Wed, March 5, 2008 (5:51pm EST)
In July, director Koki Mitani announced a new comedy titled "The Magic Hour," starring Koichi Sato as an unwitting actor tricked into performing a hit job for a crime boss. The film already features a star cast that includes Satoshi Tsumabuki, Eri Fukatsu, Haruka Ayase, and Toshiyuki Nishida, but now it has been revealed that Mitani has cast 7 more top actors (and one director) for guest appearances.
The story of "The Magic Hour" includes three fictional movies. For the first one, Kiichi Nakai and Yuki Amami star in a picture titled "Kuroi 101 Nin no Onna," a sequel to Kon Ichikawa's 1961 film "Kuroi Junin no Onna." Koji Yamamoto plays the assistant director to the project, while the part of the director is played by Ichikawa himself, in scenes shot before his death last month.
The next is a black-and-white film called "Ankoku Machi no Yojinbo." Kyoka Suzuki and Shosuke Tanihara are the two stars, and Yasufumi Terawaki is cast in it as a Thai person. The third movie, "Jitsuroku Muho Chitai," has Toshiaki Karasawa as its lead.
These cameo performances reportedly range between a minute and a half to three minutes in length. Still, the actors' faces will be seen in the film's trailer, which starts running in theaters this weekend.
"The Magic Hour" is scheduled for release on June 7.
The story of "The Magic Hour" includes three fictional movies. For the first one, Kiichi Nakai and Yuki Amami star in a picture titled "Kuroi 101 Nin no Onna," a sequel to Kon Ichikawa's 1961 film "Kuroi Junin no Onna." Koji Yamamoto plays the assistant director to the project, while the part of the director is played by Ichikawa himself, in scenes shot before his death last month.
The next is a black-and-white film called "Ankoku Machi no Yojinbo." Kyoka Suzuki and Shosuke Tanihara are the two stars, and Yasufumi Terawaki is cast in it as a Thai person. The third movie, "Jitsuroku Muho Chitai," has Toshiaki Karasawa as its lead.
These cameo performances reportedly range between a minute and a half to three minutes in length. Still, the actors' faces will be seen in the film's trailer, which starts running in theaters this weekend.
"The Magic Hour" is scheduled for release on June 7.
Wed, March 5, 2008 (5:01pm EST)
On June 2, NTV will kick off its "Eco Week," which aims to explore environmental issues on the network's various shows. At the end of the week (June 8), NTV will feature a 13-hour live program, with the members of Kanjani8 as the main personalities.
The details of the show are yet to be decided, but the network aims to include news reports from various countries and a special concert with popular music artists. Minomonta will serve as the overall host for the program, which will air from 8:00am to 9:00pm.
Kanjani8 members are also scheduled to appear on NTV shows throughout Eco Week.
The details of the show are yet to be decided, but the network aims to include news reports from various countries and a special concert with popular music artists. Minomonta will serve as the overall host for the program, which will air from 8:00am to 9:00pm.
Kanjani8 members are also scheduled to appear on NTV shows throughout Eco Week.
Wed, March 5, 2008 (4:35pm EST)
Former Takarazuka actress Kaho Sendo, 28, is getting married to a 34-year-old broadcast writer. They have been dating for about two years, and Sendo is now 5 months pregnant.
The couple plans to hold a wedding ceremony after the baby is born, which is expected in August. They will likely register their marriage this month.
The couple plans to hold a wedding ceremony after the baby is born, which is expected in August. They will likely register their marriage this month.
Wed, March 5, 2008 (3:50pm EST)
EXILE leader HIRO and model/actress Mayumi Sada broke up about a year ago, it was learned on Wednesday. Their management acknowledged that they are no longer dating, but they are still carrying on a professional relationship.
The two started dating in 2002. Sada's management agency later merged with LDH, the production company run by HIRO. Sada is still managed by LDH.
Josei Seven reports that Sada may now be seeing producer Kazuaki Kiriya, who divorced Hikaru Utada last March. Sada's management says that they are just friends.
The two started dating in 2002. Sada's management agency later merged with LDH, the production company run by HIRO. Sada is still managed by LDH.
