Japan Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Well Go USA has landed North American rights for Dutch action thriller Invasion about a daring military operation in the wake of a hostile attack on the Caribbean islands of Aruba and Curacao.

TV’s biggest globetrotting adventure is back with 10 brand new contestants taking on the once-in-a-lifetime challenge. In pairs, the Race Across the World competitors are tasked with navigating their way through East Asia with limited resources, no credit cards and no phones. Over 50 days, they must travel from Japan to Indonesia, with only what they can carry, in an attempt to get their hands on a cash prize of £20,000.This year’s youngest duo, Alfie and Owen, both 20 years old, are best friends and confessed they weren’t exactly fans of the show before agreeing to participate.

Crunchyroll has acquired North American and select EMEA and Latin America theatrical rights to the highly anticipated feature anime spinoff Blue Lock The Movie – Episode Nagi. Crunchyroll and Sony have set a North American release for June 28, 2024 with the international dates still to be confirmed. The buzzy title is currently dated for April 19 in Japan.

So, Sony was here at CinemaCon after all. In a way. Sony domestic distribution chief Adrian Smith took the stage to introduce the first ever Crunchyroll presentation at the Las Vegas exhibitor and studio confab. Smith beamed that the label “has exceeded all our expectations and everyone at Sony is excited about the future and what’s coming.” 

Korean auteur Park Chan-wook (“Old Boy”) is moving along at a nice clip. On the way is his HBO period spy series “The Sympathizer,” which comes out later this month, and potentially next is his long-gestating remake of the dark comedy “The Ax.” And while that’s undoubtedly an abundance of great projects in the works, there are even more on the horizon.

Aoki Lee Simmons, 21, took the internet by storm this weekend when photos went viral of the model with 65-year-old restauranteur Vittorio Assaf. With any age gap, it sparked a discussion, with many debating the situation online. Aoki got roasted by social media, and even her parents, Russell Simmons and Kimora Lee started catching some heat.Aoki and Assaf certainly looked happy on their romantic trip to St.

Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic SPOILER ALERT: The following essay discusses key plot points, including the ending. Last weekend, I took in “Le Samouraï” for what must have been the sixth or seventh time, relishing the new 4K restoration of Jean-Pierre Melville’s masterpiece (now playing at Laemmle theaters in Los Angeles). As I exited the screening, I discreetly eavesdropped on my fellow audience members. Most seemed impressed.

Christian Nodal and Cazzu are basking in the happiness of parenthood with their daughter, Inti. Since becoming first-time parents, the family has been experiencing many “firsts” together. Most recently, they introduced Inti to the ocean.

Oppenheimer continues to break records around the world, and now the film has become Christopher Nolan’s biggest Box Office hit overseas.The biopic profiles Robert J. Oppenheimer (played by Cillian Murphy), the real-life American physicist who played a pivotal role in the creation of the atomic bomb in World War II.

Producers in Southeast Asia are facing a very different, much quieter landscape to the one in front of them just 12 months ago, as U.S. players rein in their spending to appease shareholders, and neighboring countries such as Korea, Japan and India draw attention.

Lauren Sánchez, a former entertainment news anchor turned entrepreneur, and her fiancé, Jeff Bezos, the renowned Amazon founder, are making headlines yet again. Still, it’s not for business ventures or technological breakthroughs this time.

Annika Pham Copenhagen-based DR Sales has secured major sales on the Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner and Visions du Réel Grand Angle entry “A New Kind of Wilderness.” The film, directed by Silje Evensmo Jacobsen, has been acquired by ZDF and Arte for Germany and France, Cinema Delicatessen for the Netherlands, Dalton Distribution for Belgium, Against Gravity for Poland, Kino Pavasaris for the Baltics and Stardust for Japan. “From the moment ‘A New Kind of Wilderness’ was presented to us, we fell in love with the film,” said DR Sales’ Freja Johanne Nørgaard Sørensen.

EXCLUSIVE: The company that sells The Traitors format around the world and the Japanese broadcaster behind Ninja Warrior and Takeshi’s Castle have teamed up to create a physical gameshow.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor AMC Networks plans to offer ad-supported versions to all of its targeted streaming services by the end of the 2024-2025 upfront market, part of a broader bid to give advertisers a potential perch in nearly every video venue. AMC in late 2023 launched an ad-supported edition of its flagship AMC+ streaming venue, which comprises offerings from Shudder, Sundance Now and IFC Films Unlimited. Now, it wants to offer plans tied to those individual hubs, as well as other services, outside of an overarching AMC+ plan.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor French broadcaster M6 has greenlit a French-language adaptation of Turkish crime drama “Persona,” to be titled “Mémoire Vive.” Instead of a male protagonist, as in the Turkish version, it will have a female main character, Esther Lefevre, to be played by Clementine Celarie, whose credits include “Six Women,” “Betty Blue” and “Two Is a Family.” “Mémoire Vive,” which will comprise four hour-long episodes, is being produced by Calt Studio. It is written by Laurent Burtin (“Astrid: Murder in Paris”), Anne-Gaëlle Daval (“Ladies”) and Hélène Lombard (“Call My Agent!”).

