Johnny Kitagawa, Late Japanese Talent Mogul, Accused of Sexual Abuse by Former Teen Star Okamoto Kauan

Judi Love showed off a bizarre “skill” which sent the Loose Women audience into a frenzy during Thursday's episode. Judi’s secret skill was exposed following a conversation around a baby crying contest that is held in Japan.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Toho, Japan’s most powerful movie studio, is launching a production services offshoot intended to assist and grow foreign film and TV shoots in the country.Toho Tombo Pictures is a joint venture with Japan-based producer Georgina Pope, who has worked with the top entertainment companies around the globe for more than 30 years. The new company will be headed by Shimada Mitsuru, who currently serves as president of Toho Studios, as representative director of Toho Tombo Pictures. Pope, Ueda Koji and Toho Studios executive Sudo Tetsushi will serve as directors. Ueda is GM of international business of Toho and VP of U.S. subsidiary, Toho International, Inc.

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International “Drive My Car” star Hidetoshi Nishijima has signed with CAA for representation. Nishijima starred in the acclaimed 2021 Japanese feature “Drive My Car,” which was nominated for four Academy Awards, and walked away with the Oscar for best international feature film. He earned several awards for his performance in the Cannes-premiering critical darling, including best actor from the National Society of Film Critics and the Boston Film Critics Circle Awards, as well as the Japan Academy Film Prize for best actor. Nishijima will next star alongside Rashida Jones in “Sunny,” Apple TV+’s half-hour dark comedy series from A24 and Lucy Tcherniak. He also stars in Kitano Takeshi’s “Kubi,” which will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival next month.

Dani Rovira, star of “Spanish Affair” and Eva Soriano, a comedian with her own show on Movistar+, “Showriano,” will dub main characters in the awaited Japanese reboot of the hit Takeshi Kitano-hosted 1980s adventure variety show “Takeshi’s Castle.” This technique, where Spanish comedians produced a laughably spoof dub which often had little to do with events happening on screen in the original Japanese show, yielded a cult TV show on Telecinco in the 1990s. In all, Prime Video’s new slate in Spain can be read several ways. It is tapping top movie talent for movies which, though maybe long in development, seek to capitalise on the huge audience and branding success of the Oscar-nominated “Argentina, 1985.”  Though titles range widely, many involve either true crime or action, broad prime audience drivers in an OTT world.  Amazon’s Prime Video is unveiling key steps in Spain in its transformation from a movie-TV service into a broad entertainment broadcaster.  

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor The 57th edition of Karlovy Vary Intl. Film Festival, which runs June 30-July 8, has planned a retrospective program focused on Iranian cinema with a selection of films made in the past four years. The festival will also celebrate the work of Japanese filmmaker Yasuzo Masumura. Commenting on the Iranian cinema program, the festival said in a statement: “Collectively these works offer an insightful testimony of the burning creativity of Iran’s artists in face of the challenging reality. Nine mostly young filmmakers – urgent, unheard voices – who palpably bear a spiritual connection to the previous generations of their country’s greats, tackle the current reality with a remarkable sensitivity and great inventiveness.

K.J. Yossman Netflix has unveiled its slate for Annecy International Animation Film Festival with highlights including “Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget” and “Nimona.” The streamer is returning to the French animation festival next month with a range of events including panels, screenings and Q&As. They include a panel titled “From Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget to Blue Eye Samurai – See What’s Next @ Netflix” and a special screening of graphic novel adaptation “Nimona” with the project’s directors Nick Bruno and Troy Quane as well as creator ND Stevenson, which will be followed by a “making of” session. Netflix’s main panel promises to give fans a sneak peek at a number of upcoming projects including:

The Conjuring and Up In The Air has covered Slipknot‘s ‘Duality’.Farmiga put her own spin on Slipknot’s 2004 hit at a show on Monday (April 17) put on by the Rock Academy music school in Woodstock, New York. She has performed at previous iterations of the event, taking on metal classics like Iron Maiden‘s ‘The Trooper’ and Black Sabbath‘s ‘War Pigs’. Prior to singing ‘Duality’, Farmiga told the audience: “I’ll tell you one thing – this music program is one thing we can’t get enough of. We really do have the time of our lives.”She continued: “This is for all the chin-pressers.

