Clint Eastwood’s intense Japanese WWII drama “Letters From Iwo Jima” beat a strong field to win the Golden Globe for best foreign language film. It’s the first time a Japanese-language movie has taken the award since Ichikawa Kon’s “Kagi” in 1959, the year that “Letters…” star Watanabe Ken (47) was born. He was in Hollywood for the award show with his wife, actress Minami Kaho (42). The movie is now a strong contender for an Oscar next month, though as a Hollywood production it will first need to be nominated for Best Picture. Meanwhile, actress Kikuchi Rinko (26) failed to see her role in “Babel” earn her the best supporting actress award, which went to Jennifer Hudson (25) for “Dreamgirls”. (I don’t think she helped her chances with the ridiculous dress she wore!) But Kikuchi did have the consolation of seeing Babel take the prize for best film and sharing the joy with co-star Angelina Jolie (31). And she is still in with a chance of being the first Japanese actress since Miyoshi “Nancy” Umeki in 1957 to win an Oscar.
• Popular actor Tanihara Shousuke (34) gave a press conference yesterday to announce his engagement to former talento Miyake Emi (29). The couple performed together on the 2001 Fuji TV drama “Kyuumeibyoutou 24-ji”, though romance for both of them lay elsewhere. Miyake was pregnant when she married actor Ishida Issei (32) in 2003, and they divorced in January 2006. She is also two months pregnant this time, so Tanihara is getting two kids as well as a wife. He was linked with Othello comedienne Nakajima Tomoko (35) in 2004, but they split the following year. He is currently appearing in two drama series, including this year’s taiga on NHK, and is a presenter on the TBS Saturday morning show “O-sama no Brunch”.
• Yomiuri TV is expecting an audience rating of over 30% for their planned live broadcast of the wedding reception for actress Fujiwara Norika (35) and comedian Jinnai Tomonori (32) on May 30. There are also plans for the bride and groom’s parents to appear on the NTV “Narutomo!” morning variety show – co-hosted by Jinnai – a couple of days after the couple’s wedding ceremony on February 17. The show is only broadcast in central and western Japan.