Kitano Takeshi (61) gave a press conference this week to talk about the third in his trilogy of “personal” movies. As with the previous two, Kitano says he doesn’t really care about reviews or box office numbers for “Akiresu to Kame” (Achilles and the Turtle). The movies are just something he felt he wanted to make mainly for himself. Sure enough, “Takeshis'” and “Kantoku Banzai” were quirky in the extreme and didn’t receive the accolades or commercial success of his earlier works. “Akiresu…” tells the story of an unsuccessful painter who continues to pursue his dream (his own paintings have featured in earlier movies such as “Hanabi”). Kitano says the theme reflects his own belief that even someone lacking talent should continue to work hard, and he describes the movie as a “story of artistic cruelty”. Bemoaning the fact that too many recent movies lack originality because they’re based on successful novels or TV dramas, he says that there should be more original screenplays. Using his stage name of Beat Takeshi, he again plays the lead role and is supported by a strong cast that includes Higuchi Kanako (49) as his wife, Aso Kumiko (29) and Yanagi Yurei (45). Filming started at the Nikkatsu Studios west of Tokyo in mid-February and is due to wrap up later this month. The movie should be completed in time for this year’s Venice International Film Festival in late August, a venue where Kitano has previously won the highest honors.