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| Created on February 5, 2009 Updated on June 28, 2010 |
| As of February 13, 2009, it is not known yet whether or not Koji Yakusho will appear in Martin Scorsese's next film, "Chinmoku or Silence" written by Shusaku Endo. But I am tempted to set up a page for this film, since I heard that Koji's appearance in this film was rumored. I remember that I was greatly moved by this novel years ago. __________________________ June 28 Asked about the cast for "Silence", Antonia_I mentioned, "Gael Garcia Bernal is unlikely to be back; most other arrangements remain as they had been a few year earlier (regarding Taranaki)" (IMDb) June 18, 2010 On June 16, Antonia I posted on Martin Scorsese message board, saying, "The film is closer to being made today than at any time during my involvement with it (since Gangs of New York wrapped)" March 30, 2010 IMDb has recently changed the release year of "Silence" from 2011 to 2013. The status for this film is now "In development" and the previous info including the cast names has been deleted. Antonia I wrote on the IMDb message for Martin Scorsese on March 23, 2010:The project is not in turnaround; except for securing its financing, it nearly is ready for pre-production (as-of-this-writing, it is Mr Scorsese's next planned project following The Invention of Hugo Cabret) Nevertheless, IMDb should have it classified as "announced" not "in development" February 11, 2010 On the the IMDb 'Silence' message board, the following notice appeared on February 9th : "As-of-this-writing (and highly subject to change) the plan is to film The Invention of Hugo Cabret, then return to Silence, then The Irishman with Robert DeNiro (formerly entitled I Hear You Paint Houses) Sinatra is in re-writes (and, for now, on a more distant back-burner)" June 16, 2009 The same Nagasaki Shimbun dated on May 18, 2009, also reported: gDirector Martin Scorsese visited Nagasaki prefecture from the end of February to the beginning of March, 2009. He visited the Sotoumi area in Nagasaki City, which became a model of fishery village gTOMOGIh in gChinmokuh, and had a talk with some gKakure Kirishitan" or hidden Christians in Ikitsuki cho in Hirado City. He also visited the Nagasaki Museum of History and Culture and Endo Shusaku Literature Hall. It is not certain if the shooting for this film will be held in Nagasaki prefecture.h June 12 On June 5, there was a posting on the IMDb "Silence" page from a staff member for "Silence" that "the soulful Koji Yakusho is in talks to portray Kichijiro". June 8, 2009 On May 18, 2009 Nagasaki Shimbun reported that the shooting of Martin Scorsese's "Silence" would begin in New Zealand in January, 2010. The article includes the photo of Shusaku Endo, standing beside the monument of his novel, "Silence"(Chinmoku), when it was set up in November, 1987. In the same article there is a comment by Shusaku Endo's wife Junko that her husband knew that "Silence" would be filmed by Martin Scorsese and that, although she is not sure what sort of scenario there will be, she is looking forward to seeing the film. Scorsese takes on Endo's 'Silence' BY YASUO KOJIMA, THE ASAHI SHIMBUN 2009/2/12 Art director Dante Ferretti, left, views a replica of the "fumie" plaques used to force Christians to recant their faith at the Nagasaki Museum of History and Culture.(YOSHINORI MIZUNO/ THE ASAHI SHIMBUN) NAGASAKI--Acclaimed director Martin Scorsese is expected to begin shooting later this year for his film adaptation of Shusaku Endo's novel "Chinmoku" (Silence), a moving story of Christian martyrdom in Japan. The director is in talks with Benicio Del Toro, Daniel Day-Lewis and Gael Garcia Bernal to star in the film. Art director Dante Ferretti, producer Bennett Walsh and others on Tuesday visited the Nagasaki Museum of History and Culture and the Endo Shusaku Literary Museum in Nagasaki. A devout Catholic, Endo (1923-1996) delved into fundamental questions of the religion through the persecution of a Portuguese Jesuit priest in 17th-century Nagasaki, where Christians faced harsh oppression. Scorsese, who is also Catholic, is said to have wanted to adapt the novel for the screen for more than 10 years. It will be the first movie based on Endo's 1966 award-winning novel since Masahiro Shinoda's "Chinmoku: Silence" in 1971. It will also be the first by a non-Japanese director. Winner of the Academy Award for best art direction in 2005 and 2008, Ferretti showed great interest in a replica fumie, a plaque depicting Christian figures that people were ordered to step on to show they were nonbelievers. Christianity was banned by the Tokugawa Shogunate in the early 17th century. While admitting it will be difficult to depict the protagonist's emotional struggles, Walsh said he was looking forward to the film by the Oscar-winning director. Scorsese won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1976 for "Taxi Driver." In 2007, he won the Academy Award for best direction for "The Departed," which also won the Oscar for best picture. During their stay through Saturday, the filmmakers will visit Hirado and the Goto island chain, where hidden Christians maintained their faith for more than two centuries, and other locations. The cast will be finalized in March. Del Toro, who recently starred in "Che," will likely be cast as the Jesuit priest, Rodrigo, who was caught by the shogunate forces and tortured so he would abandon his faith. Day-Lewis and Garcia Bernal will also likely appear, with a cast rounded out by Japanese actors. Filming will start in New Zealand as early as August, and will be in theaters in autumn 2010. Whether some scenes will be shot in Japan remains to be decided.