Last October, it was revealed that Hiroya Oku’s sci-fi manga “GANTZ” is being adapted as two live-action films, starring Kazunari Ninomiya (26) and Kenichi Matsuyama (24). It has now been announced that actress Yuriko Yoshitaka (21) is taking on the heroine role.

The story revolves around two young men named Kei Kurono (Ninomiya) and Masaru Kato (Matsuyama) who should have died in a train accident, but a mysterious entity known as GANTZ brings them back to life and sends them on missions to hunt down alien beings.

Yoshitaka will play the role of Tae Kojima, Kurono’s classmate at university. A pure romance develops between the two characters, contrasting with the brutal violence that Kurono and Kato engage in for their missions under GANTZ. Yoshitaka will also participate in some action scenes (including wire-action).

Both of the “GANTZ” movies are scheduled for 2011.

15-year-old Japanese-American singer Kylee will provide her first movie theme song for the Hans Canosa film “Dareka ga Watashi ni Kiss wo Shita,” which stars Maki Horikita (21) and Kenichi Matsuyama (24). In addition to singing, Kylee is also making her acting debut in the film.

Kylee, who hails from Arizona, first gained fame in 2005 when she sang the national anthem at an NBA game. In 2008, she debuted in Japan with the single “VACANCY,” and in 2009 she became the youngest artist ever to perform at the Summer Sonic music festival.

Canosa saw Kylee perform last year when he visited Japan for the movie, and he is said to have noticed Kylee’s ability for acting as well. He immediately gave the singer a role as an underclassman at the international high school where the story takes place. Kylee’s song “Kimi ga Iru Kara” will be used as the film’s theme song, and another song by her will be used during the film. “Kimi ga Iru Kara” will go on sale as a single on March 24.

The movie, also known by the earlier working title “Nakushita Kioku,” is an adaptation of Gabrielle Zevin’s novel “Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac.” Horikita plays a high school student who loses part of her memory in an accident. In addition to Matsuyama, NEWS member Yuya Tegoshi (22) and American actor Anton Yelchin (20) have been cast. The film opens in theaters on March 27.

Japanese studio Toei has pre-sold US-Japan co-production Memoirs Of A Teenage Amnesiac to Hong Kong distributor Golden Scene.

Directed by New York-based filmmaker Hans Canosa, the film revolves around a girl at an international school in Tokyo who loses four years of memory after an accident.

It stars Japan’s hottest heartthrob, Kenichi Matsuyama, and Maki Horikita who shot to stardom with her performance in blockbuster Always: Sunset On Third Street 2. US actor Anton Yelchin and Yuya Tegoshi, a member of J-pop group News, round out the cast.

Filmed in both the US and Japan, the film is a co-production between the director’s own production outfit, Canosa Productions, and a Japanese production committee. Around 40% of the dialogue is in English and the rest in Japanese.

Canosa was winner of the special jury prize at the Tokyo “International Film Festival” in 2005 for Conversations With Other Women.

Memoirs Of A Teenage Amnesiac will be released into theatres March 27, 2010!

From a while ago in Japan ‘Taiga’ dramas and ‘jidaigeki’ films have become very popular. ['Taiga' dramas are a series of historical TV dramas broadcast by NHK. 'Jidaigeki' films are historical movies that focus on the time periods in which the samurai class existed. They could also more specifically center on the Edo period (1603-1868).] A survey was conducted where people were asked “Which actor would you like to see play the role of a samurai warlord of the Sengoku period (1467/1493-1573)?”

Arashi member Matsumoto Jun won the most votes. He had also been chosen a while back as the ‘most desirable actor as a boyfriend’. Matsumoto has appeared in many films and dramas in a wide variety of roles, but he has only appeared in one ‘jidaigeki’ film so far. The movie is The Last Princess. Even for that movie his character Musashi sported an unshaved beard and made a living by searching for hidden gold; not exactly your garden variety samurai. But a lot of fans apparently wanted to see Matsumoto in future films/dramas play the role of a good-looking samurai warlord, leading his army while donning a kabuto [samurai helmet].

KinKi Kids member Domoto Koichi came in at No.2, and probably for much the same reasons as Matsumoto. No.3 was Oguri Shun while No.4 went to GACKT. Kusanagi Tsuyoshi took the No.5 spot followed closely by No.6 Arashi member Ohno Satoshi. No.7 was Abe Hiroshi, No.8 Fukuyama Masaharu. Another Arashi member Ninomiya Kazunari was No.9. Matsuyama Kenichi ranked in at No.10. In all the top 10 positions went to artists and actors that are currently attracting lots of attention!

Source: musicjapanplus.jp

It is widely known that ‘Blood: The Last Vampire’ actress Koyuki has been dating Matsuyama Kenichi, who is eight years younger, for some time now. Recently on the set of her new drama ‘Fumo Chitai’, a worker has said that she has stopped ’smoking like a chimney’. Her insistence on quitting years of this bad habit is possibly due to her wanting to have a baby. Perhaps this motivation will help her quit smoking for good.

In reality, Koyuki and Matsuyama have been seen together on many occasions. Earlier on, Matsuyama was caught staying at Koyuki’s house for three consecutive nights. As Koyuki still lives with her parents, it seems that their relationship has been confirmed by their respective families. Marriage seems like the next step into their relationship. As Koyuki is already 32 years old, it is already a late age to get married by Japanese standards. Koyuki already has an accomplished career, so even if she were to get married and have kids, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone.

Source: Mingpao
Translated by: asianfanatics.net

Last November, it was announced that Maki Horikita (21) and Kenichi Matsuyama (24) were co-starring in a movie tentatively called “Nakushita Kioku,” directed by American filmmaker Hans Canosa. On Sunday, a press conference was held to announce the film’s release window and official title.

