Japanese Entertainment News & Info HERE! [part II]

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Hello! Project: Yoshizawa, Ishikawa become Hangry & Angry
Mon, October 13, 2008 (12:54am EDT)



Hello! Project has created a new unit composed of Hitomi Yoshizawa and Rika Ishikawa. The duo is called Hangry & Angry, and it is a collaboration with a Gothic Lolita/punk fashion store of the same name in Harajuku.

The rock-flavored duo, which has Yoshizawa and Ishikawa taking on the character names of Hangry and Angry, respectively, is already set to release a mini-album titled "Kill Me Kiss Me" on November 19. A sample of the title track is already available, and it can be heard on the unit's official MySpace page.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Tsunku selects next megane idol
Mon, October 13, 2008 (1:10am EDT)



Producer Tsunku has just completed his 3rd "meganekko" audition, designed to find the next popular glasses-wearing idol, a la Ami Tokito. The winner this time was 5th-grader Chihira Mochida from the Niigata prefecture, who celebrated her 11th birthday on the same day as the final selection. She was chosen from about 1,800 applicants.

As part of her reward, Mochida will become a trainee of Tsunku's recently created NICE GIRL Project, which is currently the home of idol groups The Possible and Canary Club.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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"252" gets drama special, Hayato Ichihara stars
Mon, October 13, 2008 (1:41am EDT)



Nobuo Mizuta's upcoming disaster movie "252: Seizonsha Ari" will be tied in with a drama special on NTV, tentatively titled "252: Seizonsha Ari episode ZERO." While the film stars Hideaki Ito and Masaaki Uchino as members of a rescue squad, the drama will feature Hayato Ichihara as the main character. Ito, Uchino, and other cast members from the film will make guest appearances.

The drama's story takes place two years prior to the film. Ichihara plays a fireman aiming to become part of the rescue squad, motivated by the death of his parents in the Great Hanshin earthquake.

Filming for the episode is scheduled to end this month. NTV has set the broadcast date for December 5, the day before the movie officially opens in theaters.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Yoshimoto Kogyo planning Okinawa film fest
Mon, October 13, 2008 (2:02am EDT)

Last week, Yoshimoto Kogyo unveiled its plans to hold an international film festival in Chatan, Okinawa, next year. Known as the Okinawa International Movie Festival 2009, the event's theme is "Laugh & Peace." It will take place on March 19-22.

Among the works being screened are the 100 short films directed by Yoshimoto Kogyo entertainers, which were created as part of a large project that began last year.

The festival's program includes a competition section for full-length films, screening comedies from around the world. 5 million yen has been set aside as the prize money for the top award. Two smaller competition sections have been created for short films and commercials, with each offering a 1 million yen prize.

Yoshimoto Kogyo is hoping to make the festival an annual event. More details about the festival are available at the official website.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Tsuchiya sings for "Resident Evil"
Mon, October 13, 2008 (2:32am EDT)



Anna Tsuchiya attended a press conference for "Resident Evil: Degeneration" (known as "Biohazard: Degeneration" in Japan) during the Tokyo Game Show this weekend. At the event, it was revealed that Tsuchiya is handling the movie's ending theme, titled "Guilty."

"Guilty" is not included on Tsuchiya's new album "NUDY SHOW!" that goes on sale later this month, though details about the song's release have not been decided yet.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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"Sky Crawlers" takes 3 at Sitges
Mon, October 13, 2008 (1:31am EDT)

The Sitges Film Festival came to a close on Sunday, and the full list of award winners has been revealed. Overall, Japanese films picked up fewer prizes compared to last year, but Mamoru Oshii's animated movie "The Sky Crawlers" won three awards on its own.



"Sky Crawlers" was the only animated film in the competition section of this year's festival. One other Japanese film, Takashi Miike's "Crows ZERO," also competed.

"Sky Crawlers" was one of the competition winners, earning Best Original Soundtrack for Kenji Kawai's score. It also earned the Jose Luis Guarner Critic Award and shared the Best Motion Picture award from the Carnet Jove Jury (a youth jury).