(IHT/Asahi: February 12,2009) ________________________________ Possibility of Koji Yakusho's appearing in Shusaku Endo's "Silence" (Chinmoku) directed by Martin Scorsese: "Scorsese, King talking up 'Silence' Daniel Day-Lewis, Benicio Del Toro to star By MICHAEL FLEMING Martin Scorsese is determined to make "Silence" his next movie. The helmer and Graham King's GK Films are negotiating with Oscar winners Daniel Day-Lewis and Benicio Del Toro to star. Gael Garcia Bernal is also circling the film, expected to begin production later this year in New Zealand. The drama is set in the 17th century as two Jesuit priests face violence and persecution when they travel to Japan to locate their mentor and to spread the gospel of Christianity. "Silence" is based on the Shusaku Endo novel, which was adapted by Jay Cocks. Scorsese has had the project on his radar for more than a decade. King will produce with Gianni Nunnari and Barbara DeFina. The film would be Day-Lewis' third with Scorsese following "Gangs of New York" and "The Age of Innocence." Day-Lewis has completed the Rob Marshall-directed musical "Nine." "Silence" would mark the first collaboration for Scorsese and Del Toro, who most recently starred in the Steven Soderbergh-directed "Che" and next stars as the title character in "The Wolf Man." Garcia Bernal, best known for "Babel" and "Y tu mama tambien," is in early talks. There is currently no domestic distributor for the pic. King is financing the film himself, as he did on "Edge of Darkness," the William Monahan-scripted and Martin Campbell-directed drama that stars Mel Gibson. Scorsese and King have worked together on "The Departed," "The Aviator" and "Gangs of New York." Scorsese most recently completed an adaptation of the Dennis Lehane novel "Shutter Island" for Paramount with Leonardo DiCaprio starring. " xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx The above Variety article, dated February 1, was instantly translated into Japanese and reported on various internet movie news sites in Japan : One such site, eiga.com , after introducing this info, added a stunning piece of info that among those concerned with Japanese movies, Koji Yakusho ("Sayuri/The memoires of a Geisha" and "Babel" ) is rumored to be considered to be the first candidate actor to play one of the major Japanese characters, i.e. Kichijiro or Inoue Chikugo-no-Kami. The eiga.com site predicted that the Japanese cast members for this movie would be announced soon. Rumor is rumor, and nothing is certain yet; but I have been thinking about the possibility of Koji's appearing in "Silence" ever since I knew the fact that Scorsese was influenced by Shohei Imamura in directing movies when young, and that he had later become good friends with him until Imamura passed away in May 2006. I actually learned the growth of their friendship as a result of watching an NHK TV Imamura-memorial program (dated March 7, 2007), where Scorsese related how much he had been influenced by Imamura and how he had respected him for years. In this March 2007 TV program, Koji Yakusho worked as a narrator and talked briefly about an episode that occured while Imamura was directing "Unagi" in 1996. It may be too hasty to conclude that Scorsese himself, therefore, might have wanted Koji Yakusho ( who worked with Imamura twice in "Unagi" and "Warm Water under a Red Bridge" ) to join in his long-wished-for movie. And Koji Yakusho, also, might have longed to work with Scorsese for the above reasons. All of these guesses may be all wrong and Koji Yakusho may have simply become the first candidate actor for this film due to his international fame, as a result of appearing in those films like "Memoirs of a Geisha", "Babel" and "SILK". If all is well and Koji joins in the film, "Silence" , which role is he expected to play, I wonder. Everybody's guess must be the role of the elderly samurai, Inoue Chikugo-no- kami; but I cannot forgo imagining the possibility of Koji's playing the Judas-like miserable figure, Kichijiro for these reasons: First, Koji Yakusho is from Isahaya, Nagasaki, which is close to the small island where the two Portuguese priests landed in Shusaku Endo's novel "Chinmoku" ("Silence"). Second, Koji can speak Kichijiro's local dialect. Third, Koji is brilliant in portraying a complex character like that of Kichijiro. However,it is almost certain that those who have read the novel are likely to complain that he is too old, too good-looking, too tall or too well-built to play the role of Kichijiro. Well, let's wait, keeping our fingers crossed, first of all, in the hope that the movie by Scorsese itself will actually start filming. |
| Silence / Chinmoku (2013) |
| IMDb: Silence |
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