| 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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| To be released on september 13, 2008 Based on a stage play by Hirohisa Goto,"Mid-summer Carol" Directed by Tetsuya Nakashima |
| [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. May 30, 2007 TOKYOGRAPH reported the info on Koji Yakusho's new film. Child model Ayaka Wilson has been chosen to play the heroine in "Pako to Mahou no Ehon" ("Pako and the Magical Picture Book") a fantasy film directed by Tetsuya Nakashima ("Kamikaze Girls," "Memories of Matsuko"). This is the first acting role for the half-Canadian, half-Japanese 9-year-old, who began modeling at the age of 3. The part is a difficult one - her character, Pako, has a memory limited to one day, due to an accident. The rest of the movie's cast includes Koji Yakusho, Satoshi Tsumabuki, Anna Tsuchiya, and Sadao Abe. Filming began on April 10. The movie is scheduled for a fall 2008 release. Source: Sponichi Annex |
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| 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. October 15 Here is a photo of Ayaka Wilson, who played the role of Pako. 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 May 6, 2008 |
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