Comedian Shinagawa brings autobiography to big screen

Comedian Hiroshi Shinagawa, who is one half of the Shinagawa Shoji duo, has announced that he will be turning his autobiographical novel “Drop” into a movie. The novel has sold 300,000 copies and was turned into a manga that is still being serialized in Monthly Shonen Champion.

Shinagawa will be taking on the duties of screenwriter and director. He directed a short film in 2003 as part of the omnibus “Kantoku Kansen: Director Infection,” but this will be his first full-length project.

The story is set in Komae, Tokyo, during the 1980s. As a youth, Hiroshi was a college-bound student at a private high school, but as a fan of the delinquent-genre manga “Be-Bop High School,” he began getting in trouble and was transferred to a public school.

Casting is in the final stages, with filming scheduled to start in mid-June. Shinagawa is aiming for release in spring 2009.

Source:
Sponichi Annex