Tokyo Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Netflix unveiled its anime line-up for the year at the AnimeJapan event in Tokyo, including feature film Ultraman: Rising and TV series Gundam: Requiem for Vengeance and Rising Impact.

Rauw Alejandro and Rosalía have sparked intense speculation about whether they are still thinking about each other.The intrigue began when Puerto Rican sensation Rauw Alejandro took to his social media platforms to share a snapshot of himself dining at a ramen restaurant in Tokyo. While this might seem like an ordinary occurrence for a celebrity, what caught the attention of eagle-eyed fans was that the restaurant featured prominently in one of Rosalía’s music videos.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Osaka-based Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation will launch ytv animation, a new brand that will leverage Yomiuri TV’s long history in animation, while also undertaking more challenging titles. The move comes a day ahead of the Anime Japan 2024 convention being held at Tokyo Big Sight. It also comes “ahead of the 60th anniversary in 2027 of Yomiuri TV’s airing of ‘Golden Bat’ in 1967,” the company said. “We will leverage our nearly 60 years of experience producing and broadcasting anime to bring exciting titles to our fans,” said ytv animation producer in a prepared statement.

NBCUniversal is adding a set of features to Peacock as it gets set for the streaming outlet’s live coverage of the Paris Olympics this summer.

Prime Video has unveiled first-look images of its The Narrow Road to The Deep North adaptation starring Jacob Elordi, which has wrapped production in Australia.

Japanese director Takeshi Kitano has provided the artwork for the poster of the 2024 edition of Cannes parallel section Directors’ Fortnight, running alongside the main festival from May 15 to 26.

EXCLUSIVE:  BAFTA Award nomineeTakehiro Hira (‘Shōgun’, Gran Turismo) and Japanese Academy Award winner Akira Emoto have rounded out the cast of Searchlight‘s Rental Family directed by Hikari (Beef) and starring Whale Best Actor Oscar winner Brendan Fraser (The Whale) and Mari Yamamoto (Pachinko).

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. March Madness is (almost) here, and the streaming deals are rolling in as platforms are looking to lock in new subscribers ahead of the highly anticipated NCAA tournament.

BABYMONSTER have announced their upcoming 2024 ‘See You There’ fanmeet tour, featuring concerts in Singapore, Thailand and more.Today (March 18), BABYMONSTER announced the cities for their upcoming 2024 ‘See You There’ fanmeet tour. While specific dates have yet to be revealed, the girl group will hold events in Tokyo, Jakarta, Singapore, Taipei and Bangkok in the coming months.Ticketing and venue details have yet to be released for BABYMONSTER’s upcoming tour.

Naman Ramachandran The first edition of India’s Cinevesture International Film Festival (CIFF) has revealed 20 projects that will participate in its accompanying market. Comprising 17 features and three series, several of the projects are by creators who have found acclaim both internationally and in South Asia.

A live-action Teen Titans movie is in development at DC Studios, Deadline has confirmed.

Wall Street Journal, who confirmed via his daughter Atsumi Takano that he passed away in Tokyo on January 26 from natural causes following a fall.In 1967, Negishi, who was working for an electronics company at the time, designed the rudimentary Sparko Box, which would go on to inspire the globally dominant karaoke machines of the future, after being caught singing badly in his office.Farewell to another legend: Shigeichi Negishi, inventor of karaoke, has died age 100. By automating the sing-along, he earned the enmity of performers who saw his machine as a threat to their jobs.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Talaria Media is developing a new comedy series about a retired Navy SEAL, Variety has learned exclusively. The untitled single-camera series hails from writer and director Jame Anderson. It is loosely based on stories from Mark Greene’s book “Unsealed” as well as Anderson’s own life and relationship with her father, who was himself a veteran.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Hollywood producer and financier Joseph Cohen (“Brokeback Mountain,” “12 Years A Slave,” “Sicario,” “La La Land”) is launching a new company in Hong Kong called MediaRealm Advisors Asia. It will provide consulting services to Asia-based institutional and professional investors looking to invest in American Entertainment Investors mainstream Hollywood movie projects. He is joined in the venture by Hong Kong and Tokyo based Adam Guy Orlebar Garrett.

