Producers of the movie “Toukou no Ki” held a press conference to discuss recent revelations of threats from actor Hagiwara Kenichi (54). Hagiwara, known by the nickname “Shoken,” was originally cast to play the lead in the movie, but after problems during filming in August 2003, he was removed and replaced with Nagashima Toshiyuki. Contracted to work 8-hour days, Hagiwara’s behavior had been “abberant”: his speaking voice was shrill, he shouted at director Negishi Yoshitaro and co-star Akiyoshi Kumiko, and even hit an assistant director. Staff were said to have been scared to work with him. He is said to have telephoned producer Okada Yutaka – it was to be their third film together – in June of this year and demanded that he be paid his ¥15 million appearance fee in full, threatening to disrupt the film’s release. At an unrelated press conference last month after he caused a traffic accident, Hagiwara denied having made the call. But a recording exists and producers have filed a criminal case against him.