Sakurai Sho Gets in Line in Raffles Hotel’s “Hall of Fame”

Singapore- Arashi‘s Sakurai Sho recently attended the premier of his upcoming movie, “Nazo toki wa dinner no ato de“, which was held in Marina bay Sands Theater. 1,500 fans attended the event where fans even sang “Meikyu Love Song” while the cast was walking on the red carpet. Together with Sakurai is Kitagawa Keiko and Shiina Kippei.

Sakurai did the stage greeting with a mixture of Malay and Singlish (Singapore-English), which was received greatly by the audience.

Aside from the movie’s premier, Sakurai’s photograph was also inducted in Raffles Hotel’s “Hall of Fame”, which includes VIPs who have stayed in this globally distinguished hotel, like: Charlie Chaplin and the British Royal Family.

Sakurai’s usual calm demeanor was broken after seeing his photograph, “I- oh–George Lucas! Err, to be with someone so amazing, it’s unbelievable.” The said hall in the hotel consists of VIP photographs who have stayed in Raffles Hotel. Sakurai used his mobile phone to take a picture of his own photograph in the hall.

“This is something I can boast to my child and grandchild. Raffles Hotel is a place basked with history and dignity; I must work harder so I can catch up with this photograph,” he commented.

There are a total of 128 photographs in the said hall, Sakurai is the second Japanese entertainer to be inducted in the hall of fame after Japanese actress, Fuji Sumiko. Sakurai stayed at the hotel for 1 night during the filming for Nazodi last year and 2 nights this time around.

“Nazo toki wa dinner no ato de” will hit the theaters in Singapore on Aug 22nd, Taiwan on Aug 9th, and Hong Kong on Sept 5th.

Nikkan Sports and Hochi Yomiuri

Arashi’s Ninomiya Kazunari to star in latest Higashino Keigo adaption, “Platina Data”

On January 26th, it was announced that Ninomiya Kazunari from Arashi will be starring in an upcoming movie titled,”Platina Data“.

“Platina Data” is based on a novel by famed writer Higashino Keigo. Set in 2017, it tells the story of a young brilliant scientist named Kagura Ryuhei (Ninomiya), who works as a DNA specialist for the National Police Agency in the newly created underwater DNA data center. One day, he suddenly becomes the prime suspect in the murder case of the person who developed the new DNA investigation system. Having no memory of what actually happened, Kagura decides to run away from the police.

Ninomiya commented, “It’s an incredible story that lets you take a look at a not too distant future… It’s an honor to be involved in this project.”

It was also announced that the detective in charge of the pursuit, Asama Reiji, will be played by actorToyokawa Etsushi.

“I’m really happy to be able to work with Toyokawa. I can learn so many things from him,” Ninomiya said. “I’ll immediately start the preparations in order to be able to keep up with him.”

Toyokawa commented, “I’ve always thought of Ninomiya as a wonderful and young actor with a great individuality, from whom I can still learn a couple of things myself. I can’t wait to interact with him.”

The filming will begin in February, which gives Ninomiya a few more days to study the latest reports about DNA research, as he said. Aside from the science factor, the movie is said to include various dynamic action scenes as well. Distributor Toho stated that they want to create an epic mystery on the level of a Hollywood movie.

“Platina Data” will not appear in cinemas before 2013.

Source: Sanspo

Sakurai Sho and Miyazaki Aoi attend stage greeting for new movie, ‘Kamisama no Karute’

On August 27th, Arashi’s Sakurai Sho and actress Miyazaki Aoi attended a stage greeting event for their new movie, ‘Kamisama no Karute‘, along with their other cast members.

Sakurai commented, “I’m very happy that everyone will finally get to see this film which holds a lot of memories and love in it. I’m very happy right now.” Miyazaki reflected, “It’s been a year since we filmed this movie and I’m relieved that we were able to reach this day. I’m very happy, but at the same time, I feel a bit sad that the film we’ve worked so hard on is leaving our hands.”

Harada Taizo, who played the landlord of Sakurai and Miyazaki’s apartment, also made an appearance. He commented, “I didn’t take one step outside of Mitake-so (the name of the apartment). I was always with Okada Yoshinori and Sakurai, so it was fun talking to them about different things. It’s a very special place for me.”

The MC of the event mentioned that Sakurai took on over 100 interviews for this film. Sakurai quipped, “Interviews with one hundred times the energy? I had thought I did the interviews calmly...”, showing off his loopy side by misunderstanding  the MC’s comment.

Harada Taizo, Okada Yoshinori, Kaga Mariko, and director Fukagawa Yoshihiro  also attended the stage greeting.

‘Kamisama no Karute’ hits theaters on August 27th.

