As I mentioned in this article a few weeks ago, Takashi Miike‘s Crows Zero II is still pretty early on in the production process. Filming won’t really get rolling until August. Shooting will then wrap in October with release slated for some indeterminate time in 2009. So it seems odd that a teaser would be released on the film’s official website this early. Less odd, however, when you watch it and realize it’s all just rehashed footage from the first Crows Zero. I wasn’t going to bother posting it at all, but they did add a “TWO!” to the voiceover, and that’s something, eh… eh? Check it out after the break, or don’t.

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I’m going to go out on a limb and assume that Yukio Ninagawa‘s upcoming film, Hebi ni Pierce (Snakes and Earrings) is more than just sensationalized, melodramatic tripe even though the original teaser would suggest otherwise. On a positive note, Ninagawa called in a few markers for this project and managed to cast Shun Oguri and Tatsuya Fujiwara in bit roles as members of a gang. Some other notable actors in small roles are Toshiaki Karasawa, Yuu Abiru, and Sonim.

The film is about a 19-year-old girl named Rui (Yuriko Yoshitaka) who meets a guy named Ama (Kengo Koura) at a nightclub. Ama is heavily into body modification and sports multiple piercings, a huge dragon tattoo, and a split tongue. Ama brings Rui into his world and introduces her to Shiba (Arata), a tattoo artist and sadist who works out of an S&M shop. Rui gets a large tattoo on her back that’s half dragon, half Kirin—a combination of the tattoos Ama and Shiba have. She also gets her tongue pierced with the eventual goal of increasing gauges until she can split it like Ama’s. Soon Rui gets caught up in a life of sadomasochistic sex, alcohol abuse, and the constant search for something in her life which will never be satisfied.

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Better late than never I suppose. Masahiro Kobayashi‘s 2006 film, The Happiness (Shiawase) will be getting some screen time at Cinemart Roppongi from November 17 to the 26th starting on September 20, 2008. It first premiered at Tokyo FILMeX 2006 and kind of slipped under the radar until now.

The story takes place during Midnight Sun season in a small town in Hokkaido. A disheveled man (Ryo Ishibashi) wanders the streets in worn-out sneakers and tattered clothing carrying a duffel bag. He suddenly collapses in a park on the outskirts of town and passes out. A middle-aged convenience store worker (Akemi Sakurai) finds him and brings her back to the store where her boss (Jun Murakami) reluctantly lends them some money for dinner. She goes home with him and stays the night. Without having to say a word they begin living together. The search for happiness between a man and woman without families of their own begins.

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Whenever new info is posted about the upcoming Yukihiko Tsutsumi-helmed 20th Century Boys trilogy here or on other sites people invariably chime in about how it’s too convoluted for a western audience to be interested in without first reading the manga. I don’t really subscribe to that theory personally because science fiction fans are a different breed than typical main stream moviegoers, but it won’t be an issue anymore now that US distributor Viz Media has picked up the rights to the original manga. Anime News Network is reporting the company made the announcement today at Comic Con and will be releasing it starting in February of 2009 on a bi-monthly schedule. So read it, live it, love it, and let’s get some interest going for whenever the movie distribution rights get picked up.

For more on “20th Century Boys”, see this page.

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Here’s further proof that if you need to get a truly bizarre project done in Japan, Sakichi Sato is your man. George Asakura, who is actually a woman in spite of her mysterious pen name, has deemed Sato the only person capable of bringing her Ikki comics manga, Heibon Punch to life. The film version will star Sato and gravure idol Rina Akiyama in her first major movie role.

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