First-day-screening event of new movie "Itsumata kimi to Herijunzailai"

The first-day-screening event of new movie "Itsumata kimi to Herijunzailai" was held at TOHO Cinemas Shinjuku on 24 June which was attended by the director Fukagawa Yoshihiro, the scriptwriter Yamamoto Mutsumi and cast members Ono Machiko, Mukai Osamu, Kishimoto Kayoko, Suruga Taro and Narita Ishin. The movie is based on the life of Mukai's grandmother Ashimura Tomoko. When Mukai was in university, he compiled the diary entries of his grandmother into a book which was published with the pool of funds from the family and presented to Tomoko on her 90th birthday. The book contains stories of Tomoko and her husband Goro during the tough post-war days when resources were scarce and how they tried to survive while supporting each other. Ono plays the role of Tomoko while Mukai plays the role of Goro in the movie. 7 years ago, Mukai came up with the idea of making the book into a real-life movie and participated actively in the production along with Fukagawa and Yamamoto.

After the cast appeared on stage, they were greeted with loud cheers and a standing ovation which led Ono to start crying. Mukai then handed her a handkerchief to wipe her tears as she expressed her thanks to everyone for their support while still sobbing. Mukai also echoed her view and revealed that seeing Ono cry made him calmer for some reason but today was a special day for him as he saw how the movie seemed to have conveyed the feelings of many people to the audience successfully. He expressed his thanks to Ono who played his wife which made her cry again and hide her face behind the bouquet of yellow flowers she received from Mukai as a surprise.

Kishimoto talked about the experience of working alongside the late Nogiwa Yoko in this movie and revealed that the latter was looking forward to attending the first-day-screening event. However, she passed away on 13 June before her wish could be realised. Kishimoto said that it was a honour to be able to work with Nogiwa and that she had looked so healthy when they were filming the movie in February last year. Mukai also commented that Nogiwa had said before that she hoped that the tough post-war days should never come again and that it was important to convey such a message through this movie.

Sources: Eiga.com / Oricon

Top 10 movies box office ranking for the weekend of 24th & 25th June 2017

Numbers in brackets indicate the number of cinemas showing the movie:

1) 22 Nenme no Kokuhaku Watashi ga satsujinhan desu (328)

2) Beauty and the Beast (372)

3) Hirugao (312)

4) Hacksaw Ridge (252)

5) Kodomotsukai (250)

6) Gekijouban Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei Hoshi wo yobu shoujo (59)

7) Itsumata, Kimi to Herijunzailai (189)

8) Uchuu Senkan Yamato 2202 Ai no senshitachi Dai Nisho Hasshin Hen (20)

9) King Arthur (326)

10) Hanaikusa (353)

Source: Eiga.com

Nogiwa Yoko passes away at the age of 81

Actress Nogiwa Yoko passed away at the age of 81 on 13 June as reported on 15 June. According to insiders, her wake and funeral which was attended by family members only had been completed.

Nogiwa was born in Toyama City, Toyama Prefecture, before she moved to Suginami, Tokyo, at the age of 3. After graduating from Rikkyo University, she managed to overcome the low odds of 0.3% to become a NHK announcer in 1958 and was the host for programmes like "Ohayou Minna-san". After quitting from NHK in 1962, she worked at an advertising agency for three months and switched to become a freelance announcer which then landed her the job of being the host of TBS programme "Josei Senka". In the following year, Nogiwa made her debut as an actress in the TBS drama "Hi no Utsuwa" and continued working as an actress until she went to study French literature at Université de Paris in 1966. After she returned in 1968, she starred in the TBS drama "Key Hunter" which ran for 5 years and achieved ratings above 30 percent at the peak of its popularity. It was then when she met co-star Chiba Sonny and the couple got married in 1973 before she gave birth to their daughter Manase Juri in 1975 at the age of 37. However, when Chiba wanted to move to the US in 1994, Nogiwa didn't want to follow him there and felt that there were no longer any feelings between them so the couple went their separate ways.

Since then, Nogiwa had appeared in many dramas and movies and was especially known for her role as the mother-in-law who spoilt her son Fuyuhiko (Sano Shiro) in the 1992 TBS drama "Zutto anata ga suki datta". She also holds the title of the No.1 female guest who had appeared the most times (21) on Kuroyanagi Tetsuko's signature show "Tetsuko no Heya as they had been close friends since the days when she was a NHK announcer. Nogiwa's last drama appearances are in the ongoing TV Asahi afternoon drama "Yasuragi no Sato" and TV Asahi Spring 2017 drama "Keishicho Sousa Ikka Kyugakari" while she can also be seen in the movie "Itsumata kimi to Herijunzailai" which was released in cinemas on 24 May.

Nogiwa was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2014 while she was acting in the FujiTV afternoon drama "Hanayome no Noren" and went through treatment. However, she suffered a relapse in the following year and went through an operation to remove the tumour. Although her condition had seen an improvement after chemotherapy, rumours of her being in ill health persisted especially when she was the only person in the cast absent from the production press conference of "Yasuragi no Sato" held on 16 March this year.

With regard to why Nogiwa passed away, her agency said that they would like to refrain from making her health problems public so as to respect her privacy. Even though Nogiwa had a number of illnesses in the past, she still tried her best to live healthily and happily.

