Monthly Archives: September 2007

Miike Takashi’s “Sukiyaki Western Django” was screened for the press and general public yesterday (Japan time), receiving totally opposite reactions. During the press screening, a number of people left the theater during the first half of the movie and afterwards there was only a sprinkling of applause. Later that evening the general public got their look at the movie, and showered the mix of spaghetti western and Japanese period drama with tumultuous applause. Some were no doubt delighted to see festival favorite Quentin Tarantino (44), who makes a cameo appearance. And though the rest of the cast is Japanese, including top comedian Ishibashi Takaaki (45, best known abroad for his role in 1994’s “Major League II”), the dialog is entirely in English. Asked at a press conference why a Japanese director would possibly want to make a “macaroni western” (as they are known in Japan), Miike (47) said, “When I was growing up, spaghetti westerns were in their heyday. We played with toy guns and naturally wanted to make this kind of movie when we grew up.” Star Itoh Hideaki (32) said, “Though I don’t speak the language at all, this experience made me want to do another movie in English.” When he added, “And I’d really like to make another spaghetti western in Japan, but this time in Italian,” he was warmly applauded by local reporters. Django is Miike’s fourth movie to be shown at Venice, but is his first competitive entry. The winner of the Golden Lion award will be announced on September 8.

The latest live-action movie from iconic director Oshii Mamoru (56) is another segment in his ongoing lifework, the Kerberos Saga. An omnibus movie in six parts, “Shin Onna Tachiguishi Retsuden” is quite a mouthful, appropriately enough as the women of the title are “Female Fast Food Grifters”. These tachiguishi (literally “masters of eating on the go”) have featured in much of Oshii’s work all the way back to the TV anime version of “Urusei Yatsura” in 1984. Some of the works, which can be in anime, live-action or manga format, are limited release or direct-to-DVD. The latest movie will be screened at the 20th Tokyo International Film Festival in October, and features top actress Mizuno Miki (33) in her first shoot-em-up action role. But the movie will only have a limited run at one cinema from November 10. Alongside his old friend and fellow animator Miyazaki Hayao, Oshii is definitely the less commercial, though his 1995 classic “Ghost in the Shell” and its 2004 sequel “Innocence” won him wide international acclaim.

• Pop diva Matsuda Seiko (45) is to make her first movie appearance in seven years. She will play the mother in a live-action adaptation of Nosaka Akiyuki’s novel “Hotaru no Haka” (Grave of the Fireflies). The restrained but powerful antiwar story of two young children struggling to survive in WWII Kobe was adapted as an acclaimed anime movie in 1988.

SMAP member Kimura Takuya (34) has been chosen as Japan’s most popular guy for an amazing 14th straight year. The annual survey has been carried out by women’s magazine “anan” since 1988, and Kimutaku has been on top since 1994, the year he came of age. He also has a 13-year streak going in another annual poll as the man most women “would like to sleep with”. He has managed to build a successful acting career in parallel with SMAP’s ongoing popularity. He has starred in just about all the most popular TV dramas of the last decade, and the movie adaptation of one, Fuji TV’s “Hero”, is set to open in theaters this weekend. He has also shown his talent in more ‘serious’ roles, such as the lead in Yamada Yoji‘s 2006 samurai drama “Bushi no Ichibun”. Kimutaku is of course just the brightest in the Johnny’s Jimusho galaxy of male stars, and they make up 18 of the survey’s Top 30 most popular males.

• Popular author Takemoto Nobara (39) was recently arrested for cannabis possession. Takemoto, whose novel “Shimotsuma Monogatari” was made into a successful movie in 2004, was detained by police in the Kabukicho entertainment district of Tokyo on Sunday evening when he was found with 0.22 grams of cannabis in his pocket. He said he started smoking weed while abroad and had brought some back to Japan. More drugs and paraphernalia were later found at his home. Real name Takemoto Toshiaki, he is a successful author of books centering around the world of teenage girls.

• Pop diva Matsuda Seiko (45) is to make her first movie appearance in seven years. She will play the role of the mother in an adaptation of Nosaka Akiyuki’s famous novel “Hotaru no Haka” (Grave of the Fireflies). Filming started yesterday in Awajishima in Hyogo prefecture, and the movie is scheduled to open next summer. The project was to be directed by Kuroki Kazuo (1930-2006), but following his death last year it was taken over by his apprentice, Hyuugaji Tarou (41). The novel, a restrained but powerful antiwar story about a young brother and sister struggling for survival in WWII, was previously adapted into a hugely successful anime feature in 1988.

The legendary rock band Jun Sky Walker(s) are re-forming – for real this time. The group, formed in 1980 and hugely popular from the mid-80’s until their split in 1997, got back together for a couple of special shows this year. But on the verge of their 20th anniversary, they intend to make it permanent. They have four shows scheduled for November at Wynterland in Kobe, and will embark on a full nationwide tour next year. They recently appeared as “secret guests” on a recording of the TV Asahi variety show “Ame Talk”. With several die-hard “JunSka” fans among the celebrity panel, things got pretty heated, ending with vocalist Miyata Kazuya (41) doing a stage dive. Miyata formed the group in 1980 with fellow Jiyuugakuen schoolmates Mori Junta (42, guitar), Itoh Tsuyoshi (41, bass) and Kobayashi Masayuki (42, drums). By the mid-80’s they were one of the most popular bands on the “Hokoten”, lives performances by dozens of artists on the streets of Tokyo’s Harajuku every Sunday. Itoh was replaced by Teraoka Yohito (41) in February 1988, and the band made their major-label debut just three months later. Itoh returned to the lineup after Teraoka quit in 1993. Their hits include “Aruite Ikou” and “Start”.

• Orange Range bassist Yoh (23) got married in June, it was revealed recently. His new wife is a fellow native of Okinawa and is five months pregnant.

• Folk singer Yoshida Takuro (61) has canceled more shows due to his ongoing illness. He has been advised to take several weeks’ rest for asthmatic bronchitis. He started his national tour on August 21, but developed swollen tonsils before the second show in Tokyo and hasn’t been able to perform since. His record company has firmly denied that there is any sign of a recurrence of the cancer for which Yoshida underwent treatment in 2003. They say he will be back for the planned September 30 show in Kumamoto.

• Japan’s top models turned out for the 5th “Tokyo Girls’ Collection” fashion event on Sunday. Held at the Saitama Super Arena, the event featured 68 models, many of whom have expanded their careers into acting, singing and TV variety. During the interval, the audience of 24,000 were entertained by an eclectic musical mix of Go Hiromi (51), DJ Ozma, and Leah Dizon (20). The fashion show included Yamada Yu (23), who wore the latest wedding dress designs by Katsura Yumi, Tsuchiya Anna (23) and Marie (20).

• It was revealed yesterday that jazz pianist Uehara Hiromi (28) and fashion designer Mihara Yasuhiro (35) recently got hitched and held their wedding ceremony on Saturday. The couple collaborated at the Mihara’s show at the Milan Collection in June 2006.

• Former Fuji TV announcer turned aromatherapist Ohashi Maki (30) announced on her blog yesterday that she is six months pregnant. She quit the TV network in 2002 to marry an advertising executive.