| Paco and the Magical Book Paco to Maho no Ehon |
| Created on May 30, 07 |
| Cast Koji Yakusho: Onuki Ayaka Wilson:Paco Satoshi Tsumabuki:Muromachi Anna Tsuchiya:Tamako Sadao Abe:Horigome Ryo Kase:Koichi Eiko Koike:Masami Gekidan Hitori:Takita Takaya Yamauchi: Ryumonji Jun Kunimura:Kinomoto Takaya Kamikawa:Asano |
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| Based on a stage play by Hirohito Goto, "Mid-summer Carol: Gama oji vs Zarigani majin". (The DVD for the 2004 version is available) |
| [Synopsis based on the Toho site] Once upon a time, there used to be a hospital where strange people were taken. Onuki (who was regarded as the strangest person there and who was most disliked by the other patients) hit on an idea to perform a play entitled "Gama Ouji vs Zarigani Majin" (The Toad Prince vs the Crayfish Magician) and to do so for the sake of a girl whose memory, due to an accident, is limited to the happenings of only one day at a time. |
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| December 18 Koji Yakusho, Ayaka wilson and Director Nakashima were nominated for the 2008 Japan Academy Awards. December 6 The DVD of "Paco to Maho no Ehon" (Region 2) will be on sale from March 6, 2009. Please check the official site, too. "Paco and the Magical Book" was shown during the Munich Asia Film Fest (Oct. 30 - Nov. 9, 2008) September 29 The official website of "Pako to Maho no Ehon" reports that the number of people who have seen this movie exceeded 1 million. Japanese weekend box office, September 27th - 28th 1. Iron Man (SPE) 2. Wanted (Toho Towa) 3. Paco and the Magical Picture Book* (Toho) 4. Okuribito (Departures)* (Shochiku) 5. Twentieth Century Boys* (Toho) 6. Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit* (Toho) 7. Ponyo On The Cliff By The Sea* (Toho) 8. Nights in Rodanthe (Warner) 9. Superior Ultraman 8 Brothers* (Shochiku) 10. Hancock (SPE) * Japanese film September 22 Japanese weekend box office, September 20 - 21 1. Wanted (Toho Towa) 2. Paco And The Magical Book* (Toho) 3. Twentieth Century Boys* (Toho) 4. Okuribito (Departures)* (Shochiku) 5. Ponyo On The Cliff By The Sea* (Toho) 6. Superior Ultraman 8 Brothers* (Toho) 7. Hancock (SPE) 8. Detroit Metal City* (Toho) 9. Samurai Gangsters* (Kadokawa) 10. Sex and the City (GAGA) September 17 Toronto J-Film- Pow-Wow :Japanese Weekend Box Office,September 13th - 14th. 1.Twentieth Century Boys* (Toho) 2. Paco And The Magical Book* (Toho) 3. Ponyo On The Cliff By The Sea* (Toho) 4. Superior Ultraman 8 Brothers* (Shochiku) 5. Okuribito (Departures)* (Shochiku) 6. Hancock (SPE) 7. Detroit Metal City* (Toho) 8. Sex and the City (GAGA) 9. Nim's Island (Kadokawa) 10. Goo Goo, The Cat* (Asmik Ace) September 13 Paco to Maho no Ehon" was released today nationwide in Japan. At a theater in Ginza, Tokyo, Director Tetsuya Nakashima and the ten cast members ( Jun Kunimura, Gekidan Hitori, Sadao Abe, Satoshi Tsumabuki, Koji Yakusho, Ayaka Wilson, Anna Tsuchiya, Ryo Kase, Eiko Koike, and Takaya Yamauchi) did the greeting session on the stage after the first showing. Here is the report with a photo of the Director and the whole cast. Eleven of them are holding a colorful card, meaning "PA-CO-TO-MA-HO-NO-E-HON-DAI-HI-TO!! (Paco to Maho no Ehon Big Hit!!) respectively. September 1 Here is a site for the talk between Director Nakashima and Koji Yakusho about the movie "Paco to maho no Ehon". I have been wondering why Director Nakashima sellected Koji for the role of such an old man as Onuki. Nakashima gave one of the answers here, saying that Koji's face is rather scarry!: any younger actors can play the role of Onuki with such an old man's makeup but in his view, actors' faces of the younger generations than Koji look much gentler. August 2 This Toho site covers both the press conference on the day of the premiere and the staff and cast stage greeting session on the same day. July 30 On July 29 the Japan premiere for "Paco to Maho no Ehon" was held at Tokyo International Forum. After the showing of the film, Director Tetsuya Nakashima, the author Hirohito Goto, Koji Yakusho, Ayaka Wilson, Gekidan Hitori, Jun Kunimura, Takaya Yamauchi and Takaya Kamimawa gave greetings from the stage. Here is the news (in Japanese) with photos. Here are some photos, too. This report with photos is also good. Here is another report. July 23 If you click the official website for "Paco and the Magical (Picture) Book, you can now see the third teaser trailer and the full-length trailer for this film. Click the small square with white Chinese characters just above "9 + 13 (sat) Roadshow". For the trailer you can also visit this site. On July 29 (Tues), 2008 the Japan premiere for "Paco to Maho no Ehon" will be held at 19:00 at Tokyo International Forum in Ginza, Tokyo. Following the screening, the greetings from the stage by Director Tetsuya Nakashima and some major actors and actresses including Koji Yakusho, Ayaka Wilson and Satoshi Tsumabuki are due to be held. I am looking forward to seeing this film and some cast and staff on that day. July 6 Here is Pym's unofficial translation of Koji Yakusho's comment about "Paco and the Magical Picture Book": "Genius Director Nakashima's playful mind is at full stretch. His directing is swift and sure. He leads viewers enjoy the movie to their hearts' content, and in the