The red carpet was rolled out on Tuesday night for the world premiere of “Sayuri.” The Hollywood version of the bestselling novel “Memoirs of a Geisha” features scenes at a sumo tournament, so the star-studded event was held at the Tokyo Kokugikan stadium, where tournaments are held three times a year. The Columbia Pictures movie, co-produced by Steven Spielberg and directed by Rob Marshall, opens here on December 10. Though it tells the tale of a young Japanese geisha, three of the major female parts are played by Chinese actresses Zhang Ziyi (26), in the lead role, and Gong Li (39), as well as Malaysian-born former Bond girl Michelle Yeoh (43). Over 700 reporters turned out to cover the pre-event press conference on Monday. (photo © CNSPhoto)
• A slightly smaller media barrage was waiting for Brad Pitt (41) and Angelina Jolie (30). But the 500 reporters who packed a room at the Park Hyatt Tokyo hotel included no members of the foreign press, and local media were also banned from releasing anything outside the country. The two stars of “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” were separated on the stage by a producer but exchanged plenty of comments and looks. Sankei Sports reported that Pitt looked a bit less wild than usually and a bit more “fatherlike.” But with his characteristic humor, Pitt joked that his co-star was too big-headed and he didn’t want to perform with her again! About 1,800 fans turned out for a red carpet event at Roppongi Hills Arena in the evening, though only 600 were lucky enough to get inside.
• Actress Yamamura Momiji (45) was punched in the face while filming at a shrine in Kyoto. The actress was working with 15 crew members, filming an introduction to the shrine for the satellite Kyoto Channel. She was standing in front of the honden (inner sanctuary) when a man next to her suddenly landed a single punch to her left cheek. Staff restrained the man until he was arrested by police. The man admitted the attack but gave no reason, and refused to provide his name or identification.