Daily Archives: April 19, 2005

Guy Stuff

Actor Kashiwabara Takashi (28) is back at work after a break for “self-discipline.” He started shooting on the movie “Juusankagetsu” (13 Months), the directorial debut by actor Ikeuchi Hiroyuki (28). The movie had been planned to start at the end of November last year. That date was put back to the New Year, but on December 30, Kashiwabara got into a fight over a parked car and punched the owner, a man in his 40s. He later apologized and shaved his head in the traditional sign of repentance. Ikeuchi said he would wait until his friend was ready to return to work.

• Some similar male bonding can be expected in the upcoming movie “Otoko Tachi no Yamato” (Yamato). Set on the legendary WW2 battleship, it will star Sorimachi Takashi (photo, 32) and kabuki actor Nakamura Shido (31). Filming started Sunday at the Hitachi shipyards in Hiroshima prefecture. The movie is set to open after Golden Week and is timed for the 60th anniversary of the end of the war.

• The takeover battle between Internet portal Livedoor and Fuji TV has reached a conclusion, with the winner being Livedoor’s aggresive president Horie Takafumi (32). Fuji, Japan’s biggest TV network, agreed to pay almost ¥180-billion for the shares in its own group company NBS that had been bought by Livedoor and a 14.6% stake in the young company. The deal is seen as face-saving and damage control, with little real benefit for Fuji’s shareholders.