Meanwhile, Miike's "Kamisama no Puzzle" ("God's Puzzle") received Special Mention in the Noves Visions awards. Fernando Meirelles' "Blindness," which had Yoshino Kimura and Yusuke Iseya in its supporting cast, received the Grand Audience Award.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Kimura, Kitajima to host 'SkyPerfect TV! Awards 2008'
Tuesday 14th October, 05:32 AM JST



TOKYO

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Ogiyahagi's Ogi expecting first child
Tue, October 14, 2008 (2:10am EDT)



37-year-old comedian Hiroaki Ogi (of the duo Ogiyahagi) is becoming a father in a few months. His wife, 36-year-old Naho Moriyama, is scheduled to give birth to their first child around January.

Ogi and Moriyama married in 2006 after a five-year relationship. Moriyama is known for being the daughter of singer Ryoko Moriyama and the older sister of musician Naotaro Moriyama, whom she currently works for as manager. Naho, a musician herself, was once part of the ukulele duo Petty Booka before her marriage.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Beat Takeshi becomes Hideki Tojo
Tue, October 14, 2008 (2:52am EDT)



TBS has announced production of a drama special that is tentatively titled "Ano Sensou wa Nan Datta no ka." The drama stars Beat Takeshi as General Hideki Tojo, who served as Prime Minister of Japan during World War II and was later executed as a war criminal.

The story's theme is said to be a look at how the Pacific War began, focusing mostly on the three month period between the Imperial Conference (Gozen Kaigi) on September 6, 1941, and the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

TBS has not yet decided on a broadcast date.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Katsunori Takahashi preparing for fatherhood
Tue, October 14, 2008 (1:09am EDT)



43-year-old actor Katsunori Takahashi, best known for his starring roles in "Tokumei Kakarichou Tadano Hitoshi" and "Salaryman Kintaro," will soon be a father. Takahashi married former model Hanna Nakanishi (28) in 2004, and three months ago the couple learned that they would have an addition to their family. The child is said to be due in late February.

The news was publicly revealed on Monday, and Takahashi's agency confirmed the reports. He and his wife are celebrating their 5th wedding anniversary this Thursday.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Shotgun wedding for Leah Dizon
Tue, October 14, 2008 (11:13am EDT)



American-born idol Leah Dizon (22) is now a married woman. Dizon finished her first tour with a show in Shibuya on Tuesday, and just before her last song, she shocked all of her fans by announcing that she got married last Friday.

Dizon's husband is reportedly a Japanese stylist that she met through work. They met about a year ago when he was involved in a shoot for one of Dizon's CD jackets. They became friends after Dizon began consulting with him about work, and it developed into a relationship. The man is said to be older than the idol, but still in his twenties.

The couple recently discovered that Dizon is pregnant, and they decided to get married. A press conference with more details is being held on Wednesday.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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"24 Hour Television" raises second largest amount in history
Wed, October 15, 2008 (2:13am EDT)

On Tuesday, NTV announced its final tally for its charity program "24 Hour Television" that ran at the end of August. This year's edition of the telethon raised a total of more than 1.08 billion yen, which is the second-highest sum in the program's history. The current record is at 1.19 billion, set by the telethon's inaugural edition back in 1978.

Over the course of the project's 31 years, NTV has raised more than 27.2 billion yen.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Goro Ki$hitani directs a movie
Wed, October 15, 2008 (3:00am EDT)



Actor Goro Ki$hitani is making his directorial debut with a movie under the working title "Dead Heat Virgin Road." The slapstick comedy co-stars Juri Ueno and Yoshino Kimura and is scheduled for a fall 2009 release.



Based on an original script, the film focuses on two strangers - Ueno plays a woman scheduled to have her wedding ceremony the next day, while Kimura plays a woman who wants to die but can't do it. Their paths cross and through a series of incidents, they find themselves at one point packing a corpse into a suitcase and running away. Filming started earlier this month.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Kei Aran to leave Takarazuka in April
Wed, October 15, 2008 (3:30am EDT)



On Wednesday, Kei Aran held a press conference announcing that she will be leaving the Takarazuka Revue next April. Currently a top star of the revue's Star Troupe, Aran's final performances will be in the shows "My dear New Orleans" and "A Bientot," running at the Takarazuka Grand Theater from February 6 to March 9 and at the Tokyo Takarazuka Theater from March 27 to April 26.

