May 16th, 2007 by dd
Ken Watanabe was so stirred playing a 50-year-old man diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease, he plans to dedicate a portion of his salary to Japan’s Alzheimer’s Association.
The actor read author Hiroshi Ogiwara’s book Memories of Tomorrow while he was making Memoirs of a Geisha and was so touched by the story he asked the writer to let him have the film rights.
The plight of Watanabe’s tragic, memory-losing character made the actor want to do more for those trapped inside their bodies. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Japan, Film, Ken Watanabe | 
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February 25th, 2007 by dd
The first ever Asian Film Awards, honoring the best of Asian cinema over the past year, will take place March 20 during the opening night of the 31st annual Hong Kong International Film Festival.
China’s “Curse of the Golden Flower” and “Still Life” are among the nominees in the best picture category. Hong Kong’s “Exiled,” South Korea’s “The Host,” Japan’s “Love And Honor” and Indonesia’s “Opera Jawa” round out the list.
The awards will recognize films and filmmakers from all over Asia, including projects from Iran and India. Awards in 10 categories will be presented. The films were nominated by a jury of 17 film professionals from Asia and Europe. The group selected the list after screening 700 films produced in the region last year.
“With more than four billion people in Asia and 60% of the global population, a celebration of Asian cinema is long overdue,” said Wilfred Wong, chairman of the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society. “We aim to make the AFA the most prominent and definitive awards in the region by highlighting excellence in Asian filmmaking and by bringing broader attention to the rich and diverse stories and storytellers from all over Asia today.”
Notable nominees in the best director category include China’s Jia Zhenke (”Still Life”) and Hong Kong’s Johnnie To (”Exiled”) in the best director category. Japan’s Ken Watanabe (”Memories of Tomorrow”), Hong Kong’s Andy Lau (”A Battle Of Wits”) and India’s Sharukh Khan (”Don”) are among the best actor nominees. China’s Gong Li (”Curse Of The Golden Flower”), Zhang ZiYi (”The Banquet”) and Japan’s Miyazawa Rie (”Hana”) are three of the six nominees in the actress category. [HollywoodReporter]
Dumpling Idea: Since Americans use a yellow golden statue as an award; Asians should use a bald white one for our greatest film acheivements. My suggested statue would look like the following:
Posted in Hong Kong, Japan, China, Film, India, Asia, Zhang Ziyi, Andy Lau, Indonesia, Ken Watanabe, Johnnie To | No Comments »
February 14th, 2007 by dd
The New York Times recently featured some artsy fartsy, self-congratulatory portraits of today’s hottest Hollywood stars. Not just your everyday pretty faces but ones with legitimate acting chops as Tinseltown ramps up for its annual Oscar telecast later this month. Among them were Ken Watanabe from “Letters of Iwo Jima”, Maggie Cheung of “Clean” and Rinko Kikuchi from “Babel”.
[NYTimes]
Posted in Hong Kong, Japan, Film, Rinko Kikuchi, Maggie Cheung, Ken Watanabe | No Comments »
January 18th, 2007 by dd
Ken Watanabe with his stunning wife, Kaho Minami at the InStyle/ Warner Bros Afterparty
Vanessa Minnillo at The Weinstein Company Afterparty
Kelly Hu at the InStyle/ WB Afterparty in Beverly Hills
Sandra Oh on the Golden Globes red carpet
Bai Ling at the Paramount Pictures Golden Globes Afterparty
Posted in Japan, Korea, Asian American, China, Philippines, Kelly Hu, Bai Ling, Ken Watanabe, Vanessa Minnillo, Kaho Minami | No Comments »
January 11th, 2007 by dd
Ken Watanabe is becoming something of a patron saint of cinematic lost causes. In The Last Samurai, the Japanese actor played the title role as a doomed warrior with nothing left but his honor. He’s at it again in his new film, this time as a World War II Japanese officer mounting a last stand against American troops in the critically acclaimed Letters From Iwo Jima. The following is an interview that he has with TIME Magazine.
Click “Read the article” to view the entire conversation.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Japan, Film, Ken Watanabe | No Comments »
December 19th, 2006 by dd
When people talk about a star’s box office bankability, they surely weren’t thinking enough out of the box. Bae Yong-joon sure has. The Korean actor has taken his popularity beyond box office receipts by venturing into the Japanese stock market.
According to KBS, “Key East, which deals in media content projects related to Bae, will be the first KOSDAQ company to do business on the Japanese bourse. Key East has been very active in content business related to Bae, such as marketing Bae Yong-joon figures and providing mobile services. Key East has also concluded a contract with Japan’s NHK to air a historical drama starring Bae next May.”
Wonder if this is the future of show ‘business’. Imagine buying and selling shares of Gong Li and Ken Watanabe as easily as you do Google and Yahoo!
Posted in Japan, Korea, China, Film, TV, Gong Li, Bae Yong-joon, Ken Watanabe | 1 Comment »
December 9th, 2006 by dd
“Letters From Iwo Jima,” the second half of Clint Eastwood’s two-part look at World War II, is the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures’ pick as the best film of 2006.
Also on the list, announced Wednesday: “Flags of Our Fathers,” in which Eastwood shows the aftermath of war through the eyes of the military men who raised the American flag during the Battle of Iwo Jima.
“This is his masterpiece,” NBR President Annie Schulhof said of “Letters From Iwo Jima.” “I was blown away by its delicacy, the poignancy of how he talks about war. I think it’s also a searing condemnation of war. It was a unique view of the Japanese side of the battle. We don’t always see that.” [SeattleTimes]
Posted in Japan, Film, Ken Watanabe | 1 Comment »
