| 2005 | |
| Apr. 22 | There have been some interesting episodes from the filming of "Aegis"
in its official blog site, so I made some translations. The blog is written
by several members close to the filming, and includes the story of his
diet effort between WuJi and Aegis, exchange with the real Self Defence
Forces officer etc. "Aegis" blog excerpts Another sinalcom news from WuJi is up. It includes a "spoiler", so don't read it if you don't like to be spoiled. English translation |
| Apr. 20 | On Apr. 9, Japanese entertainment newspaper Sanspo reports that Sanada-san
is interested in the next movie by Director Hideo Nakata ("Ring 2"
Hollywood version, and original "Ringu"). It is the Hollywood
re-make of "The Eye", a Thai horror movie. Tom Cruise is the
producer of this Hollywood version. IMDb info about "The Eye" (Jian gui) Sanspo.com (Japanese) There also was a report about the voice of the "queen" in WuJi, and Sanada-san is mentioned in the article. sina.com(1) sina.com(2) English translation |
| Mar. 22 | Photos from WuJi voice over appear on sina.com. They still have not found
the voice for the Queen. Korean site Innolife reports that "WuJi"
will be released on Dec. 9 in Korea, and Dec. 23 in China this year. No
info about the release dates in other countries. I also found some English
version short news about the voice over. sina.com (Chinese) sina.com English version China Economic Net (English) Innolife (Japanese) |
| Mar. 16 | Another news report about WuJi recording on Chinese sites. Nothing totally
new, but it again says that all four main actors/actress will go to Cannes
for the promotion of the movie. In another Chinese article, they say the
producers are having a hard time finding the voice for the Queen. yam.com (Chinese) |
| Mar. 7 | U.S. entertainment trade publication "Variety" reports about
"Aegis". No mention about Sanada-san, but they say Nippon Herald
is planning to market the film in Cannes. Variety Article |
| Mar. 4 | Another FUN report about "WuJi" voice over. It sound VERY MUCH
like our perfectionist Hiro-san!! -Jang Dong-kun and Nicholas Tse has already left Beijing, but Sanada-san is scheduled to work on voice-over for the coming 2 days. -Hiro's General rides on a horse a lot. To make his voice realistically sound like he is short of breath, Sanada-san hops and jumps around, and he sweats a lot in a cold winter day!! sina.com (Chinese) |
| Mar. 4 | "Premiere Japan" April issue reports a very good interview article
of Sanada-san. He talks about his ealy days, and about his recent international
works. See the English translation below: Premiere Article English Translation Pictures |
| Mar. 2 | Another voice over report on Chinese site with HIS PICTURE!!!! It also
talk about the two foreign actors' effort to speak proper Mandarine, and
that they both refuse to compromise in the quality and keep working deligently
without any complaint. It reports that the post-production is scheduled
to be over by Sep. or Oct. this year. yam.com (Chinese) |
| Mar. 1 | Monkey Peaches and sina.com report about "WuJi" voice-over. -All the cast members are recording the voice-over in Mandarine Chinese, including Hiro and Korean star Jang Dong-kun. -Sanada-san practiced the proper way to scream in Chinese, and JDK worked his throat too much and it even bleeded. -They gathered 100 people in all ages and "blind tested" Sanada-san's and JDK's Chines to see if they should do their own voice-over or not. -The voice-over of the two non-Chinese actors takes so much time and effort. JDK's one phrase took 15 hours all together once. The staff members were too tired and one of them even collapsed. They admired the effort of these actors. -Post-production of WuJi is yet to finish, but 10 minute clip is planned to be shown at Cannes Film Festival. MonkeyPeaches (English) Sina.com (1) (Chinese) Sina.com(2) (Chinese) Sina.com(3) (Chinese) |
| Feb. 20 | Kihachi Okamoto, director of "Sukedachiya Sukeroku (Vengeance for
Sale)" passed away. See my tribute to Director Okamoto |
| Feb. 19 | Chinese info site reports that "WuJi - The Promise" after recording
started this week. Nicholas Tze and Jan Dong-Kun arrived in Beijing on
16th and 18th respectively, and Sanada-san is scheduled to be there on
2/21. Sohu.com article (Chinese) Sina.com article (Chinese) |