Source : ORICON

Gantz Perfect Answer

Profile

• Movie: GANTZ Perfect Answer
• Romaji: GANTZ Perfect Answer
• Japanese: GANTZ Perfect Answer
• Director: Shinsuke Sato
• Writer: Hiroya Oku (manga), Yusuke Watanabe
• Producer: Takahiro Sato
• Cinematographer:
• Release Date: April 23, 2011
• Runtime: 141 min.
• Production Company: NTV, Toho, Nikkatsu
• Distributor: Toho
• Language: Japanese
• Country: Japan

Plot

Kei Kurono (Kazunari Ninomiya) and Masaru Kato (Kenichi Matsuyama) are summoned by the mysterious black globe GANTZ. They continue the fight against extraterrestrial beings and, as they continue to battle, they become stronger. They can't escape unless they kill their enemy, the Saint.

Kei Kurono opts to keep fighting to survive, but Masaru Kato hates the world which is controlled by violence and refuses to fight. As the two friends finds themselves opposing each other in a continuous game of violence, a critical last choice is to be made ...

Source : AsianWiki

Sakurai Sho invites 130 nurses to “Kamisama no Karute” pre-screening

On August 15th, Arashi’s Sakurai Sho (29) attended a pre-screening for his new movie, “Kamisama no Karute” and invited 130 nurses as special guests. At this event, he also talked to Nohara Shigeaki (99), the board chairman of St. Luke’s International Hospital, a general hospital located in Tokyo.

Sakurai, who played a doctor in this movie, stated, “I have come to understand that there is a deep bond between the doctor and the patient.” Responding to Sakurai’s insight, Nohara said, “Your acting was splendid,” and gave his stamp of approval.

Actress Mori Mitsuko, who is an acquaintance of both Sakurai and Nohara’s, gave sunflowers as a surprise present. In the language of flowers, a sunflower carries the meaning of “getting along”.

Furthermore, it was announced that on September 9th at 6:55 PM, NHK will broadcast a special program called, “Sakurai Sho no ‘Ima Soko ni Iru Hitobito’ ‘Inochi no Genba’“(The People Who are Here Now ‘The Scene of Life’), which will show Sakurai’s close report on the medical scene.

“Kamisama no Karute” will be released in theaters on August 27th.

Source: Sanspo

Korean movie remake of “Kimi wa Petto” holds launch event in Japan

Lead actors for the Korean film remake (left) and the original Japanese drama of "Kimi wa Petto".

Via tokyohive:

On March 3rd, the cast of the Korean “Kimi wa Petto” film remake attended a launch event in Japan’s Ibaraki Airport.

“Kimi wa Petto” (You’re My Pet), based on a manga of the same name, was made into a hit drama in 2003, starring model/actress Koyuki and Arashi’s Matsumoto Jun, and the same roles will be portrayed by actors Kim Ha Neul and Jang Geun Suk in the remake. In the original story, the male character becomes the ‘pet’ of the female protagonist after being found abandoned in a cardboard box.

The two lead actors attended the promotional event along with band group FT Island’s Choi Jong Hun and director Kim Byeong Kon. The cast met with around 3000 fans.

From left to right: Kim Ha Neul, Jang Geun Suk, and Choi Jong Hun

Kim told the press, “Jang Geun Suk, who is a great actor, also has a cute charisma that suits a ‘pet‘.” Jang replied, “I’m happy to be Ha Neul’s pet.”

Filming for the movie will begin in the city of Ibaraki in May.

Source: WoWKorea via goo & Yomiuri Online
**Source : Tokyohive

Kim Haneul and Jang Geun Suk to star in a New Movie

Actress Kim Haneul has a new pet in the form of Jang Geun Suk!

Kim Haneul and Jang Geun Suk will star in a new film titled, “You are My Pet,” a story about growing up through understanding and caring for one another as pet owner and her pet. The original story was written by the Japanese writer Yayoi Ogawa and was later adapted into a popular TBS drama starring Matsumoto Jun.

FT Island’s Lee Hongki confirmed Kim Hyo Jin’s tweet earlier today that announced the main cast members of the upcoming Korean film that also includes fellow FT Island member Choi Jong Hun.

In the film, Kim Haneul plays ‘Eunee,’ a beautiful and successful woman who is socially awkward. Jang Geun Suk plays ‘Inho,’ an aspiring danseur / ballerino extremely popular amongst women. Through certain circumstances, Inho will live with Eunee as her pet and display various sides of a pretty boy.

According to Kim Hyo Jin’s tweet, a press conference for the production will take place on March 3rd at Ibaraki Airport. The filming will begin in May in both Korea and Japan.

Source: Movie Week, @skullhong, @jonekimhyojin

Japan Box Office Report – January 29th/30th

This weekend truly has been the weekend of “GANTZ“.