The picture will be titled “Dareka ga Watashi ni Kiss wo Shita” and is slated for theatrical release in March 2010. Based on the novel “Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac” by American author Gabrielle Zevin, the story tells of a high school student (Horikita) who loses part of her memory in an accident.

Although the movie is in Japanese, Horikita’s character attends an international school, so about 40% of her lines are in English. She commented that she was surprised when she first saw the script, and she had a lot of trouble with the English lines. However, Canosa praised her, saying that she has the potential to become an international star.

NEWS member Yuya Tegoshi (21) and American actor Anton Yelchin (20) have also been cast in the movie.

Source: tokyograph.com

Hiroya Oku’s sci-fi action manga “GANTZ” is being adapted into two live-action films planned to be released in 2011. The movies will star Arashi’s Kazunari Ninomiya (26) and actor Kenichi Matsuyama (24).

Shinsuke Sato is directing the films, which have reportedly been given a budget of 4 billion yen, with lots of CG involved. It is said that producers are aiming to make the film suitable for general audiences, which means that it may likely lack the violence of the original manga.

“GANTZ” has been serialized in Young Jump since 2000. Kei Kurono (Ninomiya) and Masaru Kato (Matsuyama) are two young man who should be dead after a train accident, but they are summoned back to life by an entity known as GANTZ. Under GANTZ’s orders, the two are repeatedly sent on missions to fight against alien beings. So far, 26 volumes of the manga have been released in Japan, selling more than 10 million copies combined.

Although Kei and Masaru are high school students in the manga, their characters will be older in the movie. Kei has been turned into a college student looking for work, while Masaru is already working and taking care of his younger brother. The two childhood friends happen to meet again on a subway platform.

Oku’s manga is still being serialized, but the two movies will tell a complete story with an original ending.

Filming is scheduled to start next month. The first movie is expected to hit theaters in winter 2011, while the second is slated for spring 2011.

Source: tokyograph.com

After filming in Okinawa together for their new film ‘Kamui Gaiden’, Matsuyama Kenichi and Koyuki’s relationship has been progressing quite steadily. It seems like they’re almost at the point of living together. This week’s ‘Josei Jisei’ magazine published photos of the couple together. While Koyuki is older than Matsuyama by 8 years, it seems that age doesn’t matter as Koyuki’s father apparently sees Matsuyama as his future son-in-law. Although Koyuki still lives with her parents, it seems that Matsuyama has open access to her house. He was seen staying overnight at Koyuki’s house for three consecutive days. As well, Koyuki was seen picking up her mother driving Matsuyama’s car. The pair seems to be progressing nicely, so perhaps news of their marriage is not far away.

If it’s true i’m very happy for them and wish them all the best.

Kenichi is August monthly hero at 4B! They have conducted an interview and added photos to there website. The photos are available in the gallery.

[006x] Miscellaneous > August Monthly Hero 4B Official Website Photos

Two movies starring popular young actor Kenichi Matsuyama (24) will be screening at the Toronto International Film Festival, it has been announced. Even including people from other countries, it is rare for the festival to include two films led by the same actor.

This year, the festival will screen more than 300 films in 19 categories. One of Matsuyama’s works is “Kamui” (directed by Yoichi Sai), an action-packed adaptation of a classic manga about a fugitive ninja. It will be part of the festival’s Special Presentations category. Matsuyama’s other work is Satoko Yokohama’s “Ultra Miracle Love Story,” which tells the story of an eccentric farmer from Aomori who falls in love with a teacher from Tokyo (Kumiko Aso). It will be shown in the Discovery category, under the international title “Bare Essence of Life.”

Unlike most major film festivals, TIFF does not have a specific competition category. Instead, the big prize is the People’s Choice Award, chosen by votes from the audience. Matsuyama had a chance to win last year with “Detroit Metal City,” but “Slumdog Millionaire” took home the prize. The last Japanese film to win the award was Takeshi Kitano’s “Zatoichi” in 2003.

A few other films from Japan will also be screened: Hirokazu Koreeda’s “Kuuki Ningyou” (“Air Doll”), Hitoshi Matsumoto’s “Symbol,” and Koji Yakusho’s “Gama no Abura” (“Toad’s Oil”).

The festival runs from September 10 to September 19.

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Actor Kenichi Matsuyama (24) has been revealed as a supporting cast member in the upcoming movie “Kaiji,” which stars Tatsuya Fujiwara (27). This reunites the pair, who last worked together in the hit live-action “Death Note” films in 2006.

“Kaiji” is based on Nobuyuki Fukumoto’s popular manga about a gambler named Kaiji (Fujiwara) stuck in a dangerous game trying to clear an enormous debt. Matsuyama plays Kaiji’s colleague Sahara, who shares a similar fate.

The “Kaiji” movie was first announced last year and has been scheduled for an October 10 release. The supporting cast includes Yuki Amami and Teruyuki Kagawa.

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Kumi Koda has been tapped to do the theme song for Yoichi Sai’s upcoming manga-to-film adaptation “The Legend of Kamui” (“Kamui Gaiden”), starring Kenichi Matsuyama. The song, titled “Alive,” is her first to be based on classical music.

“Alive” is inspired by “Lascia ch’io pianga,” an aria from the Italian opera “Rinaldo” by Handel. Last summer, Sai was shooting a scene for the movie. He had liked the aria since hearing it a long time ago, and he felt that it suited the film well. The production staff agreed and began putting together the music, while they asked Koda to write the lyrics and provide the vocals.

The song will be released as a single sometime in the fall. “The Legend of Kamui” opens in theaters on September 19.

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