Junichi Okada and Yu Yokoyama cast in new movie
Junichi Okada (V6) and Yu Yokoyama (Kanjani8) will play rivals in an upcoming movie being made by an Academy award-winning director, reports Eiga.com, Sports Hochi, and Sponichi Annex today.
Yojiro Takita, who won an oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 2009 for “Departures”, is adapting popular period novel “天地明察 (Tenchimeisatsu)” for the big screen. Written by To Ubukata, the story follows Harumi Shibukawa (later known as Santetsu Yasui), a Go player and astronomer who lived in the Edo period (around the 17th century) and is famous for revising the Chinese lunisolar calendar for Japan.
It has been reported Okada has been cast as the lead role of Harumi, while actress Aoi Miyazaki will play Harumi’s wife, and Yokoyama will play Harumi’s rival.
“I want to put my heart into this role so that maybe I can give viewers courage and hope in playing a man who pushes forward and puts his life into working on this (lunisolar) calendar, how he takes things straight on, and who’s surrounded by people who have his back,” Okada said.
The movie’s director also said he expected big things from Okada.
“When I tried to picture my main character looking straight at the stars, I thought of Okada-san’s eyes and how they show a certain kindness, but also a strong will,” Takita said.
The movie will begin shooting on June 16 and is scheduled to be released in 2012.
Source: Eiga.com, Sports Hochi, and Sponichi Annex
Credit: Momoedgewood