end, their minds are enveloped in a mood of gentleness. This is ceratainly a masterpiece as a fantasy movie, with the consequence that both adults and children can enjoy it. Don't miss it!" July 4 The official site for "Paco and the Magical Picture Book" was updated again today and we can now read the commnents by all the main cast members. The tickets for this film are due to be on sale from July 19. June 28 The official website of "Paco to Maho no Ehon" was updated and we can now see the second teaser trailer for this film. Koji Yakusho playes the role of an old man called Onuki but his voice sounds so deep and comfortable! May 6 The cast page of the official Paco website has just been renewed. We can now see the cast members' roles clearly. April 28 The translation of the second half of the story page of the Paco website: "I become cross even at the fact that you know me. Don't call my name so easily." So saying to anybody trying to approach him, Onuki does whatever he wants to do at the hospital. He was taken to the hospital while unconscious after collapsing during a meeting at his company. One day he comes across a girl patient at the hospital named Paco, whose memory lasts only a day at a time as a result of being involved in a traffic accident which casing the death of both her parents. Onuki, however, pushes her off the bench where he wants to sit; but the next day Paco comes back to the same bench and starts to read a picture book. Meanwhile an incident happens concerning Onuki and Paco, which leads Onuki to come to know her better. In due course, Onuki, gradually beginning to scrutinize his own life, hits on the idea of doing something significant for the benefit of Paco: that is surely something to please her. What is it? The story now begins... April 24 The first teaser trailer for "Paco and the Magical Book" is now available on the official website. In the understanding of Koji's fans, koji is always as handsome and sexy as in the roles of Nobu (The Memoirs of a Geisha), Yasujiro (Babel) and Hara Jubei (SILK), for instance; but in this film... well, he is marvellous! Here is the info on the spinoff from this film. "Tetsuya Nakajima, the director best known outside Japan for Kamikaze Girls, is overseeing Itsumo Wagamama Gama ?ji (The Always Selfish Prince Gama), a Flash-animated series of television shorts that premiered in Japan on April 21. The series is a spinoff from Nakajima's upcoming live-action feature film, Paco and the Magical Book (Paco to Mah? no Ehon). In this film that opens on September 13, a girl named Paco (Ayaka Wilson) is recuperating from a car accident that left her unable to remember more than a day's worth of memories. She finds happiness in a picture book she reads every day by the lake near her hospital. The Itsumo Wagamama Gama ?ji television series will recreate selected stories from that picture book." April 21 For those who cannot find where the cast members actually are in the still , here are some clues: (I translated the story page of the Japanese website of this movie) A long, long time ago, but actually not so long time ago, there was a hospital somewhere. The people there -- patients, doctors, nurses and others -- were all odd ones. Among all those odd patients, there were:- * Muromachi (Satoshi Tsumabuki), who had started his acting career in his childhood but had given up becoming a good grown-up actor * Takita (Gekidan Hitori) , who was a fire man but was run over by his fire engine. * Kinomoto (Jun Kunimura) , a gay, who was a big fan of an actress/singer Judy Ong and got interested in gossip. * Ryumonji (Takaya Yamauchi) , who was a yakuza with a lot of scars all over his body :he was hospitalized as a result of a gun shot. * Horigome (Sadao Abe), who was just an odd man without any sense of reasoning. The doctors and nurses were also odd: Among them, there were:- * Asano ( Takaya Kamikawa), a doctor, who thought of himself as Peter Pan. Tamako (Anna Tsuchiya),a nurse, who had some tattoos on her body. * Masami (Eiko Koike), a fierce-looking nurse, who loved money. Koichi (Ryo Kase), Masami's husband, who was simply odd. Among all, however, a patient called Onuki (Koji Yakusho), a company president, who had made his property by himself, was an absolutely stubborn, selfish, odd old man. April 9, 2008 Paco and the Magical Picture Book will be released natiowide in Japan on September 13, 2008. Here is the scene photo from the film. June 3 Koji Yakusho's official website has confirmed that his next starring film is "Pako to Mouhou no Ehon/Pako and the Magical Picture Book". |
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| Updated on Dec.18, 2008 |
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| Directed by Tetsuya Nakashima |
| Release date: September 13,08 |
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| "Paco to Maho no Ehon" making dvd was released on August 30, 08 |
| The Japan Times Review by MARK SCHILLING |
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| Director T. Nakashima and the cast members's greeting from the stage on Sept 13, 2008. From Left, Director Nakashima, Jun Kunimura, Gekidan Hitori, Sadao Abe, Satoshi, Tsumabuki, Ayaka Wilson, Koji Yakusho, Anna Tsuchiya, Ryo Kase, Eiko Koike, and Takaya Yamauchi |
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