Softbank’s ‘White Family’ wins Grand Prix for best commercial
The “White Family” series of commercials from Softbank Mobile won the Grand Prix for best commercial at the ACC (All Japan Radio and Television Commercial Confederation) Commercial Festival, the biggest event in the advertising industry in Japan, held at a Tokyo hotel this week.
Ueto Aya, 23, Higuchi Kanako, 49, Dante Carver, 31, and the dog who played the role of father, lined-up to accept the award. They also won the Best Performance award along with Toyokawa Etsushi, 46, and Tanaka Rena, 28, who appeared in the Soyjoy commercials produced by Otsuka Pharmaceuticals.
JapanToday
AKB48, Mako Ishino attend Tokyo Tower’s 50th anniversary illumination event
Nov 5, 2008 AKB48, Event, Group
Idol group AKB48 and actress Ishino Mako, 47, on Monday were the guests of honor at Tokyo Tower’s Christmas illumination event to mark its 50th anniversary. During the event, 100,000 lights were turned on.
AKB48 also performed a special mini-concert for visitors.
Takami Yoshimoto tells of her cycling adventures
Actress Takami Yoshimoto, 37, this week appeared at a talk event for Cycle Model International 2008 held in Osaka. Yoshimoto has been traveling around the world by bicyle for the past 15 years.
“The fastest speed I got up to was 160 km per hour,” she said. “The worst experience I had was when I was in Colorado. I had a fall and fractured my cheekbone. My face swelled up for so long that I thought I would be finished as an actress.”
Mori Izumi wins ‘Japan Make-up award’
Model Mori Izumi, 26, on Monday won the 2nd Japan Make-up Award in Tokyo. Mori was chosen through online voting.
Mori, who appeared in a long black dress, said, “I often use darker foundation because I like tanned skin color. Today, I made up myself to be sexy.”
She also said, “Because I like dogs, I would like to develop cosmetics for dogs.”
JapanToday
Kaneshiro Takeshi disqualified from Taiwan film awards
Nov 1, 2008 Artist, Event, Kaneshiro Takeshi
The organizers of Taiwan’s Golden Horse Film Awards on Friday disqualified actor Kaneshiro Takeshi from competing for a special prize recognizing local talent.
Kaneshiro, star of a string of successful Hong Kong movies including the critically acclaimed “Chungking Express” and more recently the epic “The Warlords,” had been nominated as Taiwanese filmmaker of the year.
But organizers of the awards said he was not eligible as he was a Japanese citizen.
“The jury is not sloppy in the nomination process … although we revoke Mr Kaneshiro’s nomination, we still acknowledge his achievement in Chinese cinema,” they said in a statement defending the move.
Kaneshiro was born to a Japanese father and a Taiwanese mother and raised in Taiwan, but is a Japanese citizen.
The decision left only two nominees—director We Te-sheng of the hit romance “Cape No. 7” and veteran lighting designer Li Long-yu—vying for the Taiwanese filmmaker of the year award.
The Golden Horse Awards are styled on the U.S. Academy Awards but are decided by a jury along the lines of the Cannes film festival.
JapanToday
TV Commercial Festival
The 10th TV Commercial Festival, which has been touring Japan nationwide since March, will be held in Tokyo from 10 p.m. until 5 a.m. on Oct 31 and Nov 1 at Shinjuku Milano theater in Tokyo, screening 500 TV commercials from around the world. The festival is the Japanese version of “La Nuit des Publivores” which originated in France and has been annually held in Japan since 1999 touring the country nationwide. After Tokyo, the festival will be held in Fukui, Kanazawa, Osaka and Nagoya through next March. Tickets, which cost 3,800 yen (unreserved) and 4,500 yen (reserved), are available at Ticket Pia and other outlets as well as at the venue.
Official site : cmfestival.com
JapanToday
1st Tokyo Drama Awards: Pandora, Points and Lines
As part of the currently running Japan International Contents Festival (CoFesta), organizers are holding the 2nd International Drama Festival on October 22-24. This year, the event is introducing the first Tokyo Drama Awards, and the winners were announced during a press conference held on Thursday.
The grand prize was awarded to two dramas, “Pandora” and “Ten to Sen” (”Points and Lines”). “Pandora” aired on WOWOW this spring, starring Hiroshi Mikami as a doctor embroiled in a political war after he discovers a cure for cancer. The two-episode drama “Ten to Sen,” which aired on TV Asahi last November, was based on a Seicho Matsumoto mystery novel and starred Beat Takeshi.
In the kids and youth category, the award went to TV Tokyo’s “Keitai Sousakan 7″ and Fuji TV’s “Last Friends.” NTV’s “Saito-san” won in the family category.
The other winners were “Atsuhime” (jidaigeki category) and “SP” (”non-genre” category). Special awards were given to the art staff of “Ten to Sen” and to actor Tetsuya Takeda and the staff of “3 Nen B Gumi Kinpachi Sensei.”
The award presentation ceremony will be held on the 22nd.
Source : Sponichi Annex via Tokyograph
Tokyo International Film Festival goes green
Oct 13, 2008 Event
The 21st Tokyo International Film Festival will be held Oct 18-26, showcasing some 300 films from Japan and overseas, as well as events promoting environmental preservation. The Competition category will feature 15 entries selected from 690 films from 73 countries and territories. The international jury will be headed by American actor Jon Voight.
This year, the festival has a green theme – “Ecology = Preservation of Earth’s Environment.” On the opening day, stars will walk along a green carpet made from recycled PET bottles, instead of the traditional red carpet. The festival will also include a section on films that examine the relationships between people and nature, and a new award called the Toyota Earth Grand Prix in recognition of films that take up the themes of nature, the environment and ecology.
The festival will open with the Chinese epic “Red Cliff” and close with the animated Disney feature “WALL-E.” Many actors and directors are expected to attend the festival, and in some cases, will appear on stage in talk shows after the screenings. The festival is always a good chance for foreign movie fans in Japan to see Japanese and other films with English subtitles. Since most of the films entered in the various categories are never shown theatrically in Japan (or even on DVD), the festival is once-only opportunity to see the work of up-and-coming artists.
Films will be shown at Roppongi Hills and Bunkamura in Shibuya. Advance tickets are already on sale, while tickets can also be bought at the door. Special passes are available, too.
For all info on tickets, screenings and venues, visit http://www.tiff-jp.net/en/
Source : Japan Today
Denim no Mimi
Denim no mimi (denim’s ear) is the Japanese word for selvedge, the unused edge of denim woven on large looms. This project, a collaboration between Kaihara, a textile corporation, and Edwin, uses selvedge and other waste materials to create artistic installations.
Below is their project displayed for public at main venue in Tokyo Midtown during Japan Fashion Week exhibition.
In this event, the Japan Jeans Association also sponsors an annual Best Jeanest Award that goes to the public figure who is voted to “wear jeans the best.” This year top prize went to Koda Kumi and Kamenashi Kazuya for the 3rd year in a row.
