Hollywood legend Clint Eastwood (74) was in town yesterday to meet with Tokyo Governor Ishihara Shintaro (72). Eastwood’s first visit to Japan in 43 years was to do groundwork for his upcoming movie for Dreamworks about Iwo Jima. “Flags of Our Fathers: Heroes of Iwo Jima” will focus on the famous scene where six US marines raised the stars and stripes on the island following one of the bloodiest battles of the Pacific war. The southern island, though 1,200km away, is part of Tokyo and under Ishihara’s jurisdiction. Eastwood reassured the governor that he would respect the feelings of the Japanese people for what many consider hallowed ground.
• Speaking of WW2 movies, much-hyped submarine drama “Lorelei” looks to have become the big box office success it was expected to be. After just over a month in theaters, it has cleared ¥2 billion, overtaking the ¥1.8 billion brought in by Hollywood flick “U-571” in 2000. Its planned run was until the middle of this month, but that will now be extended. Toho say they have signed contracts for the film to show in Thailand and five European countries and are in negotiations that will bring that number up to about 30. The movie is based on a novel by Fukui Harutoshi and is set at the end of the war. Versatile actor Yakusho Koji plays the submarine captain. The CD single of the haunting theme song, “Mozart’s Lullaby” by 16-year old New Zealand phenom Hayley, has sold over 100,000 copies.