V6 member Okada Junichi (30) is starring in a new movie called “Tenchi Meisatsu,” directed by Takita Yojiro (“Okuribito”). He is joined by actress Miyazaki Aoi (25), whom he previously worked with on the movie “Kagehinata ni Saku” in 2008.
“Tenchi Meisatsu” is an adaptation of an award-winning novel by Ubukata Tow (“Le Chevalier D'Eon,” “Mardock Scramble”). Okada plays the role of Shibukawa Shunkai, an astronomer and Go player in the early Edo period who was later known as Yasui Santetsu. The story follows his life as he undertook the significant project of revising the calendar, leading to the invention of the Jokyo calendar that was used for several decades.
Miyazaki plays the wife of Shibukawa, whom she initially meets through her mathematician brother (Sato Ryuta). Kanjani8 member Yokoyama Yu plays Honinbo Dosaku, Shibukawa’s rival in Go. Other cast members include Nakai Kiichi, Matsumoto Koshiro, Ichikawa Somegoro, Ichikawa Kamejiro, Sasano Takashi, Kishibe Ittoku, Watanabe Dai, and Shirai Akira.
Hisaishi Jo is handling the soundtrack. Filming is scheduled to finish in mid-August, and theatrical release is planned for fall 2012.
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Actress Aoi Miyazaki (25) is reportedly in talks to appear in the next film by internationally acclaimed Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami ("Taste of Cherry," "The Wind Will Carry Us"). The movie, titled "The End," is said to be a sequel of sorts to his 2010 movie "Certified Copy," which opens in Japan this coming weekend.
"Certified Copy," starring Juliette Binoche, was a love story set in Tuscany and was Kiarostami's first film shot outside Iran. "The End" will also be a love story, but it is planned to focus on a young couple in present-day Japan.
Miyazaki is currently in filming for Masato Harada's "Waga Haha," along with Koji Yakusho (55) and Kirin Kiki (68). She also recently finished with Kiyoshi Sasabe's "Tsure ga Utsu ni Narimashite," and before that she was working on Yoshihiro Fukagawa's "Kamisama no Karute" with Sho Sakurai (29).
Miyazaki's agency, Hirata Office, acknowledged that it has received an offer, but no contract has officially been signed yet.
According to Variety magazine, filming is expected to start in April. The movie will be a joint production between France's MK2 and Japan's Eurospace.
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Aoi Miyazaki and Masato Sakai in movie Tsure ga Utsu ni Narimashite
Kamis, 13 Januari 2011 | Label: Aoi Miyazaki
Aoi Miyazaki (25) and Masato Sakai (37) will co-star in a movie version of "Tsure ga Utsu ni Narimashite," directed by Kiyoshi Sasabe. The two will play a married couple, bringing them together on screen for the first time since the 2008 taiga drama "Atsuhime," where they also played husband and wife.
"Tsure ga Utsu ni Narimashite" is based on a manga series by Tenten Hosokawa (41) that has sold over 600,000 copies. The story humorously retells Hosokawa's own experiences with her husband, who suddenly fell into depression. The couple battled the illness for a year and a half before the husband recovered. In 2009, NHK adapted it as a 3-part miniseries, starring Norika Fujiwara and comedian Taizo Harada.
In the movie version, Miyazaki plays the lead as manga artist Haruko Takazaki, modeled after Hosokawa. Sakai plays the husband Mikio, who fights the depression over the span of three years, helped by a pet iguana. Haruko's parents will be played by Kimiko Yo (54) and Ren Osugi (59).
Filming started on January 9 and is expected to finish in early February. The theatrical release is planned for fall of this year.
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Aoi Miyazaki and Sho Sakurai in Kamisama no Karute
Kamis, 10 Juni 2010 | Label: Aoi Miyazaki, Sho Sakurai
Arashi's Sho Sakurai (28) is set to star in a new movie by director Yoshihiro Fukagawa, titled "Kamisama no Karute." He will for the first time be joined by actress Aoi Miyazaki (24), who plays the heroine of the story.
Sakurai has been cast as a doctor for the film, which is based on a bestselling novel published last year by an actual doctor named Sosuke Natsukawa. Ichito Kurihara (played by Sakurai) is a local physician in Nagano who meets an elderly woman with terminal cancer. His interaction with her leads to his own growth as a doctor and as a person. Miyazaki plays Sakurai's beloved wife Haruna, who works as a photographer.
The staff for the film includes the production team from the movie "Sekai no Chuushin de, Ai wo Sakebu" and screenwriter Noriko Goto, whose credits include the dramas "Blackjack ni Yoroshiku" and "Team Batista no Eikou."
"Kamisama no Karute" will be released during the second half of 2011.
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