The latest film from director Gu Su-yeon (“Guuzen ni mo Saiaku no Shounen”) will star actor Matsuda Shota (25), it has been revealed. Titled “Hard Romanticker,” the film is based on Gu Su-yeon’s debut novel of the same name, a partially autobiographical account of his experiences as a second-generation Korean in Japan.
Matsuda plays the part of Gu, a high school dropout who works as a part-timer. He gets tangled in trouble through a gangster that he has known since he was a child (Maki Kurodo), leading to the involvement of a police detective (Watabe Atsuro).
For the role, Matsuda came up with the idea to dye his hair blond and slick it back. Filming started on April 29 and is planned to finish at the end of this month. The story is set in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi (where Matsuda’s father and legendary actor Matsuda Yusaku was born) and in Ogura, Fukuoka.
The supporting cast also features Nagayama Kento, Emoto Tokio, Maki Yoko, Watanabe Dai, Endo Yuya (D-BOYS), Ochiai Motoki (NAKED BOYZ), Ishigaki Yuma, Endo Kaname, Ashina Sei, Nakamura Shido, Hakuryu, Kaneko Nobuaki, Kawano Naoki, and Awaji Reiko.
“Hard Romanticker” is scheduled for release in early 2012.
Nozomi Sasaki and Matsuda Shota in series Afro Tanaka
Kamis, 28 April 2011 | Label: Matsuda Shota, Nozomi Sasaki
Noritsuke Masaharu’s gag manga series “Afro Tanaka” is getting a live-action movie adaptation. Matsuda Shota (25) will star as the afro-haired protagonist, while model Sasaki Nozomi (23) will play the heroine of the story.
The “Afro Tanaka” series, which runs in Big Comic Spirits, started with “Koukou Afro Tanaka” in 2002-2004 and was followed by “Chuutai Afro Tanaka,” “Joukyou Afro Tanaka,” and the current “Sasurai Afro Tanaka.”
The manga revolves around Tanaka Hiroshi, an afro-haired boy who transfers to a high school in a fictional city in Saitama, and his everyday life with his friends. The various series followed him as he left school, moved to Tokyo, and began working. It is not yet known which time period the movie will focus on, but filming is said to already be close to done.
“Afro Tanaka” is being directed by the young Matsui Daigo (25), who debuted as a screenwriter a couple years ago, when he became the youngest ever to write for an NHK drama series (“Futatsu no Spica”). He then directed part of the Fuji TV drama series “0 Go Shitsu no Kyaku.”
The script for the movie is written by Nishida Masafumi (“Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora”).
Theatrical release is scheduled for 2012.
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