The presentation ceremony for the 64th Mainichi Film Awards has been scheduled for February 8. The winners were already announced on Tuesday, revealing that the Grand Prize is being given to Setsuro Wakamatsu’s “Shizumanu Taiyo.” The movie, starring Ken Watanabe (50), is based on the struggles of a real-life JAL employee in the aftermath of the Flight 123 disaster. The best actor award went to Kenichi Matsuyama (24) for his role in “Ultra Miracle Love Story.” He performed as a unique young man who acts on his emotions. “I’m glad to receive the award because I enjoyed acting in the film,” Matsuyama remarked.

[001x] Public Appearances > 2010 > January 2010: Mainichi Film Awards

The complete list of awards is as follows:
Grand Prize: Shizumanu Taiyo (directed by Setsuro Wakamatsu)
Best Film: Tsurugidake: Ten no Ki (directed by Daisaku Kimura)
Best Foreign Film: Gran Torino (directed by Clint Eastwood)
Best Actor: Kenichi Matsuyama (Ultra Miracle Love Story)
Read full article.

Ultra Miracle Love Story is now available for pre-order before it’s released November 27th. The dvd is not yet available with English subtitles and is only available for pre-order on Japanese websites. Websites where you can purchase the dvd are listed below.

Amazon.co.jp
HMV.co.jp
Shinseido.co.jp
TowerRecords.co.jp
Yamano-Music.co.jp

Kamui Gaiden (Kamui) and Ultra Miracle Love Story (Bare Essence of Life) will be showing at the BFI 53rd London film festival. This will be the uk premiere for both movies.

Kamui Gaiden:
Thu 22 | 18:15 – Fri 23 | 16:00
More Info?

Ultra Miracle Love Story:
Wed 28 | 20:45 – Thu 29 | 14:00
More Info?

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.

source

I’ve uploaded a news segment about Ultra Miracle Love Story. It includes clips from an interview with Kenichi.

[151x] Screen Captures > 2009 > Entertaintment Shows / News Segments > Ultra Miracle Love Story #27

I’m late in showing this news segment due to the media site server error but thanks to my wonderful host, i’m able to upload videos again. Here’s a news segment from the Ultra Miracle Love Story fan greeting in Tokyo.

[068x] Screen Captures > 2009 > Entertaintment Shows / News Segments > Ultra Miracle Love Story #26

In the gallery i’ve added photos from an interview about Ultra Miracle Love Story. I’m not sure who conducted the interview but atleast we have the pictures!

[002x] Miscellaneous > Ultra Miracle Love Story Interview

HORIPRO have added a new video from the NTT Docomo commercial presentation and pictures from the Ultra Miracle Love Story fan greeting in Tokyo.

photos | video

I’ve added 02 photos in the gallery of Kenichi and Kumiko at the FM Cinema studio.

[002x] Miscellaneous > June 2009: FM Cinema

Here’s a news segment for the Ultra Miracle Love Story greeting in Tokyo. I’ve also added 02 more photos from the event.

[293x] Screen Captures > 2009 > Entertainment Shows / News Segments > Ultra Miracle Love Story #25

[002x] Appearances > 2009 > June 2009: Ultra Miracle Love Story Greeting in Tokyo

I’ve added the FM Cinema radio recording featuring Kenichi and Kumiko.

Following the recent success of Ultra Miracle Love Story, Kenichi visits fans in Tokyo.

[011x] Public Appearances > 2009 > June 2009: Ultra Miracle Love Story Greeting in Tokyo