Gaki n Me

A 15 second teaser is up at the official site. Well, that didn't show much. LOL. Come on, at least show Junichi's face!!!

Posted September 22, 2009:

Finally, the English news picked up the rumor today. It is still in talks according to the news. So at the moment, it is tentatively called D-day. So I'll change my title.

Japanese actor Takuya Kimura is in talks to appear in top South Korean director Kang Je-gyu's Hollywood debut pic, according to a source close to the director. "The two sides are currently discussing Kimura's casting to the movie and he is at the top of the list but nothing has been set yet," an unnamed source said on Thursday. Korean actor Jang Dong-gun has already been tapped to lead the cast of the war epic tentatively titled "D-Day", based on the Invasion of Normandy during World War II.  A Hollywood production company will invest in the picture helmed by Kang who will team with close friend and director of hit film "Take Off" from earlier this year, Kim Yong-hwa, who will join the crew as producer. Kang, currently in the United States for the upcoming blockbuster, is set to return to Korea over the weekend and announce the details of the film through a press conference next week.
The 47-year-old director, often dubbed the Steven Spielberg of East Asia, has produced several of Korea's top films including 1999 hit film "Swiri" and 2004 pic "Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War" which is the third most-watched Korean film in box office history.  Jang has won several critical acclaims for his roles in films since his debut in 1993. He recently starred in box office topper "Good Morning President", the opening film for the Pusan International Film Festival last month. Kimura is also one of Japan's most popular actors who recently starred alongside Hollywood actor Josh Hartnett and Korea's Lee Byung-hun in "I Come with the Rain" by "Cyclo" filmmaker Tran Anh Hung.

Finally, the English news picked up the rumor today. It is still in talks according to the news. So at the moment, it is tentatively called D-day. So I'll change my title.

Japanese actor Takuya Kimura is in talks to appear in top South Korean director Kang Je-gyu's Hollywood debut pic, according to a source close to the director. "The two sides are currently discussing Kimura's casting to the movie and he is at the top of the list but nothing has been set yet," an unnamed source said on Thursday. Korean actor Jang Dong-gun has already been tapped to lead the cast of the war epic tentatively titled "D-Day", based on the Invasion of Normandy during World War II.  A Hollywood production company will invest in the picture helmed by Kang who will team with close friend and director of hit film "Take Off" from earlier this year, Kim Yong-hwa, who will join the crew as producer. Kang, currently in the United States for the upcoming blockbuster, is set to return to Korea over the weekend and announce the details of the film through a press conference next week.
The 47-year-old director, often dubbed the Steven Spielberg of East Asia, has produced several of Korea's top films including 1999 hit film "Swiri" and 2004 pic "Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War" which is the third most-watched Korean film in box office history.  Jang has won several critical acclaims for his roles in films since his debut in 1993. He recently starred in box office topper "Good Morning President", the opening film for the Pusan International Film Festival last month. Kimura is also one of Japan's most popular actors who recently starred alongside Hollywood actor Josh Hartnett and Korea's Lee Byung-hun in "I Come with the Rain" by "Cyclo" filmmaker Tran Anh Hung.

The Korean Film Council held an auction to raise funds for local industry as the government has decreased the local film quotas and putting local film making in doldrums. One celebrity has a watercolor painting that caught the media eye and was written up and in this auction, Anh Seung Ki, Jang Dong Gun, Ju Jin Mo also donated the paintings that they owned. Source. In the meantime, you could see photos of him in a free poster shoot for the Share Happiness campaign at juju's blog with 8 other celebrities, including Ju Jin Mo. Here are more details of the Share Happiness campaign. Lee Young Ae is part of it too.

The Share Happiness campaign will donate the 250 million won it raised for charity. Of the 93 total stars taking part, included is Lee’s good friend and colleague Jang Dong-gun, as well as Joo Jin-mo, Hwang Jung-min, Su Ae, Shin Mina, Cha Tae-hyun, Han Jae-seok, Gong Hyung-jin, and Kim Nam-gil. Stars like Go So-young, Kim Ah-joong, and Sohn Dam-bi took on a glamorous look for the shoot, while others like Han Hye-jin, Han Ji-min, and Yoon Jin-seo were shot with family members. Source

The Korean Film Council held an auction to raise funds for local industry as the government has decreased the local film quotas and putting local film making in doldrums. One celebrity has a watercolor painting that caught the media eye and was written up and in this auction, Anh Seung Ki, Jang Dong Gun, Ju Jin Mo also donated the paintings that they owned. Source. In the meantime, you could see photos of him in a free poster shoot for the Share Happiness campaign at juju's blog with 8 other celebrities, including Ju Jin Mo. Here are more details of the Share Happiness campaign. Lee Young Ae is part of it too.

The Share Happiness campaign will donate the 250 million won it raised for charity. Of the 93 total stars taking part, included is Lee’s good friend and colleague Jang Dong-gun, as well as Joo Jin-mo, Hwang Jung-min, Su Ae, Shin Mina, Cha Tae-hyun, Han Jae-seok, Gong Hyung-jin, and Kim Nam-gil. Stars like Go So-young, Kim Ah-joong, and Sohn Dam-bi took on a glamorous look for the shoot, while others like Han Hye-jin, Han Ji-min, and Yoon Jin-seo were shot with family members. Source

Wow, a new music site called Music Japan just for Japanese music news. Neat. Here's a full article on V6's 3 performances in Seoul. Nicely translated. Here is a photo of V6 in Taiwan. Over 500 fans waited for them at the airport and it created chaos. They all said hello to the fans in Mandarin. V6 will appear at FNS this year on December 2, 2009 from 7 pm onwards. So would SMAP, Kinki Kids and Tokio. See official site here.

