BENNIE K are celebrating the release of their first best album, "BEST OF THE BESTEST" (on sale April 23), by making their hit song "Dreamland" available for free as a ringtone in Japan. The tune will be available through sites such as Recochoku between the 16th and the 30th of this month.

"Dreamland" was released in 2005 and debuted at #2 on the Oricon charts. It stayed in the Top 10 for seven straight weeks, selling more than 500,000 copies.

67-year-old talento Chiyoko Asami is starring in her first film, titled "Shaolin Baba," directed by Kotaro Terauchi ("Boys Love," "Tonari no 801-chan").

The movie is a parody of the Kou Shibasaki-starring action flick "Shaolin Girl" that opens on April 26. In "Shaolin Baba," Asami plays an elderly martial arts master. Nao Nagasawa and comedian Sentaro also appear.

Asami is perhaps best known for her recurring role on the variety show "Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!!," where she plays an elderly woman that the cast members are sometimes forced to kiss.

"Shaolin Baba" begins playing in theaters in late May.

Variety reports that DreamWorks has acquired rights to Masamune Shirow's cyberpunk manga "Ghost in the Shell" and is aiming to adapt it as a 3-D live-action film.

The comic was originally published in 1989 and spawned two additional manga series, three animated films, and two television series. The second film, "Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence," was brought to the U.S. by DreamWorks.

Universal and Sony reportedly also sought the movie rights, but Steven Spielberg ultimately won out. He said, "'Ghost in the Shell' is one of my favorite stories. It's a genre that has arrived, and we enthusiastically welcome it to DreamWorks."

Seaside Entertainment's Avi Arad, Ari Arad, and Steven Paul are producing. Jamie Moss is handling the script. No production dates have been revealed yet.

Former X Japan member TAIJI is taking on the role of music director for a movie called "Attitude." The film, first announced last May, is the directorial debut of musician Dynamite Tommy (formerly the vocalist of COLOR).

TAIJI was part of X Japan until 1992 and later was involved in several other bands, including Cloud Nine.

"Attitude" offers a look at rock music from the '70s to the '90s, featuring appearances by artists such as Shigeru Nakano (Anarchy), BY-SEXUAL, ANGIE, ARB, and Michiro Endo. The film will see limited release across Japan, starting on July 19.

Rock band L'Arc~en~Ciel opened their official MySpace page on the 11th, geared towards their international fans. The site launched in time for their 10-concert international tour that starts this weekend, taking them to Shanghai, Taipei, Paris, Seoul, and Hong Kong.

Viz Pictures has sent out a press release announcing that it will bring the first live-action "Death Note" film to more than 300 U.S. theaters next month.

The movie (reportedly the dubbed version) is being presented in high-definition through National CineMedia's NCM Fathom division on May 20 and 21. The screenings will also include a "specially produced 20-minute feature on how the manga translates to live action as well as the first-ever interview with Director Shusuke Kaneko."

Subscribers of the Shonen Jump e-mail newsletter will be allowed to buy advance tickets from April 18 to 20, while general public ticket sales start on April 21. A list of participating theaters is available at the movie's website.

Heavy metal band LOUDNESS announced on its website on Monday that 49-year-old drummer Munetaka Higuchi has been diagnosed with liver cancer. The growth was first noticed during a regular medical exam last month, and a follow-up exam last week identified it as cancer.

Higuchi is undergoing immediate treatment and will be unable to participate in the band's upcoming tour that starts on the 22nd, though he assured his fans that he will eventually return to playing. His replacement for the tour has not yet been decided.

LOUDNESS became the first Japanese heavy metal band to release an album in the U.S. during the latter half of the 1980s, and they even appeared in the Billboard Top 100.

The Johnny's group Hey! Say! JUMP has been tapped for yet another volleyball support song.

"Dreams come true" will be the group's 2nd single, to be released on May 21. They will sing the song as special supporters for the Women's World Olympic Qualification Tournament, which takes place in Tokyo from May 17 to May 25. The event is being covered by TBS and Fuji TV.

Hey! Say! JUMP previously sang songs for the 2007 Volleyball World Cup and last month's National High School Volleyball Tournament.

Singer and actress Anna Tsuchiya is taking on her second voice acting role in "Soreike! Anpanman: Yosei Rin-Rin no Himitsu," the 20th film in the Anpanman franchise. She will play the heroine, a fairy named Rin-Rin.

Tsuchiya previously voiced Lindsay Lohan's character in the Japanese dub of "Herbie: Fully Loaded."

The "Anpanman" movie opens in theaters on July 12.

48-year-old actor Ken Watanabe will already be a grandfather in a few months. His 23-year-old son Dai, also an actor, got married on White Day (March 14) and is expecting his first child in August.

The news was publicly revealed by Dai's sister, the model Anne, during a pre-recorded broadcast of "Tetsuko no Heya" on Monday. Dai's agency later confirmed the report. No details have been revealed about Dai's wife, however.

Talento Chiriko Sakashita is three months pregnant with her first child, it was announced on Monday. Sakashita, 31, married a 29-year-old TV cameraman this past January.

She will be taking a break from her position on Fuji TV's "Moshimo Tours," due to the large amount of traveling required for the show. However, she plans to continue with her other work as long as her health permits.