Japanese Entertainment News & Info HERE! [part II]

whitedove · Post time 29-10-2008 05:55 PM

Miho Shiraishi gets first stage role
Tue, October 28, 2008 (12:02am EDT)

A production of the Robert Thomas play "Trap for a Lonely Man" is being performed in Tokyo next February, directed by Kyoichi Itagaki. The play will star Kazuki Kato, while the female lead is played by actress Miho Shiraishi. This will be Shiraishi's first stage role.

The suspenseful story revolves around a man (Kato) whose wife mysteriously disappears. After reporting it to the police, a woman (Shiraishi) suddenly shows up at his house claiming to be his wife, though he insists that she is an impostor aiming to collect the inheritance of his wife's wealthy uncle.

The play's cast also includes Kengo Ohkuchi, Daijiro Kawaoka, Reiko Mizumachi, and Takashi Hagino. The show will run at the Theatre 1010 in Senju, Tokyo on February 14-22.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove · Post time 29-10-2008 05:57 PM

Toray chooses new campaign girl
Tue, October 28, 2008 (12:39am EDT)

Toray has picked its 2009 Swimwear Campaign Girl. 17-year-old Tomoe Genzaki, a third-year high schooler, became the tallest model in the history of the campaign, standing at a height of 175cm.

Genzaki, who is also active as an actress, tried out for the same audition last year but failed to pass the first round. She trained hard to take the title this year, beating out about 200 other contestants.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove · Post time 29-10-2008 06:01 PM

Nishikawa officially divorces
Tue, October 28, 2008 (1:35am EDT)

Talento Kanoko Nishikawa is now officially divorced. She and her pastry chef husband Shigekazu Hayashi finalized the paperwork on Monday.

The couple married in 2005, but last month it was revealed that they had been living separately for several months. Sources say their separation stems from their 20-year age gap.

Nishikawa has been given custody of their 1-year-old daughter Chisaki.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove · Post time 29-10-2008 06:03 PM

Kohmi Hirose marries American
Tue, October 28, 2008 (2:03am EDT)

42-year-old singer-songwriter Kohmi Hirose recently tied the knot, it was learned on Monday. Her new husband is a 43-year-old American working at a computer-related company in San Francisco. The couple filed their marriage in that city on October 12.

The two were introduced to each other by a friend about a year ago. Hirose has kept a house in Los Angeles for the past ten years, as she remains active as a musician in both the U.S. and Japan, splitting her time between the two countries.

Hirose has been married once before, to actor Takao Osawa. They wedded in 1999, but they separated in late 2006.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove · Post time 29-10-2008 06:06 PM

Warner Bros. acquires live-action rights for "Ninja Scroll"
Tue, October 28, 2008 (1:48am EDT)

A live-action "Ninja Scroll" movie is under discussion again, as Warner Bros. has now acquired the adaptation rights. Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way is handling production, though they will reportedly be working in conjunction with animation studio Madhouse, which created the original anime film.

The script is being written by Alex Tse, whose credits include "Watchmen" and "The Illustrated Man." No cast details have been announced, though it is said that DiCaprio is not planning to appear in it.

This is not the first anime property to be picked up by Warner Bros. and Appian Way. In February, they announced their plans to adapt the classic manga "Akira" as a two-movie series.

Adaptation rights for "Ninja Scroll" were previously acquired by Threshold Entertainment in 2002, but the movie never entered production.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove · Post time 29-10-2008 06:08 PM

MINA returns to MAX
Tue, October 28, 2008 (1:17am EDT)

The female pop group MAX is going back to its roots. Former lead singer MINA is returning to the group after an absence of six years, reuniting the unit's four original members. They already have plans for a new release and a reunion concert.

MINA left the group in 2002 due to her unexpected pregnancy and marriage, and she was replaced by singer AKI. However, AKI withdrew from the group this past August to pursue a solo career, reducing MAX to three members.

The reunited MAX will make their first public appearance together this Thursday on the Fuji TV program "Tokudane!" In December, they will release a best album called "NEW EDITION ~MAXIMUM HITS~," featuring new arrangements of 12 of their past hits, including a remix by Clazziquai Project. The album will also include a new song titled "Are you ready?"