On November 15th the popular group V6 held a concert at Olympic Hall in Seoul, Korea. It was part of their first Asia tour in 7 years. It was also the first time they held solo concerts in Korea. In all they performed 3 concerts in 2 days starting from the 14th, and attracted a total of 12,000 fans. The 6 members had in the past participated in local music festivals 3 times. They finally fulfilled their dream of holding live events in Korea all by themselves.
Olympic Hall was packed with people, and about eighty percent of them were local fans. Miyake Ken seemed deeply moved. "We know you've waited a long time for us to come; we've been looking forward to this day too." When each member introduced themselves, Inohara Yoshihiko jokingly said "'An nyong ha seh yo (Hello)'. I'm Bae Yong Joon. [Korean actor popular in both Korea and Japan.] To my family out here, thank you so much." He mimicked 'Yong-sama' by bowing deeply with a hand to his chest. The hall erupted in laughter. For their first Korea concerts, the group shipped 100 tons of stage equipment using 6 ferries. The equipment was necessary to show elevated platforms, three-dimensional images with the help of glasses and many other stage devices that were rarely used in Korea. They also treated their Korean fans to a performance they haven't done for 2 whole years in Japan. From a 2 meter high platform, all 6 members lined up, jumped off, flipped in midair and landed on their feet. The members mesmerized the audience with their brilliant acrobatic stunts. They called out to their fans in Korean. "Sarang hae yo (We love you)!!" They performed a total of 37 songs including their hit single '愛なんだ / Ai-nanda [lit. 'It's Love']'. With their music, V6 strengthened the bond between the Korean and Japanese people. Source

Park Hi Gyon 朴熙真 - 아이러브유  I Love You

Bae Boo Jang & Kim Boo Jang - Lost Without You (Angel Remix)

A quick sketch of him. I think this thanksgiving, I'm going to rewatch The Story of a Man.

I'm really super slow when it comes to listening to V6 songs and watching their MV's. Today I finally watched their Guilty MV. Song is okay. Here are the lyrics and English and Chinese translations. But I didn't really like their dance choreography. Ai, Junichi is too bulky!

Posted September 14, 2009:

Here is his latest MV The Most Loved Person 最愛のひと . Great vocals and it's the type perfect for a love drama. And here is a clip promoting the drama Xmas Miracle and they showed a snippet of him in the drama!! Here you could see the making of the drama and PYH sang in the drama scene probably as a composer or singer.

And here, you could see his 2002 movie Love Me Once Again (Part 1, Part 2). Wow, never expected I could find this movie. Here is a short 1999 drama of his called "The fragrance of tea".

Updated  table.

This was an older article back in June on Fashion Officiel Hommes and I'm only translating the last two questions because the rest, we have read before. 

What is the first reaction of the opposite sex when they see you?
Gilrs in general, when they see me, is scream, and then run towards me holding a book and want an autography. Then finally, it's to have a photo with her. After doing these three things, they would run away, eager to show it off and leave me foolishly behind. No one comes and talk about something else.

I have not bothered with the Hong Kong scene for a long time. What a surprise to see that Leon Lai and his wife have admitted a couple of months ago that they have married two years ago. Andy Lau also admitted in September that he had married his 24 year long girlfriend last year in Las Vegas. Not only some of his fans were upset about the lies all these years that he doesn't have a girlfriend, the press took him to task for concocting that the reason he had to protect her was that he was afraid of the triad. Sounds familiar? He's 48 and she's 43 and he reiterated again that he had no other children but they legally resorted to articificial insemination and he will be father next year.

Posted May 14, 2009:

I can't believe they churn out strange stuff like the Storm Warriors with the same actors again. Of course I knew about Storm Warriors 2 but come on, the two original actors are a bit old if you ask me. OMG, look at the trailer and you will see how cheesy it is. That's why Hongkong movies get a bad rap...all these fantasy based stuff is so mind numbing!!!

On a positive note, I will definitely watch IP MAN 2 by Donnie Yen. Based on the interviews, it looks good already as it is a duel between the Hung Gar style and Wing Chun style and the story takes place in Hong Kong. Cung Le will also be in this one apart from True Legends with Vincent Chao. This movie just finished shooting on November 9 but in May 2010, there is a prequel to this movie. Donnie Yen also has another new work in Decemeber called Bodyguards and Assassins. The set looks good already on the 8 minute production clip and Nicholas Tse is in it as a rickshaw driver.

It's been a year plus I haven't tracked his news. He is going to have a new movie coming out finally after 5 years and it's called True Legend with Michelle Yeoh, Zhou Xun and Cung Le (the American Vietnamese kickboxer). I think it's definitely worth watching considering he hasn't made a movie for so long. These 5 years, he's been relegated to TV dramas because HK kung fu movies were in a doldrum. I hope that with talk of Jet Li and Donnie Yen retiring, he would get to resurface! Watch trailer here and at Michelle Yeoh's official site, you could read all the production notes and see the movie stills and on site filming. And here are some really nice photos from November 2008 fashion magazine. Go here or here. And a really nice one here too.

Posted July 2, 2008: