|
|
Japanese Entertainment News & Info HERE! [part II]
[Copy link]
|
|
|
news: movie
Haruma Miura joins "Crows Zero II" as Oguri's rival
Tue, August 26, 2008 (1:16am EDT)
Up-and-coming actor Haruma Miura has landed another major role: he has been cast in the upcoming "Crows ZERO" sequel (directed by Takashi Miike). He will play the part of protagonist Genji Takaya's (Shun Oguri) greatest opponent.
Officially confirmed in May, the movie is set months after the first "Crows ZERO." Miura plays Tatusya Mito, the leader of Housen Gakuen, the rival school of Genji's Suzuran. RIZE drummer Nobuaki Kaneko is also appearing in the film playing the third-year Housen student Narumi, an original character for the film.
"Crows ZERO 2" is scheduled for a 2009 release.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
news: director
As he departed Japan yesterday to attend the upcoming 65th Venice International Film Festival, Kitano Takeshi (61) made the first public mention of his next movie project. He's off to Venice for the seventh time, with his latest movie "Akiresu to Kame" (Achilles and the Tortoise) entered in the main competition. Asked if he was nervous, he said, "It's been, what 10 years now. I was nervous with 'Hana-bi' (which won the coveted Golden Lion in 1997) but I've been to lots of different competitions and festivals in the last ten years. So it's nothing new to me anymore." The festival takes place from August 27 to September 7. Once that and the opening of the new film on September 20 are out of the way, he plans to get stuck into his next project. At Narita Airport yesterday, he said it will be a samurai drama but completely different from his 2003 hit "Zatoichi." That film was a huge commercial and critical success - it won the Silver Lion director's prize at Venice - but Kitano's other work in the decade before and since has been a frustrating diversion into arthouse and the downright bizarre. He's not one to pander to public tastes and he continues to insist that he doesn't care about the movie market, but it may be time for him to come out with another commercial success or risk tarnishing his reputation further.
Meanwhile, asked about the career of Yamamoto Mona, the announcer who can't seem to keep away from married men and is represented by his Office Kitano agency, Kitano said he has no plans to get her career back on track this time. He supported her through a similar incident a few years ago but this time says, "We represent her and if necessary we'll discipline her. But it hasn't reached that point. The whole thing became such a big deal, it's best to wait until things calm down."
Source: www.japan-zone.com |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
news: actress
Actress Fukaura Kanako died of cancer at a Tokyo hospital on Monday night, it was revealed yesterday. She was 48. An established supporting actress, she had roles in a wide variety of TV dramas and movies. According to her father, she was diagnosed with sigmoid colon cancer about five years ago and had been in and out of hospital and underwent surgery several times. But had continued working right up until what was to be her final hospitalization at the beginning of this month, after it was found that the cancer had spread to her lungs. She went into a coma on August 24 and never awoke. Her final work had been the narration of the documentary about the atomic bombing of Hiroshima that was broadcast on August 6. She began her acting career on the stage while a student at Meiji University in 1980. She started working more on TV and in movies from 1989 and her career included roles in dramas such as "Ie Naki Ko," "Nurse no Shigoto" and "Shomuni" and movies like "Tasogare Seibei" and "Battle Royale."
Source: www.japan-zone.com |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
news: singer
Aoyama Thelma receives award at MTV Student Voice Awards 2008
August 26, 2008 by KNDY
Aoyama Thelma (20) was among the award winners at MTV抯 揝tudent Voice Awards 2008. The singer performed her hit song 揝oba ni Irune |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
news: singer
Jero visits grandmother's grave in Pittsburgh
Tuesday 26th August, 10:44 AM JST
PITTSBURGH |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
news: manga
Popular HK artist Lau wins Japan's International Manga Award
Wednesday 27th August, 06:43 AM JST
TOKYO |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
news: TV
Hiroshi Kume to host TBS's new infotainment program
Wednesday 27th August, 10:27 AM JST
TOKYO |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
news: artistes
Yui Aragaki to cover Kobukuro song
Wed, August 27, 2008 (2:24am EDT)
Actress Yui Aragaki has announced her second single. It will be a cover of Kobukuro's "Akai Ito," a song originally created during their indie days. With this year being the 10th anniversary of their formation, Kobukuro decided to collaborate with a female artist to give the song new life.