Aran joined the revue in 1991 as part of the 77th class (along with former top stars Hikaru Asami, Sumire Haruno, and Mari Hanafusa), and she made her stage debut that year. She eventually became part of the Star Troupe in 2000, and in December 2006 she was chosen to succeed Wataru Kozuki as the group's otokoyaku.

The actress said she does not have any concrete plans for her future, but she mentioned that would like to continue in show business, particularly if it involves singing.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Charts: Kumi Koda back on top, no longer "taboo"
Wed, October 15, 2008 (2:04am EDT)



Pop star Kumi Koda has returned to the top of the music charts, as her latest single "TABOO" debuted in the #1 spot this past week with almost 66,000 in sales. This is her fifth #1 single, with the last one being "FREAKY" in July 2007.

Porno Graffiti was right behind Koda at #2, selling 60,000 copies of their new song "Love, too Death, too." At #3 was the new Avex unit GIRL NEXT DOOR, achieving their second appearance in the top three. This makes them the first male and female group since globe in 1995 to have their first two singles reach at least #3 on the charts. The group is scheduled to release their third song in three consecutive months just a few weeks from now.

Motohiro Hata had the only other new single in the top ten, making the bottom of the list.



On the albums chart, Mariya Takeuchi carried over her #1 spot from last week. Her collection "Expressions" continued to sell strong, moving another 133,000 copies in the past week. However, she faced strong competition from the second "Macross Frontier" soundtrack, which achieved 102,000 in sales to secure the #2 spot.

melody.'s best album charted at #4, while Fumiya Fujii and HOME MADE Kazoku ranked #8 and #10, respectively.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

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Kabuki actor Nakamura Shido (36) believes in putting his acting before anything else, but will today take time off to preside over a wake for his late father. Ogawa Mikio died of stomach cancer at his Tokyo home on October 11. He was 79. Nakamura has been appearing in the stage production "Kurobe no Taiyo" in Osaka and wasn't able to be with his father when he passed away. He has continued his twice-daily appearances until today, which was a scheduled day off. In the show, he plays the lead role of legendary actor Ishihara Yujiro and said he was intent on putting everything into the role even if it meant separation from his ailing father. Ogawa was diagnosed with cancer at the end of last year and was in and out of hospital. Nakamura had to deal with that at the same time as a dragged-out divorce from actress Takeuchi Yuko, which finally ended in February. The son of kabuki actor Nakamura Tokizo, Ogawa was the first to take the stage name of Shido but quit at an early age to become a producer at the Toei movie studio. "Kurobe no Taiyo" is about the filming of the blockbuster movie of the same name in 1968. It is also the title of a Fuji TV drama re-make that stars SMAP member Katori Shingo (32). Filming started recently and the drama will air next spring as part of Fuji's 50th anniversary celebrations.

Source: www.japan-zone.com

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Koshiro performs Benkei in 'Kanjincho' for 1,000th time
Wednesday 15th October, 11:34 PM JST

OSAKA

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Actress Yoko Maki introduces Lipton's new milk tea
Thursday 16th October, 05:37 AM JST



TOKYO

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Singer Richard Carpenter planning comeback
Thursday 16th October, 06:23 AM JST



TOKYO

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Former Takarazuka top stars become a unit
Thu, October 16, 2008 (1:05am EDT)



Four of the Takarazuka Revue's former top stars are putting together a temporary unit known as T4. The group consists of Jun Shibuki, Wataru Kozuki, Nao Ayaki, and Kei Takashiro, who are appearing together this December in a musical called "Ai to Seishun no Takarazuka ~Koi Yori mo Seimei Yori mo~." The musical is based on a two-part drama that aired on Fuji TV in 2002.

T4 will release a single on December 3, featuring two songs used in the musical. They plan to be active as a group until March, when they finish taking the show to other cities. Their activities as T4 will reportedly extend beyond the theater, such as making appearances on television music shows.

Source: www.tokyograph.com