The annual top fifty hospitality 'power list' has been revealed today at the Northern Bar and Restaurant show held in Manchester. A number of local operators from the city's food and drink scene have joined the prestigious ranking.

EXCLUSIVE: ANIMA, the Filipino studio behind Venice winner On The Job 2: The Missing 8 and Sundance winner Leonor Will Never Die, is joining with Project 8 Projects to co-produce Antoinette Jadaone’s teenage pregnancy drama Sunshine.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Muhammad Ali will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2024, Variety has learned exclusively. Ali will be inducted during the Hall of Fame ceremony taking place on April 5 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He will be inducted by his widow, Lonnie Ali.

Carolyn Giardina “Godzilla Minus One” collected the Oscar in visual effects on Sunday, following a remarkable awards season run. The recipients included writer, director and VFX supervisor Takashi Yamazaki, who became the first helmer to receive a VFX trophy since Stanley Kubrick for 1968’s “2001: A Space Odyssey.” Kiyoko Shibuya, VFX supervisor and producer, became only the third woman to win an Oscar in the category (previous recipients were Sara Bennett for 2014’s “Ex Machina” and Suzanne M. Benson for 1986’s “Aliens.).” Recipients included Masaki Takahashi, a veteran CG director; and Tatsuji Nojima, an effects artist and compositor who is just 25 years old.

Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Evil Does Not Exist was awarded the Best Film award at the Asian Film Awards this evening in Hong Kong. Scroll down for the full list of winners. 

Ms. Marvel star Iman Vellani has revealed where she would like the character to go next.Speaking to NME at the 2024 Crunchyroll Anime Awards in Tokyo, the 21-year-old actor spoke about her current writing projects, and her hopes for the future of Ms. Marvel.Asked where she would like the character to go next, Vellani responded: “I mean, The Young Avengers would be nice.

Vampire Weekend have launched a new podcast called ‘Vampire Campfire’ today (March 7) – check it out below.The podcast, hosted by the band’s Ezra Koenig, Chris Baio and Chris Tomson,‌ comes ahead of the band releasing their fifth studio album, ‘Only God Was Above Us’, which arrives on April 5 via Columbia. You can pre-order/pre-save it here.A statement about the new podcast series says it will be “released semi-regularly for the foreseeable future” and fans who watch will be “invited behind the scenes into a longstanding and formerly private Vampire Weekend ritual: the frequent campfire chats where Baio, CT and Koenig convene to discuss and brainstorm all things Vampire Weekend – and so much more.”Fans have also been told that there will be Vampire Weekend ‘Easter Eggs’ on the podcast and they will be given “advance insights” into the band’s new album.The statement added: “[Fans] will be invited to witness…the band members reminisce about the past and discuss important matters in the present, ranging from tour openers, set lists and the potential of a future album called ‘The 40-Year-Old Email’, to such controversial topics as the dominant type of taco shell and The Real World vs Road Rules.“Future episodes will see the band delve deeper into the new album and will feature some very special guests.”‌Check out the first podcast episode here:Following on from 2019’s ‘Father Of The Bride’, Vampire Weekend’s first full-length album project in five years was recorded all over the world, from Manhattan to Los Angeles to London and Tokyo.

Utilising the genre of the road trip movie as an introspective self-journey of acceptance and moving forward both physically and emotionally, Kazuyoshi Kumakiri’s award winning Yoko stars Rinko Kikuchi as the film’s titular character. Yoko, despite living in one of the most populated cities in the world, is isolated and alone in her apartment.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Veteran mainland Chinese director Zhang Yimou is to be honored twice over at the Asian Film Awards ceremony on Sunday. He will be presented with a lifetime achievement award and a separate prize for directing the highest-grossing Asian film of 2023.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Mari Yamamoto will star opposite Brendan Fraser in Hikari’s “Rental Family.” The film follows a down and out actor living in Tokyo, who is hired as the token American guy for a Japanese rental family company providing professional stand-in services. The Searchlight Pictures‘ release will commence principal photography next week in Japan.