Sources: Sports Hochi / Sanspo / Sponichi

Completion screening event of new movie "Itsumata, kimi to ~ Herijunzailai~"

The completion screening event of new movie "Itsumata, kimi to ~ Herijunzailai ~" was held on 18 April which was attended by the director Fukagawa Yoshihiro, scriptwriter Yamamoto Mutsumi and cast members Mukai Osamu, Ono Machiko, Kishimoto Kayoko and Narita Ishin. The movie which will be shown in cinemas from 24 June, is based on the life of Mukai's grandmother Ashimura Tomoko. When Mukai was in university, he compiled the diary entries of his grandmother into a book which was published with the pool of funds from the family and presented to Tomoko on her 90th birthday. The book contains stories of Tomoko and her husband Goro during the tough post-war days when resources were scarce and how they tried to survive while supporting each other. Ono plays the role of Tomoko while Mukai plays the role of Goro in the movie. 7 years ago, Mukai came up with the idea of making the book into a real-life movie and participated actively in the production along with Fukagawa and Yamamoto.

Mukai said that he felt responsible in various ways to ensure that the film could be completed as if he was sending his child to see the world. He also revealed that on the last day of the filming of NHK morning drama "Gegege no Nyobo" in 2009, he passed a copy of his grandmother's diary to Yamamoto who was the scriptwriter but it probably turned out for the better that the movie was only completed at this time thanks to the cast and staff members he managed to assemble later. In this era where family ties tend to be weaker than before, he also hoped that the movie will serve as a catalyst to get family members talking to one another. Meanwhile, Ono revealed that she initially thought that Mukai was the one who chose her to play his grandmother but it turned out that he had given up the right to choose the cast lineup right from the start so she was rather disappointed to know about this. Mukai explained that he found it difficult to think of someone to play his grandmother so he had to leave it to others to make the decision.

Sources: Nikkansports / Sanspo / Sponichi / Oricon / Eiga.com

Takahata Mitsuki to sing the theme song for new movie "Itsumata, Kimi to Herijunzailai"

Takahata Mitsuki will be singing the theme song for new movie "Itsumata, Kimi to Herijunzailai" starring Mukai Osamu and Ono Machiko which is based on the life of Mukai's grandmother Ashimura Tomoko. When Mukai was in university, he compiled the diary entries of his grandmother into a book which was published with the pool of funds from the entire family and presented to Tomoko on her 90th birthday. The book contains stories of Tomoko and her husband Goro during the tough post-war days when resources were scarce and how they tried to survive while supporting each other. Ono plays the role of Tomoko while Mukai plays the role of Goro in the movie. 7 years ago, Mukai came up with the idea of making the book into a real-life movie and participated actively in the production along with the director Fukagawa Yoshihiro who was responsible for "Kamisama no Karte" and Yamamoto Mutsumi who wrote the scripts for NHK dramas "Gegege no Nyoubou".

Takahata will be singing the Japanese version of the Chinese song "Herijunzailai" which was the insert song for 1937 Chinese movie "San Xing Ban Yue" and had been sung by many singers to date including Teresa Teng, Watanabe Hamako, Judy Ong, Miyako Harumi and Ishikawa Sayuri. Takahata commented that the song lyrics speaks of straightforward love and how someone would feel as if there is a hole in his or life if the lover is gone from their lives. During the recording, she tried to sing as how she felt from the lyrics. As for her impression of Mukai, Takahata said that he had always given her the image of being a serious and passionate person so she was very happy to be able to take part in his challenge of making his grandmother's diary into a movie. On the other hand, Mukai commented that he knew that the song was not a simple one to sing but he was impressed with how Takahata had sung it and felt that it was perfect to be played during the ending credits roll.

Besides Mukai and Ono, the film also stars Kishimoto Kayoko, Suruga Taro, Issey Ogata, Narita Ishin and Nogiwa Yoko and will be shown in cinemas from 24 June.

Source: Eiga.com

Mukai Osamu & Ono Machiko to star in new movie "Itsumata kimi to Herijunzailai"

Mukai Osamu and Ono Machiko will be playing a married couple in the new movie "Itsumata kimi to Herijunzailai" (Someday, with you) which is based on the life of Mukai's grandmother Ashimura Tomoko. When Mukai was in university, he compiled the diary entries of his grandmother into a book which was published with the pool of funds from the family and presented to Tomoko on her 90th birthday. The book contains stories of Tomoko and her husband Goro during the tough post-war days when resources were scarce and how they tried to survive while supporting each other. Ono plays the role of Tomoko while Mukai plays the role of Goro in the movie.

7 years ago, Mukai came up with the idea of making the book into a real-life movie and participated actively in the production along with the director Fukagawa Yoshihiro who was responsible for "Kamisama no Karte" and Yamamoto Mutsumi who wrote the scripts for NHK dramas "Gegege no Nyoubou". When asked about this, Mukai said that this has been a dream of his since he became an actor especially since he wouldn't be where he is now without his grandparents. In addition, he hopes that the story of overcoming the odds will inspire people to reflect on their own families and ancestors.

As for working with Ono, Mukai said that her presence alone lightened up the atmosphere of the filming and he was glad to be able to work with her. In response, Ono praised her co-star for being gentle on people but demanding about acting so he was always trying to explain how things should be done since he had first-hand knowledge of the story. She also revealed that when she got the offer, she agreed to it immediately upon hearing that this is a Mukai Osamu project.

The movie will be shown in cinemas from 24 June 2017.

Source: Eiga.com