Aragaki made her singing debut last December with the album "Sora" and was able to reach #3 on the charts. Last month, her first single "Make my day" made #2 on the Oricon charts and #1 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100.
"Akai Ito" will be released on October 15.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
news: music chart
Charts: Arashi spreads "truth," Amuro still on top
Wed, August 27, 2008 (1:56am EDT)
Arashi's newest single, "truth / Kaze no Mukou e," dominated the singles chart this past week at 467,000 in sales. This sets the new 2008 record for opening week sales, surpassing KAT-TUN's "DON'T U EVER STOP," which sold an initial 382,000 in May. Arashi also holds the record for best-selling single so far this year with "One Love" currently at 492,000, though "truth" is already close to overtaking it.
Porno Graffiti's "Gift" took #2 with a comparatively low 58,000 in sales, while the "Macross Frontier" song "Lion" came in at #3, trailing by only about a thousand copies. Buono! also made the top ten as "Gachinko de Ikou!" ranked #6.
On the albums chart, Namie Amuro held the #1 seat for her fourth straight week, moving an additional 88,000 copies of "BEST FICTION." The closest new Japanese release was "Makai Yuugi," the album for the "Detroit Metal City" movie, making #4 at 20,000 copies.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
news: artistes
Love Psychedelico announces two L.A. shows
Wed, August 27, 2008 (10:54am EDT)
Love Psychedelico recently revealed that they have scheduled two shows in the Los Angeles area. The will play at the Temple Bar in Santa Monica on September 4, followed by a set at the Apple store in Santa Monica on October 11.
The duo arrived in Los Angeles at the start of August, planning to stay a few months to work on new music and to promote their U.S. release, which was released in May.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
news: artistes/movie
Canadian superstar Celine Dion (40) is to provide the Japanese language theme song for the upcoming movie "Maboroshi no Yamataikoku." A bilingual version of the song "A World to Believe In," a duet with local singer Ito Yuna (25), was released as a single by Ito in January. The original was included on Dion's album "Taking Chances," but she has recorded a new, totally Japanese version. Meeting with Japanese reporters this week in Montreal (photo), where she is currently on tour, she said she felt it was both an honor and a great responsibility for her to provide the "voice" of one of the most iconic of Japan's historical figures. "Japanese is a beautiful language," she said. "I learned the lyrics and their meaning in great detail. But the most important thing is how they sound."
In the movie, Yoshinaga Sayuri plays the dual roles of a woman helping her blind husband search for Japan's lost ancient kingdom of Yamataikoku and the legendary shaman queen Himiko who ruled over it. Though her appearance as Himiko is brief, it is the marketing focal point of the movie. This brief but key climactic scene will feature the Dion song and no dialog, no doubt leading to tears in many a Japanese cinema. A Hollywood equivalent would be Jesus appearing at the end of "Titanic" as Wada Akiko belts out "My Heart Will Go On"! Read more about the movie and the queen Himiko.
Source: www.japan-zone.com |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
news: model/talento
|
Marie promotes 揤eronica Mars |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
news: event
Japanese strong at Argentina's world tango contest
Thursday 28th August, 04:09 AM JST
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
news: celebrity
Marcia to release new song for the first time in 10 years
Thursday 28th August, 06:37 AM JST
TOKYO |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
news: model
Model Moe Oshikiri reluctant to talk about baseball player boyfriend
Thursday 28th August, 03:32 PM JST
OSAKA |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
news: artistes
Shakalabbits in Canada
Thu, August 28, 2008 (2:44am EDT)
Ska-punk band SHAKALABBITS has announced upcoming performances in Canada as an extension of their 10th anniversary tour, which ran in May and June of this year. The group is performing with Canadian band Junior Achiever in four shows scheduled for September 3-6. They will play in Toronto, Hamilton, Ottawa, and Montreal.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
news: dorama
Oguri to pass torch to Mizukawa for TV drama
Thu, August 28, 2008 (2:18am EDT)
NTV has announced an interesting experiment with one of its drama series for next season. "Yume wo Kanaeru Zou," which was previously announced as a one-shot drama, will also be getting a series, though with a different star. Instead of Shun Oguri, actress Asami Mizukawa will be taking the lead.