MAX has scheduled their first post-reunion concert for January 31 at the C.C. Lemon Hall in Shibuya.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove · Post time 30-10-2008 02:49 PM

Shaku, Oizumi pick up 'Best Formalist' awards
Wednesday 29th October, 10:47 AM JST

TOKYO

whitedove · Post time 30-10-2008 02:50 PM

Charts: Hexagon, HSJ
Wed, October 29, 2008 (1:41am EDT)

The power of "Quiz! Hexagon II" has once again proven itself on the music charts. The omnibus album "We Love Hexagon" - featuring Pabo, Shuchishin, and related artists, all under the name Hexagon All Stars - has captured the number-one seat on the Oricon rankings. It sold 270,000 copies in its first week to end Mariya Takeuchi's three-week streak at #1.

"We Love Hexagon" is the first multi-artist compilation album to reach #1 since "Beautiful Songs ~Kokoro de Kiku Uta~" in 2006. Counting only albums born from a variety show, it is just the third to top the charts, following in the footsteps of "Yamada Katsutenai" in 1991 (from "Kuni-chan no Yamada Katsutenai TV") and "Oyoge! Taiyaki-kun" in 1976 (from "Hirake! Ponkikki").

SHAKALABBITS charted at #5 with their self-titled 5th album, while Fukumimi's tribute to COIL took #9. Masashi Sada made the bottom of the top ten with his new album.

Earlier in the week, Oricon reported that melody.'s retirement announcement had briefly pushed her recently released best album back into the top ten on the daily charts, but it ended the week at #23 overall.

On the singles chart, Hey! Say! JUMP picked up their 4th consecutive number-one with "Mayonaka no Shadow Boy," which saw 211,000 in sales. This easily pushed them past Masaharu Fukuyama (at #2 with 111,000 in sales) and AKB48 (at #3 with 48,000).

Several other artists released new singles in the top ten: mihimaru GT (#4), Shoko Nakagawa (#5), Yui Horie (#7), and Garnet Crow (#9).

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove · Post time 30-10-2008 02:56 PM

Akanishi to star in movie "Bandage"
Wed, October 29, 2008 (12:36am EDT)

KAT-TUN member Jin Akanishi will be making his big screen debut with a starring role in a movie titled "BANDAGE." The film, set in the early 1990s during Japan's "band boom" era, will be the first fictional film directed by music producer Takeshi Kobayashi.

In the movie, Akanishi plays Natsu, the leader and vocalist of a 4-member rock band called LANDS. The story follows the ups and downs of the members' friendship as they aim for fame.

In addition to directing, Kobayashi is producing the film and handling the music. He was chosen as director by Shunji Iwai, who wrote the movie's script. The pair have worked together before - Kobayashi did the music for Iwai's "Swallowtail" (1996) and "All About Lily Chou-Chou" (2001), and most recently they are both involved with Eriko Kitagawa's "Harufuwei." Kobayashi previously directed the 1995 documentary "es" about the group Mr.Children, but this will be his first time in charge of a movie with actors.

As music producer, Kobayashi is planning to write at least five songs to be performed in the movie by LANDS. The songs will likely see a CD release in the future.

Fans will have to wait until 2010 to see the movie, but filming begins on November 3.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove · Post time 30-10-2008 02:57 PM

Popular actor Mizushima Hiro (24) and singer Ayaka (20) are madly in love, according to today's issue of weekly magazine "Friday." The mag includes a photo of the two sharing an umbrella in the rain, a common symbol of romance in Japan (similar to a heart pierced by cupid's arrow). They were spotted in Tokyo's trendy Azabu Juban district, where they enjoyed dinner together before disappearing into a luxury apartment building. The couple are both with the Ken-On management agency, who refused to comment on the story, saying only "they're both adults..." The son of a former pro soccer player, Mizushima spent his youth in Switzerland and played the sport until his university days. He graduated from the prestigious Keio University and made his acting debut in the popular NTV drama series "Gokusen" in 2005. He landed the lead role the 2006 tokusatsu action hero series "Kamen Rider Kabuto." He's appeared in a handful of movies, including the big screen version of "Kabuto" and voiced the part of Bruce Banner for the Japanese dub of "The Incredible Hulk" earlier this year. Ayaka was the first female singer-songwriter to reach the Oricon chart top 3 with her debut release "I Believe" in February 2006. The following September, her 4th single "Mikazuki" became her first No.1 and she went on to win multiple awards in her freshman year.