The first of two “GANTZ” movies opened on a total of 410 screens and achieved a box office revenue of 592,823,900 Yen, which equals to approx. 7.2 million USD. A total revenue of more than 10 billion Yen for both movies combined should be a realistic goal for distributor TOHO, not to mention the additional revenue it’s going to earn through its American release in February and the 21 other countries that have acquired the rights to distribute the movie.

If you’re curious about the motives on why people flock into the cinemas to watch this amazing movie: 31.5% answered that they only went because of starring actor Ninomiya Kazunari, 15.3% have been a fan of the original, 14.6% simply wanted to see a nice action flick and 7.7% went because of Matsuyama Kenichi. Another interesting fact that proves the importance of two such popular actors is that 75% of the moviegoers were women, with 40% of them being between the age of 13 and 19.

Now we know who went to watch the movie, but did they like it? Oh yes, they did. After the movie, 95.1% said that the movie was either “really good” or “good” and that they are going to recommend it to others.

The second part, “GANTZ PERFECT ANSWER“, is slated to open on April 23rd and Matsuyama already revealed that the sequel will have an original story different from the manga and that it will have a real ending, unlike the original. I guess we don’t have to mention that 97.3% of the people who already saw “GANTZ” this past weekend said that they are going to watch the sequel as well.

Unfortunately there was one other big Japanese movie that fell a bit short next to all that hype hype, “Byakuyako“. It still had a satisfying opening weekend, but as we’ve mentioned before, it was the weekend of “GANTZ”.

Check out the full ranking below!

Rank/Last Title Weeks
01 (00) GANTZ 01
02 (00) Red 01
03 (01) The Social Network 03
04 (03) Tensou Sentai Goseiger vs. Shinkenger: Epic on Ginmaku 02
05 (02) Boku to Tsuma no 1778 no Monogatari 03
06 (00) Byakuyako 01
07 (05) Aibou: The Movie 2 06
08 (04) The Green Hornet 02
09 (06) Unstoppable 04
10 (10) Inazuma Eleven: Saikyo Gundan Ogre Shurai 06

SOURCE : TOKYOHIVE

Source: cinematoday

Ohno Satoshi’s “Kaibutsu-kun” to be released as a 3D movie

“Kaibutsu-kun“, a drama series broadcasted from April to June of 2010, starring Arashi’s Ohno Satoshi, will now be released as a 3D movie!

The movie will be directed by Nakamura Yoshihiro, who is known as the director of “Team Batista no Eiko” and “Golden Slumber.” The main cast members for the drama, such as Yashima Norito, Ueshima Ryuhei (Dacho Club), and Choi Hong Man will also appear in the movie.

The shoot for the movie has already started on January 6th, and it is planned to be held in other Asian countries as well.

It will be released during Christmas season in 2011.

SOURCE : TOKYOHIVE
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It has been confirmed that the "Kaibutsu-kun" drama series, starring Arashi's Satoshi Ohno (30), has a movie version in the works. The film will be shot in 3D and is said to be a huge project, with some sources reporting that NTV is investing approximately 2 billion yen for the film's production budget. Yoshihiro Nakamura ("Golden Slumber," "Team Batista no Eikou") has been tapped to direct.

Although the drama only averaged 13.9% during its original broadcast run last year, it reportedly had ratings of 24.2% among young children and families. The show already got a special episode last year, and the characters from the show also made an appearance at NHK's Kouhaku Uta Gassen.

This will be Ohno's first solo starring role in a movie. Besides him, the show's main cast will reprise their roles, including Norito Yashima, Ryuhei Ueshima, Choi Hong Man, Takeshi Kaga, Masahiro Matsuoka (TOKIO), Izumi Inamori, Umika Kawashima, and Tatsuomi Hamada. Of course, new characters will be added as well, including an original villain.

Filming will begin this month, and some scenes will be shot in southeast Asia as the story involves Kaibutsu-kun and his friends going on an adventure to a fictional country.

Production is aiming to finish around October. Although an exact release date has not yet been set, various sources are reporting that the film will either be released around Christmas or the New Year holiday season.

SOURCE : TOKYOGRAPH

Ninomiya Kazunari, Matsuyama Kenichi to attend same-day “GANTZ” premiere in both USA & Japan

On January 10th, Arashi’s Ninomiya Kazunari, Matsuyama Kenichi, and Hongo Kanata attended a special “GANTZ” event at Roppongi Hills. During the event, it was announced that both Ninomiya and Matsuyama will take part in “stage greetings” for the premiere events in both Japan and the U.S. for January 20th.

Ninomiya and Matsuyama will appear for the “stage greeting” at a Roppongi theatre on the morning of the 20th, and immediately afterwards, they’ll fly to Los Angeles for the “stage greeting” at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. The L.A. premiere is considered to be the official world premiere, so Ninomiya and Matsuyama’s audience greet will be relay-broadcasted live to 334 theatres across the States.

The first half of “GANTZ” will be released on January 29th, and the last half will be revealed on April 23rd.