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Rinko Kikuchi Glams It Up at Dreamgirls Movie Premiere

December 26th, 2006 by dd

Posted in Japan, Film, Rinko Kikuchi | No Comments »

Japan Is Golden

December 19th, 2006 by dd

(Photo: KFCCinema)

Yes, it’s official. Asia and Asians are in again. This awards season, Hollywood is taking notice of some outstanding performances of or relating to Japan. The biggest accolades were showered on Clint Eastwood’s Letters from Iwo Jima, the second accompaniment to his Iwo Jima saga, which received a Best Foreign Language Film and Best Director nomination.

Since its opening, Rinko Kikuchi has been getting non-stop praise for her portrayal as a deaf teen in Babel and was officially recognized again with a Best Supporting Actress nod. Kudos to this newcomer who we’ll be hearing about for quite some time.

Another actor whose buzz factor has been receiving non-stop coverage since his debut on Heroes is Masi Oka whose character in Heroes has been the talk of the US television season. This “zero to Hiro” fan favorite received a Best Supporting Role in a Series.

Hollywood’s earlier infatuation with all things Chinese, including Gong Li, Zhang Ziyi, Chow Yun Fat and Zhang Yimou, seems to have waned for now. Most surprisingly was the omission of Korean-Canadian, Sandra Oh, a Golden Globe winner last year for her role in Grey’s Anatomy.

Oh how fickle fleeting infatuation can be in LaLa Land…

Posted in Japan, Korea, Asian American, China, Film, TV, Rinko Kikuchi, Masi Oka, Zhang Ziyi, Gong Li, Zhang Yimou, Chow Yun Fat, Sandra Oh | No Comments »

Conspiracy Theory: Britney Spears Mimics Rinko in ‘Babel’

December 11th, 2006 by dd

In this less than convincing but nonetheless amusing post from Janet Charlton’s Hollywood blog, someone in cyberland threw out the idea that perhaps Britney Spears wasn’t as original in her publicity seeking stunts as previously imagined:

Everyone’s asking “What possessed Britney Spears to flash her pantiless bottom at photographers over and over?” Someone offered us the theory that perhaps Britney was inspired by the movie Babel which was released a few weeks back. A main character, played to perfection by Rinko Kikuchi, is a disturbed mute Japanese schoolgirl who is desperate for attention. She leaves her underpants at home and flashes startled onlookers in restaurants and such. Apparently the looks on their faces are gratifying to her. Maybe the newly single Britney was crying out for help with the same inappropriate behavior.

Posted in Japan, Music, Film, Rinko Kikuchi | No Comments »

More Kudos for Rinko!

December 9th, 2006 by dd

The National Board of Review earlier this week recognized Rinko Kikuchi as a breakthrough actress for her portrayal of a deaf teen in ‘Babel‘. She shares the honors with newcomer Jennifer Hudson in ‘Dreamgirls‘.

Daily Dumpling noted earlier that Rinko was one to watch. Here are some more pics of her various looks. (Pics courtesy of AsianSirens)

Posted in Japan, Film, Rinko Kikuchi | No Comments »

“Babel” star breaks her silence

November 15th, 2006 by dd

Japanese actress Rinko Kukuchi knows a little something about learning languages fast. She had to learn sign language for her moving role as a deaf mute teenager in “Babel.” Now she’s in Los Angeles getting a crash course in speech writing and speaking English.

Last night — wearing Chanel, a gift from designer Karl Lagerfeld — she presented an award to “Babel” film editor Stephen Mirrione at the Hollywood Life and Hamilton’s Behind the Camera Awards. And she gave her speech in perfect English — which she’d memorized phonetically — and she did an amazing job with pronunciations.

I’d say she’s almost ready for her Golden Globes acceptance speech for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role.

Last night Rinko was also seen chatting with fellow presenter Sharon Stone. And you gotta wonder if they talked about their respective crotch-flashing scenes. Rinko has one in “Babel.” And Sharon’s was in the cult fave, “Basic Instinct.” I spoke with Rinko at a luncheon at Mr. Chow’s last week about that challenging scene and how she approached it emotionally.

Through an interpreter, she explained there was no prosthetic or “merkin.” She explained that her character was “so angry that she was ready to explode.” Her action was an expression of anger and aggression. The only way she could hit back was to shock the boys who were making fun of her.

Legendary filmmaker Roger Corman, sitting next to Rinko at the lunch, offered his thoughts on the shocking scene: “The boys thought she was a freak and she wanted to show them she was not a freak, she was a woman.”

Rinko said, “Yes. You are completely right.”

Another luncher asked Rinko what was in the letter her character writes to the policeman. Rinko explained that Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu wanted her to write the letter herself. And he didn’t tell her what to write. When she showed him what she’d written, he said, “We are on the same page” and didn’t ask her to change one word.

So was it a love letter, a suicide note, a confession, a thank you note?

“It’s a secret,” she said in perfect English. [LATimes]

Posted in Japan, Film, Rinko Kikuchi | No Comments »

Babel’s Rinko Kikuchi… A Rising Star

November 7th, 2006 by dd

Garnering rave reviews, jet-setting to film festivals around the world and working with acclaimed director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu are enough to make any young actor’s head spin. But for Japanese actress, Rinko Kikuchi, her standout performance in “Babel” has put her directly on the map for Variety Magazine’s “10 Actors to Watch” list.

Check out this talented young woman on the verge of superstardom.