Actress Tamura Eriko (33) is making a name for herself in Hollywood. She was in Tokyo yesterday to promote the Ichikawa Toru film “Dakara Watashi wo Suwarasete”, her first local project in five years. She said she has been auditioning for TV and movie work since her move to Los Angeles in 2001. And she revealed that she has already made her Hollywood debut. She played a surfer girl in “Surf School”, which was released in September. She has already landed a role in another movie, provisionally titled “Rock Point”. She described it as “an artistic film,” adding, “I believe there are plans to enter it in film festivals. I’m so happy.” Though she made her acting debut at the age of 13, Tamura best known as a teen pop idol in the early 90s, when she released 10 albums. Her best known TV role was in the docu-drama mini-series “My Beloved Ultra Seven” on NHK. She also appeared in the network’s major taiga drama series “Hideyoshi” in 1996. Though her U.S. promos describe her as a “superstar” in her native country, that is a bit of a stretch these days. “Dakara…” opens here on Saturday.
• U.S. website The Smoking Gun recently reported that Fuji Keiko, the mother of J-pop queen Utada Hikaru was caught up in a possible drug case in New York back in March. A fellow passenger at John F. Kennedy Int’l Airport had notified authorities of her erratic and suspicious behavior. She was found to have more than $420,000 in cash in her carry-on luggage while on her way to Las Vegas. Authorities seized the money, alleging that it was either the proceeds of drug sales or was to be used to buy drugs. Fuji made a series of claims and excuses, such as that she was suffering from a serious illness, that the money was gambling winnings and that she planned to donate it to an orphanage in Las Vegas. None of the claims could be verified.
• Actor Watari Testuya is Japan’s ideal boss. In a survey by the local subsidiary of U.S. pen maker Parker, Watari was chosen as the celebrity who would make the best boss. He moved up from the No.2 spot, which went to last year’s top choice, former baseball manager Hoshino Seiichi. Another baseball legend, Oh Sadaharu was in third. Ex-prime minister Koizumi Junichiro fell from No.3 to No.5 but was still five places higher than his replacement, Abe Shinzo.
• Three members of the defunct visual-kei rock band Pierrot played their first concert yesterday as the new unit Angelo. Led by vocalist Kirito, they performed 11 new songs at the outdoor stage in central Tokyo’s Yoyogi Park. The set included their debut single “Reborn”, which is set for release on November 11. The five-member Pierrot broke up in April.