Tue, May 26, 2009 (4:28am EDT)
Fuji TV plans to air a documentary-drama next month revolving around the Matsumoto incident, an act of domestic terrorism that occurred during the 1990s. This will be the first time that the incident is dramatized on television.
On June 27, 1994, toxic sarin gas was released in a neighborhood in Matsumoto, Nagano. The incident resulted in the death of several people and hundreds of others harmed. Although the act was later linked to the religious group Aum Shinrikyo and their infamous sarin attack on the Tokyo subway in 1995, investigators in the Matsumoto incident initially suspected one of the attack's victims, a man named Yoshiyuki Kouno. Because Kouno was discovered to be storing pesticides in his home, the media began painting him as the perpetrator, resulting in Kouno being harassed in the form of hate mail and death threats.
Fuji TV's drama will focus on Kouno's experience, along with his sick wife and his three children. Actor Ken Ishiguro (43) will portray Kouno, while Yuki Matsushita (40) plays Kouno's wife, who passed away last year. Yosuke Asari (21) and Atsuko Maeda (17) have also been cast.
The drama will air in Fuji TV's "Kinyo Prestige" block (Friday 9:00pm) on June 26, one day before the 15th anniversary of the Matsumoto incident.
On June 27, 1994, toxic sarin gas was released in a neighborhood in Matsumoto, Nagano. The incident resulted in the death of several people and hundreds of others harmed. Although the act was later linked to the religious group Aum Shinrikyo and their infamous sarin attack on the Tokyo subway in 1995, investigators in the Matsumoto incident initially suspected one of the attack's victims, a man named Yoshiyuki Kouno. Because Kouno was discovered to be storing pesticides in his home, the media began painting him as the perpetrator, resulting in Kouno being harassed in the form of hate mail and death threats.
Fuji TV's drama will focus on Kouno's experience, along with his sick wife and his three children. Actor Ken Ishiguro (43) will portray Kouno, while Yuki Matsushita (40) plays Kouno's wife, who passed away last year. Yosuke Asari (21) and Atsuko Maeda (17) have also been cast.
The drama will air in Fuji TV's "Kinyo Prestige" block (Friday 9:00pm) on June 26, one day before the 15th anniversary of the Matsumoto incident.
Tue, May 26, 2009 (3:15am EDT)
Director Isao Yukisada is working on a screen adaptation of author Shuichi Yoshida's first full-length novel, "Parade," which won the Yamamoto Shugoro Prize in 2002.
Yukisada has apparently been hoping to make a movie out of the book ever since it was published in 2002. The story revolves around an unusual group of five young adults living together in a 2LDK apartment (two bedrooms, living room, dining room, and kitchen). Despite sharing such a small space, it turns out in the end that they really don't know much about each other.
Yukisada has assembled a talented young cast for the movie. Tatsuya Fujiwara stars as Naoki, an employee of a film distribution company. Karina plays the illustrator Miki, while Shihori Kanjiya is the unemployed Kotomi and Keisuke Koide is the college student Ryosuke. Around the same time that a string of disturbing incidents occurs in their neighborhood, Miki meets a male prostitute named Satoru (Kento Hayashi), who ends up also living in the apartment.
In addition to directing, Yukisada wrote the screenplay for the adaptation. Filming started on May 15 and will continue until mid-June. The movie is currently scheduled for release in 2010.
Yukisada has apparently been hoping to make a movie out of the book ever since it was published in 2002. The story revolves around an unusual group of five young adults living together in a 2LDK apartment (two bedrooms, living room, dining room, and kitchen). Despite sharing such a small space, it turns out in the end that they really don't know much about each other.
Yukisada has assembled a talented young cast for the movie. Tatsuya Fujiwara stars as Naoki, an employee of a film distribution company. Karina plays the illustrator Miki, while Shihori Kanjiya is the unemployed Kotomi and Keisuke Koide is the college student Ryosuke. Around the same time that a string of disturbing incidents occurs in their neighborhood, Miki meets a male prostitute named Satoru (Kento Hayashi), who ends up also living in the apartment.
In addition to directing, Yukisada wrote the screenplay for the adaptation. Filming started on May 15 and will continue until mid-June. The movie is currently scheduled for release in 2010.
Tue, May 26, 2009 (2:15am EDT)
The shojo manga "Otomen" by Aya Kanno is being turned into a live-action drama series this summer. The show, starring Masaki Okada (19), will occupy Fuji TV's Saturday night time slot.
Okada is having a big year in terms of movies, with major roles in "Harufuwei," "Honokaa Boy," "Juryoku Pierrot," and "Boku no Hatsukoi wo Kimi ni Sasagu." However, "Otomen" will be his first starring role in a TV series.
The original manga started in 2006 and is still being serialized in the magazine Bessatsu Hana to Yume. The tankoubon editions have sold more than 2.50 million copies total. Classified as a romantic comedy, "Otomen" centers around the popular high school boy Asuka Masamune (Okada), the top kendo fighter in the nation. However, beneath his cool exterior, he is actually fond of sweets and shojo manga, and is skilled in sewing and cooking. When he instantly falls for the transfer student Ryo Miyakozuka, his secret is in danger of being exposed.
The female lead of Ryo will be played by Kaho (17), who previously worked with Okada in the 2007 movie "Tennen Kokekko" ("A Gentle Breeze in the Village").
The "Otomen" drama will start on August 1, airing every Saturday at 11:10pm.
Okada is having a big year in terms of movies, with major roles in "Harufuwei," "Honokaa Boy," "Juryoku Pierrot," and "Boku no Hatsukoi wo Kimi ni Sasagu." However, "Otomen" will be his first starring role in a TV series.
The original manga started in 2006 and is still being serialized in the magazine Bessatsu Hana to Yume. The tankoubon editions have sold more than 2.50 million copies total. Classified as a romantic comedy, "Otomen" centers around the popular high school boy Asuka Masamune (Okada), the top kendo fighter in the nation. However, beneath his cool exterior, he is actually fond of sweets and shojo manga, and is skilled in sewing and cooking. When he instantly falls for the transfer student Ryo Miyakozuka, his secret is in danger of being exposed.
The female lead of Ryo will be played by Kaho (17), who previously worked with Okada in the 2007 movie "Tennen Kokekko" ("A Gentle Breeze in the Village").
The "Otomen" drama will start on August 1, airing every Saturday at 11:10pm.