Source: www.japan-zone.com

whitedove · Post time 30-10-2008 03:05 PM

In a recent edition of the "Mecha Mecha Iketeru" comedy show, comedian Hamaguchi Masaru (36) admitted that he had broken up with his girlfriend - he and ditzy talento Ogura Yuko (24) had been widely rumored to be dating for the last couple of years. But he's obviously very much in demand, as the latest issue of weekly magazine "Josei Seven" includes a story about his latest romantic conquest. Earlier this week he picked up the young woman, described as a beauty in her early 20s, by car in central Tokyo at around 9pm. The two spent several hours enjoying the Odaiba skyline before heading back to Hamaguchi's apartment. Hamaguchi is the tsukkomi half of comedy duo Yoiko, along with Arino Shinya.

Source: www.japan-zone.com

whitedove · Post time 31-10-2008 04:59 PM

Satomi Ishihara introduces new calendar for 2009
Thursday 30th October, 05:47 AM JST

TOKYO

whitedove · Post time 31-10-2008 05:00 PM

Aoi Miyazaki in Dreams Come True video
Thu, October 30, 2008 (1:15am EDT)

Dreams Come True's new single "Tsuretette Tsuretette" goes on sale on November 12, and to help promote it, the duo has recruited actress Aoi Miyazaki to star in the song's music video. The last music video that Miyazaki appeared in was Kinmokusei's "Fuyu no Jishaku" in 2005.

It was announced a couple weeks ago that mangaka Chika Umino was drawing the CD jacket and a manga-like insert booklet for the single. The manga's motif was a fantasy love story between a young woman and a snowman, and that motif has been carried over into the video. Filming took place during the middle of this month.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove · Post time 31-10-2008 05:10 PM

Fuji TV producing documentary drama on Kamiji
Thu, October 30, 2008 (1:29am EDT)

Popular talento Yusuke Kamiji, part of the trio Shuchishin, will be featured in a special program on Fuji TV next year. The show is part documentary, part drama, and is based on his autobiographical essay "Kamiji Yusuke Monogatari" that was published in August.

The majority of the program will focus on Kamiji's days in middle school, when his life revolved around baseball. The show will also feature people close to him talking about his life, and Kamiji will of course make an appearance as himself. The actor playing his childhood self will be chosen by audition in December, with Kamiji participating in the selection.

Fuji TV plans to broadcast the special sometime next spring.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove · Post time 31-10-2008 05:11 PM

Prowler attempts to break into Kimutaku's home
Thu, October 30, 2008 (12:34am EDT)

SMAP member Takuya Kimura recently had an attempted break-in at his home, it was revealed on Thursday. According to police in Tokyo's Meguro ward, the security alarm at Kimura's home was set off at around 7:30pm on October 19. Police arrived on the scene and discovered evidence of attempted trespass around a second-story window.

Kimura was not at home at the time. Police highly suspect that the culprit may be a thief, though nothing was stolen this time and no damages have been claimed. A similar incident occurred in the same vicinity this past May, when someone broke a glass window at the home of comedian Hitoshi Matsumoto.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove · Post time 31-10-2008 05:16 PM

Moe Oshikiri injured in car accident
Thu, October 30, 2008 (11:12am EDT)

Model Moe Oshikiri suffered a minor injury due to a traffic accident on Wednesday night. She was riding a taxi in the Aoyama district, and while stopped at a red light, she was rear-ended by another taxi. Oshikiri reportedly hurt her neck in the incident.

Source: www.tokyograph.com

whitedove · Post time 31-10-2008 05:17 PM

Japan's top three comedians are to host three nights of comedy specials on NTV in late November. The three two-and-a-half hour shows, hosted by Akashiya Sanma (53), Tamori (63), and Kitano "Beat" Takeshi (61) on November 28-30, are part of NTV's 55th anniversary celebrations. Sanma will go solo in a studio filled with 30 TV monitors on which people will ask questions they've always wanted to put to him. He will have no idea what questions are coming and the show will be totally ad lib. In Tamori's first appearance on NTV in nine years he will host a show that looks into various mysteries and unanswered questions, such as why people get fired up when they hear the theme to "Rocky." The final night is perhaps the most unpredictable, given Takeshi's quirky and often manic style, and will at least be something very different.

Source: www.japan-zone.com

whitedove · Post time 31-10-2008 05:25 PM

TV Asahi staff have been reprimanded for an incident that took place during filming of the drama series "Salaryman Kintaro." While filming in the car park of an apartment building in Tokyo's Suginami Ward, staff put false number plates on three parked cars belonging to residents. But they failed to get permission from one of the owners, which led to the police getting involved. TV Asahi president Kimiwada Masao (67) apologized for the incident in his regularly scheduled press conference on Wednesday.

Source: www.japan-zone.com