RIIZE have announced their upcoming 2024 ‘RIIZING Day’ fan-con world tour, with concerts in the US, Asia and more.Today (March 5), RIIZE revealed that they would be going on a fan-con world tour in 2024, titled ‘RIIZING Day’, featuring concerts and stops in nine different cities and territories in the coming months.The boyband’s tour will kick off with a two-day concert at the Jamsil Indoor Stadium in Seoul, South Korea on May 4 and 5. In the same month, the group will play hold shows in Tokyo, Japan and Los Angeles, California.The following month, RIIZE will bring their ‘RIIZING Day’ fan-con tour to Hong Kong and Taipei, before heading to the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand in July 2024.

French filmmaker Leos Carax discussed the sacred nature of the image and the challenge of retaining its power on the big screen in the digital age in an on-stage conversation at the Doha Film Institute’s Qumra event on Monday.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor The 8th annual Crunchyroll Anime Awards just concluded in Tokyo — with “Jujutsu Kaisen” Season 2 wining a total of 11 honors, including the top prize of anime of the year. Crunchyroll revealed the winners during a live ceremony Saturday, March 2, featuring celebrity presenters and musical performances.

Jujutsu Kaisen won Anime of the Year at the eighth annual Crunchyroll Anime Awards, which were handed out Saturday in Tokyo.

NME.The ceremony is being hosted by an array of international stars, including rapper Megan Thee Stallion, Ms. Marvel actress Iman Vellani, British artist Che Lingo and producer and DJ Yaeji.“Watching anime is one of my favorite things to do!” said Megan Thee Stallion in a press release.

Crunchyroll Anime Awards are set to take place this weekend (March 2) in Tokyo, but how can viewers around the world watch the ceremony? Read on to find out.This year’s awards show is the eighth annual edition of the event, and is being held at the Grand Prince Hotel New Takanawa in the Japanese capital, and will be hosted by J-pop singer Sally Amaki and TV personality Jon Kabira.Presenters at the ceremony will include Megan Thee Stallion, as well as Canadian actress Iman Vellani (Ms. Marvel, The Marvels) and J-pop star LiSA.In total, awards will be handed out in 32 categories, which will for the first time include Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction.Anime fans around the world will be able to live stream the awards show via Crunchyroll’s own official YouTube and Twitch channels.The show is set to start at 6pm local time on March 2.

Korean actress Lee Young-ae, known for her roles in Park Chan-wook’s Joint Security Area and Lady Vengeance, will be presented with the Excellence in Asian Cinema Award at this year’s Asian Film Awards (March 10) in Hong Kong.

Nick Clement The 13th annual Sun Valley Film Festival, kicking off Feb. 28, will aim to once again to capture the spirit of storytelling by celebrating poignant films at the Idaho ski resort town.

NCT WISH have made their official debut with the release of their new single, ‘Wish’, released in both Japanese and Korean.The six-member NCT sub-group released the song as part of their debut single album of the same name. The project also includes one other B-side track, titled ‘Sail Away’.

, to Oahu, Hawaii, following his final game of the football season, and she has the bikini photos to prove it.On Sunday the seven-time Olympic gold medalist took to Instagram to share a couple of scenes from the trip with her 7 million followers. In the sultry snapshots, the gymnast wore a terrycloth string bikini and a straw cowboy hat in true fashion. She further accessorized the look with a silver belly ring and a long pendant necklace with a bedazzled heart.“Dress code: bikini,” she captioned the post.This content can also be viewed on the site it from.The Hawaii trip comes amid her exciting return to training and competition at the end of last year.

Katcy Stephan Lionsgate has closed a deal with “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” director Destin Daniel Cretton to write and direct a live-action film adaptation of the manga classic “Naruto.” The announcement was made today by Adam Fogelson, chair, Lionsgate Motion Picture Group. The movie will be based on the manga created by Masashi Kishimoto.

Perfect Days is released in UK cinemas today (February 23), with a glittering rock’n’roll soundtrack. Read on to find out which songs are included in the film. Wenders co-wrote the film alongside Takuma Takasaki, and it stars Koji Yakusho (Babel, 13 Assassins) in the lead role as a public toilet cleaner in Tokyo.