Category: Events

On Wednesday, the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters played the Chiba Lotte Marines at the Tokyo Dome and the ceremonial first pitch was thrown out by the fictional horror character Sadako. The appearance was a promotional gag for the impending release of Sadako 3D in theaters on May 12th.

Sadako approached the mound decked out in her white clothing with long black hair covering her face as usual, but she came prepared in a pair of spiffy baseball cleats.

In a flourish worthy of Bill Murray, she waved off two pitches before scampering off the rubber to deliver her toss with a full wind up and subsequent dramatic collapse. She was then helped up by a team official and led off the field by Nippon-Ham's mascot "Brisky the Bear".

Source: Movie Collection
via aramatheydidnt!

On Sunday, the awards for the 3rd Nippon Theater Staff Film Festival were presented to the winners at a ceremony in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo. The awards are voted on by cinema staff members from all over Japan.

Mao Inoue took home the award for Best Actress for her performance in Izuru Narushima’s Rebirth (Youkame no Semi), playing a woman who’s forced to deal with her unusual upbringing, having been kidnapped as an infant.

Masami Nagasawa took home the Best Supporting Actress award for Love Strikes! (Moteki), but she was unable to attend due to her filming schedule. In a written statement, she referred to her immersion in the world of film as a “blissful time”.

The big winner was Koki Mitani’s comedy A Ghost of a Chance, which was responsible for three separate awards - Best Movie, Best Director, and Best Supporting actor.

Here’s the full list of awards:

Grand Chariot Award (Grand Prize):
A Ghost of a Chance

Best Actor:
Masato Sakai (My S.O. Has Depression)

Best Actress:
Mao Inoue (Rebirth)

Best Supporting Actor:
Toshiyuki Nishida (A Ghost of a Chance)

Best Supporting Actress:
Masami Nagasawa (Love Strikes!)

Grand Chariot Rookie Award:
Shota Sometani (Himizu)

Best Director:
Koki Mitani (A Ghost of a Chance)

Best Screenplay:
Kosuke Mukai (My Back Page)

Best Music:
Satoshi Takebe (From Up on Poppy Hill)

Source: Cinema Today

The 65th Cannes International Film Festival lineup has been announced, and although the list is a little light on Asian entries in general, Japan will be represented.

Just a few days ago, Takashi Miike was joking about how he went to Cannes last year for Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai, but probably wouldn’t be invited back this year for his latest work, the multi-genre manga adaptation that even its star is incapable of describing - For Love’s Sake.

Defying the director’s expectations, the film has actually been selected as part of the Midnight Screenings section of the festival.

Koji Wakamatsu’s 11.25 the Day He Chose His Own Fate will compete in the festival’s Un Certain Regard section. The film depicts the life of prolific author and right-wing nationalist Yukio Mishima in the days leading up to his death by seppuku.

The only Japanese-language film in the main competition this year is Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami’s Like Someone in Love (formerly The End), which stars Rin Takanashi as a young college student named Akiko who becomes involved in an unusual relationship with a brilliant elderly man (Tadashi Okuno).

The festival will be held from May 16-27 this year.

Sources: ANN, FirstShowing.net

Thanks to Ariane Doyso and Domenico for the heads up.

Edit: Changed movie title from “The Legend of Love & Sincerity” to “For Love’s Sake”. Blame IMDb. And thanks Jason Gray.

Japanese entertainment company Yoshimoto Kogyo has announced that the Okinawa International Movie Festival (OIMF) will be held as planned in Ginowan from March 18-27, with an emphasis on charity.

In the aftermath of the devastating Tohoku Earthquake and tsunami, the trend has been to cancel entertainment and sporting events, but Yoshimoto has decided that taking action in this case could do far more to help the victims of the tragedy than self-restraint.

According to the company’s press release, the number one priority is to send a heartfelt connection and a yell from the people of Okinawa and entertainers from all over the world to the victims. It goes on to say that from laughter comes hope, and even though people may say this is foolish or distasteful, it’s their sincere intention to bring some of that hope to light.

It ends with the statement: “The victims have the deepest sympathies of everyone in our organization, and we pray for the stricken area to have a quick recovery.”

Source: Cinema Today