Neuigkeiten

Fukada Kyoko, 38, a Japanese actor with a long list of major film and TV credits, has been diagnosed with adjustment disorder, her agency, Hori Production, announced Thursday. She is withdrawing from all work commitments while she recovers.

It is rare for a Japanese talent of her stature to publicly announce that they are suffering from mental health problems. One comparable case is that of Empress Masako, who received a similar adjustment disorder diagnosis in 2003.

According to the announcement Fukada has been ailing since the spring of last year. This month she was diagnosed with adjustment disorder by her physician and is now devoting herself to her recovery.

She was scheduled to star in an upcoming Fuji TV serial drama, which will now have to be recast. Also, the release of her latest film, “Lupin’s Daughter,” is set for this October, but Fukuda’s participation in promotional activities is in doubt.

Another Decade with Takashi Miike is a series of essays on the 2010s films of the Japanese maverick, following Notebook's earlier survey of Miike's first decade of the 21st century.In tallying up the sum of Takashi Miike’s work, getting anything like a concrete read on his artistic outlook and output is difficult, bordering on impossible. He made it easy to pigeonhole him by specializing for a time on the outré and the unapologetically crass at a time when, in America anyway, artists were losing a culture war. Western critics didn’t quite know what to make of a turn towards unrepentantly violence images in horror films as a species. Gore in service of a deliberate sledgehammer nihilism seems to be catching on so the majority of critics do as they always do and ghettoized the efforts, even gave the work a suitably boogeyman-style moniker in “torture porn.” Miike...

The Video Player Top Ten arrives a day late this week, but still chock full of goodness. The full trailer for Pascal Laugier’s Martyrs makes a big splash, entering the chart at number two, while Korean pop star Rain comes in high as well. And the end of the Japanese splatter era is well and truly upon us ... last week marked the first chart without The Machine Girl and this week Tokyo Gore Police drops off as well. Here’s the list!

1. Ong Bak 2 Promo Reel (12 091)

2. Martyrs Trailer (5126)

3. Yattaman Teaser (2242)

4. Ninja Assassin Behind the Scenes (2180)

5. My Name Is Bruce Trailer (1349)

6. Beyond the Grave Trailer (1039)

7. Rock N Rolla Trailer Two (934)

8. Genius Party Beyond Trailer Two (855)

9. Krabat Trailer (834)

10. Robot Taekwon V Concept Test (810)...

TOKYO -- Takashi Miike will direct the live-action version of "Yatterman", Nikkatsu Corp. said Monday.

Sakurai Sho has been chosen to play the lead role of Takada Gan, also known as Yatterman No. 1. The character uses the traditional children's game in which a ball on a length of string must be caught in a cup to defeat his enemies.

The casting of the other key roles, including heroine Yatterman No. 2 and villains Doronjo, Tonzler and Boyacky, will be completed in December, Nikkatsu spokeswoman Eiko Miyazaki said.

The project has a budget of 2 billion yen ($18.7 million) and the finished film is scheduled to be released in February 2009.

The original series was hugely popular in Japan when it first screened on Saturday evenings between 1977 and 1979. Nippon Television Network is planning to re-broadcast the shows beginning in January as part of the promotion for the film.