Josei Seven reports that Sada may now be seeing producer Kazuaki Kiriya, who divorced Hikaru Utada last March. Sada's management says that they are just friends.
Wed, March 5, 2008 (1:32pm EST)
Korean actor So Ji Sub has been added to the cast of the upcoming "Gegege no Kitaro" movie, a sequel to last year's hit adaptation of Shigeru Mizuki's popular manga.
This is So Ji Sub's first appearance in a Japanese film. He will be one of the spirits (a yasha) that fights against the protagonist Kitaro, once again played by Eiji Wentz.
The actor is well known for Korean television dramas such as "Something Happened in Bali" and "I'm Sorry, I Love You."
"Gegege no Kitaro: Sennen Noroi Uta" opens on July 12.
This is So Ji Sub's first appearance in a Japanese film. He will be one of the spirits (a yasha) that fights against the protagonist Kitaro, once again played by Eiji Wentz.
The actor is well known for Korean television dramas such as "Something Happened in Bali" and "I'm Sorry, I Love You."
"Gegege no Kitaro: Sennen Noroi Uta" opens on July 12.
Wed, March 5, 2008 (1:14pm EST)
Both Maki Horikita and Shoko Nakagawa attended an event on Tuesday for the "12-sai no Bungakusho," a writing competition for children. The event marked the end of the second contest, for which Horikita served as a judge, and the start of the third contest, which Nakagawa will be judging.
Wed, March 5, 2008 (1:05pm EST)
BoA topped the charts this week with her new album "THE FACE," selling more than 110,000 copies. With this, she has now achieved #1 with all 6 of her original albums in Japan. This puts her in second place for the record of "most consecutive #1 original albums starting with the debut album." She currently trails Ayumi Hamasaki (8), but she has separated herself from The Checkers, Hikaru Genji, and KinKi Kids (all at 5).
A couple of foreign releases made the top 10 - Celine Dion's "Complete Best" was #3 and Janet Jackson's "Discipline" was #9. Meanwhile, Janet's brother Michael remained in the top 10 right behind her with his "Thriller 25."
On the other side of the charts, NEWS' 8th single "Taiyou no Namida" had 230,000 in sales. Similar to BoA's achievement, they are now in second place for the record of "most consecutive #1 singles starting with the debut single" (tied with Hikaru Genji), though they are far behind the current record of 26 set by KinKi Kids.
EXILE and YUI also sold well, taking #2 and #3 on the charts, respectively. Also in the top 10 were idol groups C-ute (#6) and AKB48 (#10), while DREAMS COME TRUE's "One Piece" tie-in fell between them at #8.
One of the bigger stories is still Jero, the black enka singer from Pittsburgh who debuted the previous week. His "Umiyuki" fell only one spot to #5, though it actually rose about 1,000 in sales. Not counting artists that originally were in a group or who had a comeback, enka's last debut single to spend two consecutive weeks in the top 5 was the re-re-release of Akio Kayama's "Hisame" in the early '80s. However, Jero is the only one in history to have his initial single make the top 5 in its first two weeks.
A couple of foreign releases made the top 10 - Celine Dion's "Complete Best" was #3 and Janet Jackson's "Discipline" was #9. Meanwhile, Janet's brother Michael remained in the top 10 right behind her with his "Thriller 25."
On the other side of the charts, NEWS' 8th single "Taiyou no Namida" had 230,000 in sales. Similar to BoA's achievement, they are now in second place for the record of "most consecutive #1 singles starting with the debut single" (tied with Hikaru Genji), though they are far behind the current record of 26 set by KinKi Kids.
EXILE and YUI also sold well, taking #2 and #3 on the charts, respectively. Also in the top 10 were idol groups C-ute (#6) and AKB48 (#10), while DREAMS COME TRUE's "One Piece" tie-in fell between them at #8.
One of the bigger stories is still Jero, the black enka singer from Pittsburgh who debuted the previous week. His "Umiyuki" fell only one spot to #5, though it actually rose about 1,000 in sales. Not counting artists that originally were in a group or who had a comeback, enka's last debut single to spend two consecutive weeks in the top 5 was the re-re-release of Akio Kayama's "Hisame" in the early '80s. However, Jero is the only one in history to have his initial single make the top 5 in its first two weeks.