"Yume wo Kanaeru Zou" is based on a best-selling comedic novel by Keiya Mizuno. In the original story, Kouhei is an unsuccessful salaryman who encounters a Kansai-ben-speaking manifestation of the Hindu deity Ganesha, and eventually finds happiness in life under Ganesha's guidance.
NTV's 2-hour adaptation of the story stars Oguri as Kouhei and Arata Furuta as Ganesha. Broadcast has been scheduled for October 2 at 9:00pm. But just before midnight on the same day, the network will premiere the serialized version, which is partly a continuation of the tale.
Unlike the original story, the "Yume wo Kanaeru Zou" series will have a female lead. Mizukawa plays Asuka Hoshino, who gets dumped by her boyfriend on her 25th birthday and is forced to temporarily move into a small apartment due to a fire at her old place. While crying and wishing for happiness, she is suddenly confronted by Ganesha, who happened to live in that same apartment with Kouhei several years earlier. Arata Furuta will play Ganesha for the series as well.
The drama's official time slot is 11:58pm on Thursday nights, beginning on October 2.
Source: www.tokyograph.com |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
news: celebrities
V6 member Okada Junichi (27) and actress Aoi Yu (23) are the latest celebrity couple, according to today's issue of weekly magazine "Friday." The pair were recently spotted out shopping together and having dinner at Aoi's apartment in Tokyo. They were photographed sharing an umbrella, which in Japan is considered the very symbol of a romantic relationship. Management for both stars have refused to comment on the story but Aoi's agency said they have been friends since working together on the 2005 TBS drama series "Tiger & Dragon." Sources say they have had an on-again, off-again relationship since then. One of the established Johnny's Jimusho boy bands, V6 play the National Gymnasium in Tokyo tonight as part of their "2008 Vibes" concert tour. But in addition to his pop career, Okada is also gaining a solid reputation as an actor and is considered a bright prospect for the future. Aoi made her movie debut in 2001 but moved into the spotlight with an acclaimed performance in the 2006 movie "Hula Girls," which won her several awards.
Source: www.japan-zone.com |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
news: singers
It looks like R&B singer Che'Nelle is getting a serious marketing push. Currently the poster girl for popular lingerie brand Peach John, she performed a mini concert in front of the 109 building in the middle of Shibuya yesterday. She and her back dancers wore Peach John as she performed "First Love," the song that is currently used in the company's TV commercials, and "I Fell in Love With the DJ" from a just released special edition of her album "Things Happen For a Reason". It's been a year since the album was a hit here, spending two weeks at the top of the Oricon foreign artist chart, and "...DJ" is described by EMI as a "mega hit" and a "girl's anthem." Yet the local media can't seem to agree on Che'Nelle's background, with some saying she's from Australia, others calling her an American and none seem to have any idea of her age. She was actually born in 1983 in Malaysia to a Chinese Malaysian father and Indian-Dutch mother, and her real name is Cheryline Lim. She and her family moved to Perth, Australia when she was ten.
She certainly has her young female fans in Japan, where she is called the "R&B Diamond." Many fans gathered yesterday in front of 109, the fashion mecca where Che'Nelle says she often shops, and no doubt they'll be heading to Studio Alta in Shinjuku this afternoon, where she's scheduled to make an appearance on the live "Waratte Iitomo" variety show. See more photos of Che'Nelle in our Japanese Music forum.
Source: www.japan-zone.com |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Post time 28-8-2008 05:35 PM
