Tue, February 12, 2008 (5:09pm EST)
Box office estimates for this past weekend place the "Death Note" spinoff, "L change the WorLd," in the #1 spot, ahead of "Team Batista no Eikou" as expected.
"L change the WorLd" opened on 398 screens. Sankei Sports reports that its 3-day gross was roughly 846 million yen on over 677,000 admissions. Its two-day totals (567 million yen, 444,000 admissions) are the highest for any film so far this year.
"L change the WorLd" opened on 398 screens. Sankei Sports reports that its 3-day gross was roughly 846 million yen on over 677,000 admissions. Its two-day totals (567 million yen, 444,000 admissions) are the highest for any film so far this year.
Tue, February 12, 2008 (4:52pm EST)
Young actor Masaki Okada will star in his first television drama next month. The screenplay for the drama, titled "Fukidemono to Imouto," is written by Isamu Haruna. It won TV Asahi's 7th Shinjin Scenario Taisho, a contest for new writers.
The fantasy story revolves around a young part-timer (Okada) who has a "pimple" under his nose. One day, a flower starts to bloom from it. It turns out that the pimple is somehow connected to his younger sister, who is hospitalized due to an illness.
The cast includes Wakana Sakai, Junpei Mizobata, Naomi Akimoto, and Kazuyuki Asano. TV Asahi will air the show on March 1 at 1:55pm.
The fantasy story revolves around a young part-timer (Okada) who has a "pimple" under his nose. One day, a flower starts to bloom from it. It turns out that the pimple is somehow connected to his younger sister, who is hospitalized due to an illness.
The cast includes Wakana Sakai, Junpei Mizobata, Naomi Akimoto, and Kazuyuki Asano. TV Asahi will air the show on March 1 at 1:55pm.
Tue, February 12, 2008 (4:33pm EST)
Owarai duo Charanporan is breaking up at the end of June. On Tuesday, member Kojin Onishi announced the news through a fax to the media, saying that he has decided to pursue his childhood dream of art instead.
Onishi stated that he will be leaving Yoshimoto Kogyo at the time of the disbandment. His partner Makoto Tomiyoshi, on the other hand, said he will remain with the agency.
Charanporan should not be confused with the duo License, which changed its name to The Charanporan last February.
Onishi stated that he will be leaving Yoshimoto Kogyo at the time of the disbandment. His partner Makoto Tomiyoshi, on the other hand, said he will remain with the agency.
Charanporan should not be confused with the duo License, which changed its name to The Charanporan last February.
Tue, February 12, 2008 (4:07pm EST)
Michael Arias' animated feature "Tekkon Kinkreet" took the Grand Prix on Saturday at this year's Anima, an international animation festival held in Brussels, Belgium.
The competition included two other Japanese films - Kenji Kamiyama's "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex: Solid State Society" and Mamoru Hosoda's "Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo" - as well as "El Arca" by Juan Pablo Buscarini, "Desmond" by Magnus Carlsson, "Khan Kluay" by Kompin Kemgumnird, "Little King Macius" by Sandor Jesse, and "Nocturna" by Victor Maldonado and Adrian Garcia.
The competition included two other Japanese films - Kenji Kamiyama's "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex: Solid State Society" and Mamoru Hosoda's "Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo" - as well as "El Arca" by Juan Pablo Buscarini, "Desmond" by Magnus Carlsson, "Khan Kluay" by Kompin Kemgumnird, "Little King Macius" by Sandor Jesse, and "Nocturna" by Victor Maldonado and Adrian Garcia.
Tue, February 12, 2008 (3:48pm EST)
Actress Rieko Miura has finally been given a starring role in a drama series after working in show business for 20 years. The show is an adaptation of the "Sweet 10" manga, written by Yukari Koyama.
Miura plays a nurse who starts having an affair during her 9th year of marriage. Shingo Katsurayama has been cast as her husband, while Joe Nakamura is her lover.
Miura herself has been married before. In 1998, she wedded rock singer Diamond Yukai, but they divorced three years later.
"Sweet 10 ~Saigo no Koibito~" will air on TBS at 1:00pm on weekdays. The series premieres on March 3.
Miura plays a nurse who starts having an affair during her 9th year of marriage. Shingo Katsurayama has been cast as her husband, while Joe Nakamura is her lover.
Miura herself has been married before. In 1998, she wedded rock singer Diamond Yukai, but they divorced three years later.
"Sweet 10 ~Saigo no Koibito~" will air on TBS at 1:00pm on weekdays. The series premieres on March 3.
