Tue, January 20, 2009 (3:54am EST)
Foreign talento Dante Carver will be appearing in his first drama series this spring. He has been cast in NHK's adaptation of the Eto Mori novel "Kaze ni Maiagaru Vinyl Sheet," which focuses on the refugee aid organization UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees).
The show stars Kazue Fukiishi as a woman working on refugee issues while also dealing with her American boss and ex-husband, played by Chris Peppler. Carver plays one of Fukiishi's co-workers.
Carver has recently been developing a career as an actor, appearing in a couple movies and a drama special. According to Carver, he originally moved to Japan in pursuit of an acting career, which he hopes to someday take to Hollywood.
Filming for the miniseries starts at the end of this month. NHK plans to broadcast the show in its Saturday 9:00pm time slot, beginning on May 30.
The show stars Kazue Fukiishi as a woman working on refugee issues while also dealing with her American boss and ex-husband, played by Chris Peppler. Carver plays one of Fukiishi's co-workers.
Carver has recently been developing a career as an actor, appearing in a couple movies and a drama special. According to Carver, he originally moved to Japan in pursuit of an acting career, which he hopes to someday take to Hollywood.
Filming for the miniseries starts at the end of this month. NHK plans to broadcast the show in its Saturday 9:00pm time slot, beginning on May 30.
Tue, January 20, 2009 (3:31am EST)
Singer Tomomi Kahara has once again found herself in the news for personal issues. Over the weekend, she was taken by ambulance to a hospital for a drug overdose.
At around 3:00am on Saturday, she got into a taxi outside Kinshicho Station. According to the driver, Kahara seemed only vaguely conscious, to the point that she was unable to even name her destination. The driver took her to a nearby police box, where an officer called for an ambulance.
It was explained that Kahara had taken a large amount of doctor-prescribed tranquilizers, resulting in acute poisoning. No traces of alcohol or other substances were found in her body.
Kahara's turbulent career stretches back to the 1990s. She was in a high-profile relationship with producer Tetsuya Komuro, but after their breakup, Kahara attempted suicide in 1999 by gassing herself. A few months later, she was discovered outside her house, passed out after a heavy dosage of cold medicine. Due to problems with her agency, she was fired in June 2007 and has been effectively retired since then. She has been hoping to mount a comeback, but so far it has proven difficult.
At around 3:00am on Saturday, she got into a taxi outside Kinshicho Station. According to the driver, Kahara seemed only vaguely conscious, to the point that she was unable to even name her destination. The driver took her to a nearby police box, where an officer called for an ambulance.
It was explained that Kahara had taken a large amount of doctor-prescribed tranquilizers, resulting in acute poisoning. No traces of alcohol or other substances were found in her body.
Kahara's turbulent career stretches back to the 1990s. She was in a high-profile relationship with producer Tetsuya Komuro, but after their breakup, Kahara attempted suicide in 1999 by gassing herself. A few months later, she was discovered outside her house, passed out after a heavy dosage of cold medicine. Due to problems with her agency, she was fired in June 2007 and has been effectively retired since then. She has been hoping to mount a comeback, but so far it has proven difficult.
Tue, January 20, 2009 (2:26am EST)
Last week, it was reported that talento Misako Yasuda and actor Yu Shirota are currently in a relationship, though their agencies denied the rumor. However, Yasuda updated her blog on Tuesday, acknowledging that she and Shirota are dating.
On Sunday, Yasuda attended an event for the DVD of the "Hachi-One Diver" drama series. The next day, newspapers reported that the press had asked her about the relationship but that she denied it. However, in her blog entry, Yasuda wrote that she wanted to clear up the misunderstanding, claiming that she personally didn't say anything about the rumor during the event.
Yasuda explained that she and Shirota are indeed getting along well, though she did not provide any details such as how long they have been dating.
On Sunday, Yasuda attended an event for the DVD of the "Hachi-One Diver" drama series. The next day, newspapers reported that the press had asked her about the relationship but that she denied it. However, in her blog entry, Yasuda wrote that she wanted to clear up the misunderstanding, claiming that she personally didn't say anything about the rumor during the event.
Yasuda explained that she and Shirota are indeed getting along well, though she did not provide any details such as how long they have been dating.
Tue, January 20, 2009 (1:46am EST)
Nikkan Sports has revealed the results of its fall 2008 Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix survey. The survey ran between January 6 and January 15, resulting in a total of 5,623 votes. The TBS series "Ryusei no Kizuna" proved to be the clear favorite, winning four of the five categories by very large margins.
Best Drama:
Best Drama:
- Ryusei no Kizuna - 3610
- Atsuhime - 341
- Scrap Teacher - 331
- Bloody Monday - 316
- Innocent Love - 199
- Kazunari Ninomiya (Ryusei no Kizuna) - 3564
- Haruma Miura (Bloody Monday) - 604
- Yutaka Mizutani (Aibou) - 326
- Ryosuke Yamada (Scrap Teacher) - 275
- Kiichi Nakai (Kaze no Garden) - 266
- Aoi Miyazaki (Atsuhime) - 2127
- Aya Ueto (Celeb to Binbou Taro) - 1009
- Maki Horikita (Innocent Love) - 746
- Asami Mizukawa (Yume wo Kanaeru Zou) - 594
- Kyoka Suzuki (SCANDAL) - 384
- Ryo Nishikido (Ryusei no Kizuna) - 2485
- Tomokazu Miura (Ryusei no Kizuna) - 373
- Jun Kaname (Ryusei no Kizuna) - 338
- Masato Sakai (Atsuhime) - 237
- Ken Ogata (Kaze no Garden) - 215
Yusuke Kamiji (Scrap Teacher) - 215
- Erika Toda (Ryusei no Kizuna) - 2916
- Maki Horikita (Atsuhime) - 359
- Michiko Kichise (Bloody Monday) - 355
- Keiko Matsuzaka (Atsuhime) - 290
- Ai Kato (Scrap Teacher) - 210
Tue, January 20, 2009 (12:37am EST)
Top star Yuga Yamato has announced that she is leaving the Takarazuka troupe later this year. She is already the fourth top star planning to graduate this year, following Kei Aran, Asuka Tono, and Yuri Shirahane.
Yamato debuted with the revue in 1995 and was previously part of the Moon Troupe, but she transferred to the Cosmos Troupe in 2003 and became its current otokoyaku in February 2007.
Yamato is scheduled to perform in shows throughout February. Her last work with the troupe will be in "Bara ni Furu Ame" and "Amour Sore wa...," which is being performed in Hyogo from April 17 to May 18, and in Tokyo from June 5 to July 5.
Yamato debuted with the revue in 1995 and was previously part of the Moon Troupe, but she transferred to the Cosmos Troupe in 2003 and became its current otokoyaku in February 2007.
Yamato is scheduled to perform in shows throughout February. Her last work with the troupe will be in "Bara ni Furu Ame" and "Amour Sore wa...," which is being performed in Hyogo from April 17 to May 18, and in Tokyo from June 5 to July 5.
