in April.
The series uses an original screenplay by Yoshikazu Okada. Sakai plays the role of Shogo, a divorced man with one daughter. In his younger days, he was briefly in a band but it quickly broke up, and he took on a job at a record company. At the age of 60, he falls in love with the 35-year-old Kaede (Natsukawa), but her career and values are very different from his own. In addition, Kaede already has an "ikemen" boyfriend (currently being cast).
Sakai commented that the role is very similar to his own life. He has been divorced twice and has two daughters, and is said to be dating a former model 22 years younger than him.
Other cast members include Hiroshi Kamayatsu (also known as Monsieur Kamayatsu), Mari Natsuki, Toshinori Omi, Sayaka Aoki, Sawa Suzuki, and Kei Tanaka. The drama will fill the Tuesday 10:00pm time slot, starting in April.
Sun, February 3, 2008 (4:51pm EST)
A cast announcement for the live-action version of "20th Century Boys" was made on Sunday. Toshiaki Karasawa will star as the main character Kenji Endo, while Etsushi Toyokawa plays Otcho and Takako Tokiwa plays Yukiji.
Directed by Yukihiko Tsutsumi, the film adaptation is based on Naoki Urasawa's popular manga of the same name, a sci-fi suspense story that has Kenji and his friends trying to save the world from destruction. Urasawa himself is involved in the screenplay.
The manga is actually being adapted as a trilogy of films, with the first one being released on August 30. Part 2 is scheduled for the spring of 2009, and Part 3 will follow in the fall. The total budget for the project is a massive 6 billion yen, possibly making it the biggest domestic production of this year.
Filming for the first two movies started on Sunday and is expected to wrap up in late June. Part 3 is scheduled to be shot from mid-August to late October. Filming is taking place in a total of at least 7 countries, as the movies will include scenes of various parts of the world collapsing.
It was also announced that the theme song for the first movie will be the 1973 hit "20th Century Boy" by the English rock band T. Rex. That song provided the inspiration for Urasawa's original manga.
The international popularity of the manga has reportedly led to distribution offers in 34 countries so far.
Directed by Yukihiko Tsutsumi, the film adaptation is based on Naoki Urasawa's popular manga of the same name, a sci-fi suspense story that has Kenji and his friends trying to save the world from destruction. Urasawa himself is involved in the screenplay.
The manga is actually being adapted as a trilogy of films, with the first one being released on August 30. Part 2 is scheduled for the spring of 2009, and Part 3 will follow in the fall. The total budget for the project is a massive 6 billion yen, possibly making it the biggest domestic production of this year.
Filming for the first two movies started on Sunday and is expected to wrap up in late June. Part 3 is scheduled to be shot from mid-August to late October. Filming is taking place in a total of at least 7 countries, as the movies will include scenes of various parts of the world collapsing.
It was also announced that the theme song for the first movie will be the 1973 hit "20th Century Boy" by the English rock band T. Rex. That song provided the inspiration for Urasawa's original manga.
The international popularity of the manga has reportedly led to distribution offers in 34 countries so far.
Sun, February 3, 2008 (5:39am EST)
Ex-Morning Musume member Kaori Iida recently gave birth to her first child, it was announced on Sunday. The baby boy was born on January 22 and initially weighed 3200 grams.
Iida got married on July 7 of last year to Kenji, the vocalist of the now-defunct band 7HOUSE.
Iida got married on July 7 of last year to Kenji, the vocalist of the now-defunct band 7HOUSE.