Apple TV+ already has an expanding library of great original programming, like “Ted Lasso,” “Severance,” “Servant,” and “Schmigadoon!.” But the streamer also has a handful of original international series like “Pachinko” and “Acapulco” that fly under the radar. READ MORE: The 70 Most Anticipated TV Shows & Mini-Series Of 2023 Add another show like that to the Apple TV+ ranks: “Drops Of God,” a French-Japanese drama set in the world of gastronomy and fine wines.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Japanese animated film “The First Slam Dunk” has taken a strong early lead at the mainland China box office, picking up $13.8 million on its Thursday opening day. Films mostly release in China on Fridays, but the Japanese hit was given previews on Wednesday and a full court release on Thursday, starting with widespread midnight screenings. Data from local firm Ent Group reveals that the film earned $3.16 million from some 14,000 preview screenings on Wednesday, followed by $13.8 million on Thursday from 184,000 screening sessions. That gives it a $17 million cumulative and positions it at the top of the box office chart even before the conventional Friday to Sunday weekend begins.

EXCLUSIVE: Vertical has acquired North American rights to Keoni Waxman’s romantic comedy The Modelizer, written by and starring Byron Mann (The Big Short), slating the film for a day-and-date release on July 14th.

Singer Moon Bin of the K-Pop group Astro has died at 25. The musician was found dead in his Seoul, South Korea, home on Wednesday evening.  When efforts to communicate with the star were not returned, his manager reportedly found him at home.

The Japanese House – aka Amber Bain – has announced that she will release her second album, ‘In The End It Always Does’, this summer. Out now is new single ‘Sad To Breath’.The new track was produced by Bain with Chloe Kraemer and The 1975’s George Daniel.

A singer from South Korean boyband Astro was found dead at his Seoul home, according to his management agency.

The Japanese House has shared their new single ‘Sad To Breathe’ and announced her forthcoming second album ‘In The End It Always Does’.The track, a bright yet heartbreaking ballad, is co-produced by The Japanese House (real name born Amber Bain) along with The 1975‘s George Daniel and Chloe Kraemer (Rex Orange County, Lava La Rue, Glass Animals).“I wrote ‘Sad To Breathe’ some time ago, it’s one of the oldest songs on the record,” said Bain. “It was very different back then. It’s gone from being solely electronic to what it is now, mostly live/acoustic instrumentation.“It’s about that desperate feeling when someone leaves you and the disbelief that they could.

The Japanese House, a.k.a. Amber Bain, has announced details of a new album.

Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda is a Cannes Film Festival regular at this point, with five of his last nine features premiering on the Croisette. Moreover, Kore-eda’s film do well at the fest, too: 2013’s “Like Father, Like Son” won the Jury Prize that year, while “Shoplifters” won the coveted Palme d’Or in 2018.

Britain's Got Talent has faced the wrath of some viewers following its return to screens. The hit ITV talent show returned for its 16th series on Saturday night (April 15) before a second helping of auditions aired on Sunday night in a bumper series premiere weekend.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor SPOILER ALERT: This story discusses major plot points of “Suzume,” currently playing in theaters. Makoto Shinkai’s latest anime feature, “Suzume,” hits American theaters this weekend. The film is set in the aftermath of the 2011 earthquake that devastated Japan’s Tohoku region, centering on themes of loss and grief. Shinkai brings in a talking cat and mobile three-legged chair to help tell the story of a young girl, Suzume, who travels across disaster-stricken Japan in hopes to save the country from its devastation. This leads her to the Ever After, a fantastical realm of souls which Suzume first discovers when she finds a mysterious door and walks through it.

If you needed further proof that mullets are well and truly back in style, you only need to look to Love Island 2022 finalist Indiyah Polack. In a very surprising transformation, the influencer has swapped her signature long and highlighted lengths for a shaggy 80s-style mullet cut – and though mullets generally have a bad rap these days, it actually suits her to a tee.The 24 year old, who is still coupled up with her villa beau Dami Hope, has been sharing the makeover on her Instagram stories and grid – much to the surprise and delight of her 1 million followers. "Mullet supremacy," she captions a newly-posted grid selfie of the hair.

As the launch bay door closed on Star Wars Celebration 2023, Disney’s Jedi Counsel announced the timing and location of the gathering’s next installment. Fans and talent will next get together and celebrate a galaxy far, far away in a year that may itself seem far away at this point: 2025.