Tue, June 2, 2009 (11:23am EDT)
Enka singer Takeshi Kitayama (35) is now officially married. Back in February, he revealed that he was in a serious relationship with Satoko, the daughter of his mentor Saburo Kitajima (72). On Monday, he and Kitajima announced that the couple registered their marriage on May 8.
Tue, June 2, 2009 (3:45am EDT)
17-year-old Tomohiro Ichikawa, winner of the Grand Prix in last year's JUNON Superboy Contest, will debut as an actor this summer. He has been added to the cast of the Fuji TV drama series "Otomen," which was just announced last month.
The show is an adaptation of Aya Kanno's manga of the same name about a popular kendo athlete in high school named Asuka (played by lead actor Masaki Okada) who secretly has feminine interests such as shojo manga and sewing. Ichikawa will play Asuka's classmate Kitora, a "mysterious" boy with a love of flowers.
In its 21 years, the JUNON Superboy Contest has launched the careers of many stars, such as Hideaki Ito, Teppei Koike, and Yuta Hiraoka. As a result, there are high expectations for Ichikawa's future, especially after being chosen from a pool of more than 15,000 contestants, the largest in the competition's history.
The show is an adaptation of Aya Kanno's manga of the same name about a popular kendo athlete in high school named Asuka (played by lead actor Masaki Okada) who secretly has feminine interests such as shojo manga and sewing. Ichikawa will play Asuka's classmate Kitora, a "mysterious" boy with a love of flowers.
In its 21 years, the JUNON Superboy Contest has launched the careers of many stars, such as Hideaki Ito, Teppei Koike, and Yuta Hiraoka. As a result, there are high expectations for Ichikawa's future, especially after being chosen from a pool of more than 15,000 contestants, the largest in the competition's history.
Tue, June 2, 2009 (3:16am EDT)
On June 24, singer hitomi (33) is releasing her latest album, titled "LOVE LIFE 2." In an unexpected move, the album's jacket will feature a photograph of hitomi in the nude, taken during her pregnancy.
When hitomi married actor Masayoshi Haneda (32) last June, she was already four months pregnant. She had also decided on the new album, so she chose to grace the cover with her maternity figure. The picture was taken in early December, during her final month of pregnancy. The baby girl was born on December 23.
This is not the first time that hitomi has appeared nude on an album cover. For her "LOVE LIFE" in 2000, she posed with her hair covering her breasts.
When hitomi married actor Masayoshi Haneda (32) last June, she was already four months pregnant. She had also decided on the new album, so she chose to grace the cover with her maternity figure. The picture was taken in early December, during her final month of pregnancy. The baby girl was born on December 23.
This is not the first time that hitomi has appeared nude on an album cover. For her "LOVE LIFE" in 2000, she posed with her hair covering her breasts.
Tue, June 2, 2009 (2:10am EDT)
Singer-songwriter Hitomi Yaida (30) announced on her official website that she is pregnant with her first child. She said that she is now in the stable period of her pregnancy, though she chose not to reveal when the baby is due.
Yaida has been married since 2007 to a man whose work is said to involve music. According to the announcement on her website, she still plans to continue her music career and is preparing to resume work next year.
Yaida has been married since 2007 to a man whose work is said to involve music. According to the announcement on her website, she still plans to continue her music career and is preparing to resume work next year.
Tue, June 2, 2009 (1:17am EDT)
As expected, the "ROOKIES" movie was a major success at the box office in its opening weekend. The film played on 428 screens across Japan, and in two days it was seen by over 980,000 people, earning more than 1.2 billion yen.
The movie's performance is being compared to "Hana Yori Dango Final," which was the #1 live-action film and #2 overall (behind "Gake no Ue no Ponyo") of 2008. "ROOKIES" opened on 7% more screens (compared to 400) and made 21.7% more in ticket revenue. At this rate, "ROOKIES" could eventually earn over 9 billion yen in theaters, given that "Hana Yori Dango Final" ultimately grossed 7.75 billion. Toho hopes that "ROOKIES" may even break the 10 billion yen mark, which has only been achieved by three live-action Japanese films so far.
The movie's performance is being compared to "Hana Yori Dango Final," which was the #1 live-action film and #2 overall (behind "Gake no Ue no Ponyo") of 2008. "ROOKIES" opened on 7% more screens (compared to 400) and made 21.7% more in ticket revenue. At this rate, "ROOKIES" could eventually earn over 9 billion yen in theaters, given that "Hana Yori Dango Final" ultimately grossed 7.75 billion. Toho hopes that "ROOKIES" may even break the 10 billion yen mark, which has only been achieved by three live-action Japanese films so far.
Tue, June 2, 2009 (12:40am EDT)
"Beck," the popular music manga by Harold Sakuishi, is being adapted as a live-action film. Director Yukihiko Tsutsumi ("20th Century Boys") will be in charge of the project, with actor Hiro Mizushima in the leading role.
The manga, which was originally serialized from 2000 to 2008, tells the story of five young men who form a rock band called Beck. The protagonist in the manga was the guitarist/vocalist Yukio "Koyuki" Tanaka, but the film will instead revolve around the band's main guitarist and leader, Ryusuke Minami.
Mizushima has been cast as Ryusuke, while Takeru Sato will play the part of Koyuki. The two previously played brothers in the drama series "Mei-chan no Shitsuji." Playing the other members of Beck are Kenta Kiritani as the rapper Chiba, Osamu Mukai as the bassist Taira, and Aoi Nakamura as the drummer Saku.
30 original songs are being written, which will be performed by the actors themselves with real instruments. Mizushima and the others are currently undergoing special training for about a month. The movie's climax is said to be a large-scale concert scene with the band playing on stage.
Shooting is scheduled to start in early July, with a theatrical release expected in fall 2010.
The manga, which was originally serialized from 2000 to 2008, tells the story of five young men who form a rock band called Beck. The protagonist in the manga was the guitarist/vocalist Yukio "Koyuki" Tanaka, but the film will instead revolve around the band's main guitarist and leader, Ryusuke Minami.
Mizushima has been cast as Ryusuke, while Takeru Sato will play the part of Koyuki. The two previously played brothers in the drama series "Mei-chan no Shitsuji." Playing the other members of Beck are Kenta Kiritani as the rapper Chiba, Osamu Mukai as the bassist Taira, and Aoi Nakamura as the drummer Saku.
30 original songs are being written, which will be performed by the actors themselves with real instruments. Mizushima and the others are currently undergoing special training for about a month. The movie's climax is said to be a large-scale concert scene with the band playing on stage.
Shooting is scheduled to start in early July, with a theatrical release expected in fall 2010.
