‘Tokyo Sonata’ wins best film at Asian Film Awards

tokyo sonata trailer

Drama ‘Gokusen’ to finish with film-length version

A film-length version of actress Yukie Nakama’s popular TV drama series “Gokusen” will be released in July, according to producer NTV. The drama is about a high school teacher (Nakama), who was born to a yakuza family, and how she solves troubles related to her students.

Last spring, the drama marked the highest average rating (22.8%) among other TV dramas. Popular males idols are featured in the cast of the drama series. The film will be the final episode of the series, according to NTV.

In an official comment, Nakama said, “I feel sad to think that the film will be the end of the drama. But I’m sure we’ll all finish with a big smile.”

 

 

via japan today

‘Okuribito’ director Takita unveils new film

Japanese film director Yojiro Takita, whose film “Okuribito” (Departures) won an Oscar last month, unveiled his new film Tuesday and called on the audience at a preview to keep supporting the Japanese movie industry. “I won a dreamlike award in the United States and today I am able to reveal this new film. I couldn’t be honored further as a movie director,” Takita told the preview audience for “Tsurikichi Sampei” (Fishing nerd Sampei).

’’I hope you will root for Japanese movies,’’ Takita said. The new film depicts the life of Sampei, a boy who is good at catching wild fish that even adults find difficult to catch. The live-action movie, which will hit theaters March 20, is based on a popular ‘‘manga’’ comic of the same name drawn by Takao Yaguchi.

for trailer see the official site http://www.san-pei.com/

 

 

from Japan today via Kyodo News

‘ Dragonball ‘

interviuri ‘Dragonball’ in Japan today

“Dragonball” fans can expect an older, fiercer version of hero Goku in the Hollywood adaptation of the famed Japanese cartoon series about two magic-wielding rivals who compete for seven orange spheres that will grant the holder a perfect wish.

The filmmakers behind “Dragonball Evolution” added 10 years to its hero to give the movie a grittier look, actor James Marsters said at a press conference Wednesday.

In the comic book series, “Goku is seven years old and fighting midgets all the time,” said Marsters, who plays Goku’s rival, Lord Piccolo. “We muscled it up.”

Justin Chatwin, the 26-year-old Canadian actor who plays the teenage Goku in the movie, said the cast learned several different martial arts styles for the movie. He initially was worried about taking the role because of his slender physique.

“I was looking in the mirror, going like, ‘I’m a beanpole, how can I pull off this role?’” said Chatwin, best known for playing Tom Cruise’s son Robbie in “War of the Worlds” and a teenager stuck in limbo after an attack in David Goyer’s “The Invisible.”

But while Goku was given a more adult interpretation, director James Wong said he toned down another key character—Roshi, a flirtatious, Hawaii-shirt wearing martial arts master—to appeal to a broader audience.

Roshi, played by veteran Hong Kong actor Chow Yun-fat, is “a little tamer than he is in the manga,” Wong said.

Wong said condensing the dozens of “Dragonball” manga books that have already been published was a tough task.

“All that we hoped to do was to preserve the essence of Dragonball—the fun, the thrills the adventure,” he said.

“Dragonball Evolution” will be released in Asia in March and in the U.S. on April 8.

via japan today

Jackie Chan film ‘Shinjuku Incident’ too violent for China

Jackie Chan, the comical kung fu king, is starring in a new movie( Shinjuku Incident) so violent that its director decided not to release it in mainland China, which doesn’t have a film ratings system.

Hong Kong director Derek Yee told The Associated Press on Monday that he considered toning down the violence in “Shinjuku Incident” so it could pass censorship in China, but decided not to because he thought it would hurt the integrity of the movie.

Yee said the $25 million Chinese-language movie, in which Chan plays a refugee who escapes to Japan and becomes a killer for the mob, has scenes that show characters getting a hand chopped off and pierced with knives.

“We tried to cut the violent scenes to meet the requirements of the Chinese market, but producers I invited to watch that version thought it was incomplete,” he said