Callum McLennan U.K. distribution powerhouse DCD Rights is announcing strong pre-sales for its musical legend laden slate at MipTV. The remastered release of “David Bowie: Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders from Mars” in stunning 4K leads the pack with a pre-sale to NHK Japan already in place.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Oscar-winning Japanese animation film “The Boy and the Heron” earned a chart-topping $34.9 million between Friday and Sunday at the mainland China box office. Over its full five-day opening run, it took an even more spectacular $73 million. China was the last major territory to play the Studio Ghibli-produced fantasy in cinemas – it released in its native Japan in July and is imminently headed to streaming in many other territories – but that did not stop Chinese audiences from lapping it up. While most films release in China on a Friday, “The Boy and the Heron” was given a Wednesday outing in order to capture momentum from the Thursday-to-Saturday Qingming public holiday. Consultancy firm Artisan reports that it earned RMB248 million ($34.9 million) over the conventional Friday-to-Sunday weekend.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Without significant new challengers, spooky Korean drama “Exhuma” held on at the top of the South Korea box office chart for the seventh consecutive weekend. Its cumulative passed the symbolic $80 million mark. The lack of strong new release titles also meant that aggregate weekend box office in Korea slipped to a lowly $5.59 million. The Choi Min-sik-starring “Exhuma” dropped roughly 50% week-on-week to record $1.59 million between Friday and Sunday, and a 28% market share, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic).

Refresh for latest…: A busy holdover weekend for wide studio releases was led by the trio of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Kung Fu Panda 4 and Dune: Part Two. And, in a soaring performance, Hayao Miyazaki’s Oscar winner The Boy and the Heron swooped into China helping the market set a new Qingming holiday record. 

Freddy Knatchbull was reportedly the target of a terrifying kidnap plot last year.The Made In Chelsea star, who is distantly related to King Charles III, was filming in Corsica when he was allegedly locked in a 4x4 by the plotters. Freddy, who is the great-grandson of Lord Mountbatten, Prince Philip’s uncle, was filming for Made In Chelsea: Corsica at the time of the horrifying kidnapping attempt. And it's believed that while the cast were left terrified following this, show bosses were not made aware of the ordeal at the time.

Arlo Parks appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon last night (April 6), where she performed ‘Devotion’ – check it out below.The singer has just wrapped up a tour of North America and while she was in the States, she stopped by to perform the final single from her second album ‘My Soft Machine’.“‘Devotion’ to me is a song about feeling so in love it’s almost like being ripped apart, there’s an intensity, a wildness and a tenderness,” Parks previously said of the track in a statement, adding the track “draws from the bands that made me fall in love with music from Deftones to Yo La Tengo to Smashing Pumpkins to My Bloody Valentine.”Check out the performance below:Meanwhile, Parks also said she had co-written the track ‘Ya Ya’ from Beyoncé’s new album ‘Cowboy Carter’.“Being a part of this rich, culture shifting record truly feels like a dream come true…thank you Mariel for the trust, @Beyonce,” Parks wrote on X/Twitter. “You are truly a FORCE – this is SPECIAL.”Parks is set to play this year’s edition of All Things Go festival at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Washington, D.C.

With the popularity of women’s basketball on the rise, Prime Video and the WNBA have reached an extension of their current rights deal through the next two seasons.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Women’s pro hoops are coming back to Amazon‘s Prime Video for at least two more years. Prime Video and the WNBA on Friday announced a rights renewal deal under which Prime Video will continue to be the exclusive U.S. streaming partner for a package of 21 games each season, including the Championship Game of the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup.

Kep1er have been confirmed to be gearing up for their final album as a group, and are also currently in talks to extend their contracts.The K-pop girl group’s contracts as a temporary project are due to officially expire this year on July 3. This was a condition set by the survival show that formed Kep1er, Girls Planet 999, which stipulated that the winning line-up would embark on a two-and-a-half-year contract when the show concluded in October 2021.

Diego Ramos Bechara editor SPOILER ALERT: This interview contains spoilers for the Season 2 finale of “Tokyo Vice,” now streaming on Max. Season 2 of “Tokyo Vice,” the neo-noir crime drama set in Tokyo, Japan, and loosely based on a memoir written by journalist Jake Adelstein, has come to a close in an explosive finale that both sent off (or rather, killed off) the series’ main, two-season running antagonist — and laid the foundation for what could potentially come from the Max thriller if a third season were to be greenlit.

