Yukio Okada's manga "MOTEL" is being turned into a live-action film, starring popular young actor Toma Ikuta (24). This is Ikuta's second movie role, after the Osamu Dazai adaptation "Ningen Shikkaku" ("No Longer Human") which is scheduled for release next year.

This new movie is titled "Seaside Motel," set in a motel that is curiously named Seaside despite being surrounded by mountains. Ikuta plays Kameda, a traveling salesman who peddles questionable cosmetic products. His female lead is Kumiko Aso (31), playing a call girl named Candy whose popularity is already fading even before she hits the age of thirty. The two happen to meet at Seaside, and Kameda falls in love.

The manga is full of distinctive characters, but none of the film's supporting cast have been announced, other than stage actors Masaaki Akahori and Seiji Nozoe, playing a pair of cops.

"Seaside Hotel" is being directed by Kentaro Moriya, whose only other feature-length film is the 2005 picture "School Daze." Filming already started on August 30 in Guam. Theatrical release is scheduled for sometime in 2010.