[NEWS] "Always 3 Premiere Day"
“ALWAYS 3″ cast reflects on the past seven years
January 22, 2012 at 7:33 am
On January 21st, the final installment in the “ALWAYS” trilogy, “ALWAYS San-chome no Yuhi ‘64“, opened nation-wide on 473 screens.
As usual, there was a stage greeting held at a cinema in Tokyo in order to celebrate the opening, which was attended by the main cast members like Yoshioka Hidetaka, Tsutsumi Shinichi, Yakushimaru Hiroko, Horikita Maki, Miura Tomokazu, Moriyama Mirai, and Suga Kenta, as well as the director, Yamazaki Takashi.
“ALWAYS San-chome no Yuhi ‘64” (English title: “Always: Sunset on Third Street 3“) will continue to depict the lives of the residents of Third Street in Tokyo, but this time, the story is set in 1964. The Olympics are set to take place in Tokyo and the country has experienced a period of rapid economic growth.
Yoshioka commented, “Who would have thought that it’s going to snow… Maybe that’s a test, therefore I’m really happy that so many people made it to the screening.” He also reflected on his role, a poor writer named ‘Chagawa’, who he’s portrayed for a timespan of seven years. Yoshioka expressed that he feels he’s grown close to this character. “It’s the first time I can watch the movie from an objective point of view. Every time I see my character, I think to myself, ‘He’s such a fool, isn’t he.’”
It was also revealed that Yoshioka, Tsutsumi, and director Yamazaki had quite a night when they saw the finalized version of the third movie together for the very first time. “We were way too happy, and drank way too much…,” Tsutsumi looked back. “Tsutsumi spent 130,000 Yen (1,688 USD) that night,” revealed Yoshioka. “What a rip-off,” he responded. Their little story shocked some people, including Horikita, and created a lot of laughter.
“They are just two really happy fellas,” Yamazaki commented. “No matter how much they drink, they always stay happy. That get-together was the definition of happiness.”
Horikita, who wasn’t much older than the 15 year-old ‘Mutsuko’ when she slipped into her role for the first time seven years ago, used the event to once again thank everyone involved in the trilogy. “Just like ‘Mutsuko’, I started working around the age of 15 and we’ve experienced various things at the same time. This time she is getting married, which is actually something I haven’t yet experienced in my life. It was a confusing sensation, but thanks to everyone I was able to perform it well and experience a very precious time with all of them.”
For Moriyama, it’s his first appearance in the trilogy. He plays the spouse of Mutsuko. “I haven’t appeared in the previous two movies, but the great atmosphere at the set completely sucked me in,” he said. “I must be a very lucky guy to suddenly appear at the scene and immediately getting married to Mutsuko (Horikita).”
Naturally, actress Koyuki, who just gave birth to a baby boy on January 5th, couldn’t attend the event, but still sent her blessings in form of a written message. In the movie, there is a scene of her giving birth as well. Director Yamazaki commented, “Various things unexpectedly overlapped between the movie and the real life. For her to actually experience the same thing that happened in the movie… This must be fate.”
Yoshioka added, “It’s fate that this movie, set in one of the most vivid years in the recent history of Japan, is opening in cinemas during the first year of reconstruction.”
~by HPriest@TokyoHive
Bonus: Interview Photo
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Special thanks to HPriest for translating! Arigatou gozaimasu!
Sources: Various news sites
No copyright infringement intended. Simply, sharing and expressing my love and support with my favorite actress/idol. :)