, well the powder versions are a step up in terms of effectiveness and damage control. If you’re looking for a way to extend the vibrancy of your recent dye job, cut back on shampooing daily, or like to have a quick-fix hair solution for any last-minute plans—we’ve put together a list of the best dry shampoo powders available so you’re only ever minutes away from achieving an Along with all the Glamour editor’s favorite tried and tested options, we spoke with several hairstylists to get their expert recommendations for every hair type, color, and budget.All products featured on Glamour are independently selected by our editors.

Liberal talk show host Jimmy Kimmel spoke on his show about how surprisingly clean Japan is in comparison to the U.S. and even Europe, joking that Japanese people associate Americans with garbage.While American cities struggling with rampant homelessness, crumbling infrastructure and crime is a popular point of discussion in American politics, Kimmel gave a monologue Monday on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” about how a recent trip to Japan shattered his image of what a modern society could look like.“Here in America, we know we have our faults. We know we have areas for improvement.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Considering the vast number of books published every year about David Bowie — or, for that matter, the Beatles, Bob Dylan and Prince — a new one had better have either fresh info or fresh insights. Thankfully, Suzi Ronson’s “Me and Mr.

Uniqlo has officially confirmed when it will be opening the doors its first ever store in Scotland later this month.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Oscar-winning Japanese animation “The Boy and the Heron” opened its wings in mainland Chinese theaters in midweek and soared to the top of the box office. Data from multiple local tracking sources show the Miyazaki Hayao-directed fantasy-adventure accounting for more than half of all cinema revenues on both Wednesday and Thursday. On Wednesday it garnered $13.8 million, according to estimates from Ent Group. By 6.30pm on Thursday, ticket sales firm Maoyan was showing the title as having grown its two-day running total to RMB254 million or $35.2 million. While films mostly open on Fridays in China, “The Boy and the Heron” was given a Wednesday outing in order to play into the three-day Qingming public holiday.

EXCLUSIVE: House of Ninjas creator Dave Boyle and the star and co-EP of the Netflix series, Kento Kaku, are opening the doors to their new production company, Signal181.

Euphoria.She is also known for voicing the English dubbed version of Japanese animated sci-fi movie Belle, and more recently for playing Tigris Snow in The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes.Now, Schafer reveals that she doesn’t want to play any more transgender characters.Speaking with GQ, she said: “I worked so hard to get to where I am, past these really hard points in my transition, and now I just want to be a girl and finally move on.”“I’ve gotten offered tonnes of trans roles, and I just don’t want to do it. I don’t want to talk about it.”She explained how she sometimes feels guilty given her responsibility in the trans community: “I know for a fact that I’m one of the most famous trans people in media right now, and I do feel a sense of responsibility, and maybe a little bit of guilt, for not being more of a spokesperson.”However, she added that she feels continuing to play transgender roles may not be the most effective way to help the community.“But ultimately, I really do believe that not making it the centrepiece to what I’m doing will allow me to get further.

A famous psychic has made some predictions for 2024 that have already come true.

Big Bang star G-Dragon will be releasing new music sometime in the second half of the year, his label has confirmed.His label Galaxy Corporation announced that G-Dragon would be making his long-awaited comeback “in the second half of this year”, in a statement to South Korean news outlet News1 earlier today (April 3).“After making his comeback, he will be carrying out global activities, and activities in Japan are also planned as part of them,” Galaxy Corporation added in its statement, via Soompi. G-dragon’s forthcoming comeback will be his first solo release in about seven years, since he released his self-titled EP ‘Kwon Ji-yong’ in 2017.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief YG Entertainment, the firm behind K-pop sensation Blackpink, has appointed Yang Min-seok as its new, sole CEO. The younger brother of company founder Yang Hyun-sun, he was previously joint CEO with Hwang Bo-kyun. The announcement was made shortly after YG’s annual shareholder meeting that closed the books on a year in which revenues climbed 65% to $430 million. The firm, which recently denied that it had paid $30 million to retain its position with Blackpink (but saw the girl group’s individual members sign personal representation contracts with other agencies) is busily launching BabyMonster, another all-female act that is seen in some circles as a successor to Blackpink. BabyMonster, which was formed late last year through reality TV show “Last Evaluation 2023,” is a seven part group with members from Korea, Thailand and Japan.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Leading Japanese broadcaster TV Tokyo and Taiwan-based LGBT streaming platform GagaOOLala will this month release “At 25.00 in Akasaka,” a live-action drama series in the popular Boys Love (BL) genre. Based on a popular manga by Natsuno Hiroko, the underlying comic has sold over 1.2 million copies. The series explores the romance between a renowned actor and an aspiring talent, cast as leads in a BL drama that wins the hearts of audiences worldwide.