| Jan. 9 | Sanada-san attended "New York Film Critics Awards" presentation
in New York. I have no idea what function he was there for, though. If
anyone has any information, please let me know! Pictures from WireImage New York Film Critics Official Webpage |
| Jan.11 | Sanada-san recently attended the party at Makoto Wada's Poster Exibition
in Tokyo, singing karaoke with other attendees. Makoto Wada directed four
of his movies (Round About Midnight, Uneasy Encounters, Kaito Ruby, Mahjong
Vagrant Life), and he is also a leading pop-art illustrator. Sanada-san
and Wada-san are really good friends. Makoto Wada and Sanada-san info |
| Jan. 8 | Asahi.com reports his interview. He looks a bit tired in this picture,
so let's blame on the photographer. asahi.com article Summary of the article is as follows: -On last year's schedule: Last year, there were coincidentaly many works that are worth pushing myself over the limit. It took a lot of toll on me both physically and mentally, but somehow the body could manage it. -On "Aimless Aegis": I thought it has a potential to become a first-class entertainment movie with a sharp sociopolitical view on current Japan. It is very hard to be a hit in a box office while maintaining the quality and the class. Sengoku's role cannot be done just by being realistic, but at the same time it cannot be too cartoon-ish. It was difficult but worth trying. -He was attracted by the fact that it was the first big budget action movie for Director Junji Sakamoto: "Twilight Samurai" was also the first period film for Yoji Yamada, and I was so excited about the possible chemical reaction. It is a gamble, but it excites me 100 times more than a routine work. -On "WuJi": I agreed on Director Chen Kaige's idea to create an "all Asian" movie for the world market. He is an energetic guy who enjoys the adventure, so I relaxed and played around so much.. I even did "round house back kick" after so many years. -On Matsuda in "TWC": My role is a villain who leads the Japanese invasion to China. Especially now that the relationships between China and Japan is shaky, I thought the role has to be played by a Japanese actor who understands Japan well, otherwise it will worsen the misunderstanding. I participated without a translator, so I had a hard time, but I also was enjoying myself with it. -On his works in various countries: There are still many other countries with many good movie producers in the world. Thinking this way, I cannot stand still. I seem to have a light footwork still, so I want to continue challenging. |
| Jan. 5 | "US Frontline News" reports interviews of 3 leading Japanese
actors, Sanada-san, Ken Watanabe and Koji Yakusho. Sanada-san's article: Hiroyuki Sanada was in Shanghai, China, all alone even without translator or manager, at the filming location of James Ivory's "White Countess." He was joking around with multi-national staff, with no signs of stiffness in his face. "I have to directly communicate with people if I am alone. It forces me to think in English, and it makes much easier to migle with others in the location. After all, things go smoother if I come by myself." After "The Last Samurai", where he showed his talent to the world, he played a role in Chen Kaige's (China) "WuJi - The Promise". In China, he experienced a high wall, difficult to overcome because it is within Asia, which was different from his past effort to make Japan understood in Hollywood. "I felt a gap between China and Japan at certain moments. But it is important for Japanese to participate (in Chinese movies) and leave the actual results. If I can build a bridge, even a wooden bridge, people can come over with much more ease." He has been challenging by going to Hollywood, and then to Asia. "It is like study overseas several times and then come back" and he did a Japanese spectacle "Aimless Aegis" (coming this summer). "I am not simply trying to go out of the country. I want to absorb new thing outside, and then make something in Japan that we can show with pride to other world. I want to keep going back and forth in that sense." In a caption to a photo: "In overseas filming, my behavior and acting become the image of Japanese. It is both pressure and power for me." More info on JGraphic Design (scroll all the way to the bottom of the page) |
