Production of Yoji Yamada’s ‘Tokyo Kazoku’ on hold

Director Yoji Yamada originally planned to begin principal photography of Tokyo Kazoku, an homage to Yasujiro Ozu’s Tokyo Story, on the first of this month. However, the devastating Tohoku earthquake and tsunami which occurred on March 11 caused Shochiku to halt the production and has forced Yamada to seriously consider altering the script to reflect post-3/11 Japan.

After planning the project for over a year and assembling a cast which includes Bunta Sugawara, Etsuko Ichihara, Masahiko Nishimura, Shigeru Muroi, Satoshi Tsumabuki, Yui Natsukawa, Shozo Hayashiya, and Yu Aoi, Yamada made the admittedly agonizing choice to push production back further after consulting with Shochiku.

The director suggested going ahead with the current script might be “feigning ignorance”, considering the possibility that the hearts and minds of the Japanese people may be changed by the events of 3/11. For that reason, the current plan is to monitor the state of the nation through the end of this year, then revise the script to reflect a new setting - Tokyo in spring 2012.

Filming will most likely begin in early 2012 with a theatrical release later in the year.

Sources: Tokyograph, Cinema Today

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