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Shimada Yoshichi to Direct Saga no Gabai Baachan | May 21, 2008 |
 Comedian and talento Shimada Yoshichi (58) is to direct the latest movie adaptation of his best-selling autobiography "Saga no Gabai Baachan." He announced at a pre-production event yesterday that he has lined up a pair of top stars to appear in his directorial debut: talento Shimada Shinsuke (52) as his inspirational school teacher, and Miyazaki prefectural governor Higashikokubaru Hideo (50) as a post office worker. Both are close friends since the early 80s when they were among the pioneers of the manzai (stand up comedy) boom. In his heyday as one half of the manzai duo B&B, Yoshichi was said to earn over ¥100 million a month. But he never lost touch with his impoverished roots, growing up in postwar Hiroshima. He lost his father to radiation sickness and spent his youth with his grandmother in Saga Prefecture, a period that became the basis of not just one but a series of books. The stories have previously been adapted to the manga, stage play, TV drama and movie formats.
• Actor Hosaka Naoki (40) is to appear on a live afternoon show today with the new love of his life. Hosaka, who was married to a Ginza hostess and later to actress Takaoka Saki (36), is now dating former talento Ishikawa Kanoko (29) and they will appear together on the NTV show "Houdou Miyaneya." Hosaka revealed last year that he lost both parents to suicide when he was just seven years old.
• TBS announced yesterday that they are to air a TV drama adaptation of last autumn's hit movie "Koizora." They are currently auditioning for the lead roles played by Aragaki Yui (19) and Miura Haruma (18), whose careers got a huge boost from the movie's success. It made over ¥3.9 billion at the box office. The story was originally created as a "keitai shosetsu", or a novel written on a mobile phone. The new drama will air in the Saturday night slot currently occupied by the baseball drama "Rookies."
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