Japanese Action Star Rina Takeda Among Cast In Talks For Hong Kong Zombie Movie ‘Chungking Mansions’

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefKorean TV series have dominated viewing preferences across large parts of Asia for the last decade. But it has taken a high-concept survival drama “Squid Game” to become the first K-drama to rate as Netflix’s top show in the U.S.The nine-part Netflix original involves a group of people from all walks of life who sign up for a series of simple, but utterly lethal games, organized by mysterious hosts in masks and red overalls.

If you’re a world cinema lover who does not yet know the name Ryûsuke Hamaguchi—winner of the Best Screenplay prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival for his adaption of Haruki Murakami’s short story, “Drive My Car” (read our rave review)—that is very likely about to change.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefJapanese stars Ito Hideaki (“Tokkai”), Kasamatsu Sho (“Flowers and Rain”) and Yamashita Tomohisa (“The Man from Toronto”) have joined the cast as series regulars on “Tokyo Vice.” The series is backed by streaming service HBO Max, Japanese pay-TV leader Wowow and Endeavor Content.The Japanese and English-language crime drama series boasts a previously announced headline cast that includes Ansel Elgort, Ken Watanabe, Rachel Keller, Ella Rumpf and Kikuchi Rinko.The

been made of cardboard in a move to deter sex.“Beds to be installed in Tokyo Olympic Village will be made of cardboard, this is aimed at avoiding intimacy among athletes,” American distance runner Paul Chelimo tweeted.“Beds will be able to withstand the weight of a single person to avoid situations beyond sports,” Chelimo went on.

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Call Of Duty: Mobile is working with the famed Japanese mecha designer Shoji Kawamori to design a new character skin for the seventh season of the game. Launching on September 10 at 1am BST, the Reaper – Ashura skin is supposed to be an “anime-like military robot”.“When I was thinking about the mecha design of the robot weapons in Call Of Duty: Mobile, which has a military-style worldview, I incorporated an “anime feel” to achieve a balance that is more human, while still retaining a mecha vibe

Mark Schilling Japan CorrespondentAn animator long showered with awards and critical praise, beginning with his 2004 full-length directorial debut “Mind Game,” Yuasa Masaaki is no stranger to the festival circuit. But Venice, where his new animated feature “Inu-Oh” is screening in the Horizons section, is his first Big Three festival.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefDisney’s Asia-Pacific president Luke Kang says that the group is preparing to do battle with other companies to become a significant player in Korean and Japanese original production.“We are not going to dabble. We are going to be a major player,” said Kang on Tuesday.

Richard Kuipers A young woman discovers she’s a crime family heiress in “Yakuza Princess,” a grimy action-thriller set in the neon-drenched streets of São Paulo’s Japanese district. Adapted from Danilo Beyruth’s graphic novel by Brazilian filmmaker Vicente Amorim (“Motorrad), “Yakuza” delivers stylish shootouts and eye-catching swordplay but lacks the dynamic characters and story-telling panache required to lift it into the top grade.

Lost Judgment demo is on the way after information about a demo leaked via the Japanese PlayStation Network.On August 26, the Twitter account ‘psnrelease2’ was able to find a reference to the upcoming RPG called ‘Lost Judgment: Unjudged Memory Trial Version‘ on the Japanese PSN – as spotted by GamesRadar, suggesting that a demo is on the way.If the leak is reliable, this could mean that the demo will be exclusive to Japan/Asia since it was discovered on the Japanese PSN.

Japanese Breakfast shared a dreamy new song yesterday (August 26) Calle ‘Glider’ – listen to it below.The musician, real name Michelle Zauner, has written the song for her upcoming video game soundtrack, Sable.In a statement, Zauner said film score legends Alan Menken and Joe Hisaishi were two of her biggest inspirations when creating the soundtrack.Zauner added: “I was so lucky Daniel Fineberg and Gregorios Kythreotis from Shedworks invited me onto this game so early on.“I was immediately

Richard Kuipers A cavalcade of creatures from Japanese folklore come alive in “The Great Yokai War: Guardian,” a hugely enjoyable fantasy-adventure directed by the famously prolific and supremely versatile Takashi Miike (“Audition”, “13 Assassins”).

Celtic star Kyogo Furuhashi. A video circulating on social media over the weekend showed individuals on board an Ibrox supporters' bus singing vile songs and aiming offensive gestures at Japanese forward Furuhashi.

EXCLUSIVE: Riceboy Sleeps, the latest film from director, writer and actor Anthony Shim, has started production in and around Vancouver.

Meet Spike Spiegel (John Cho), Jet Black (Mustafa Shakir), and Faye Valentine (Daniella Pineda). Yep, the long-awaited and detailed “Cowboy Bebop” is finally done and premieres November 19 on Netflix.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefFilming has begun on multinational, multi-lingual TV series “Drops of God,” which is adapted from the best-selling Japanese manga series “Kami, no Shizuku.” Set in the worlds of wine and gastronomy, the series is backed by Legendary Television, Dynamic Television and the Nippon Television-owned Hulu Japan and produced with Adline EntertainmentThe story involves a woman who discovers that her estranged father has left her the world’s greatest wine collection in