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The Max series Tokyo Vice enthralled audiences with its deep and intricate exploration into the underbellies of Japan. The series is based on the controversial book of the same name by Jake Adelstein and stars Ansel Elgort playing Adelstein along with popular Japanese actor Ken Watanabe. The first season received great reviews from audiences and critics.

Ansel Elgort as Jake Adelstein in Tokyo Vice

The second season of the show is now streaming on Max. The makers of the show were hell-bent on shooting the series on location in Japan rather than constructing sets and recreating the country in other places. Despite a history of difficulties in having a Hollywood production in Japan, Tokyo Vice makers were successful in taking the necessary steps to secure a location for their shoot.

Realizing and Capturing The Real Essence of Japan Was Essential for Tokyo Vice

Unlike most Hollywood productions set in Japan,...

Exclusive: Soji Arai (Dead Ringers) has been tapped for a substantial role in the second season of HBO Max‘s crime drama series Tokyo Vice, which is currently in production in Tokyo.

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The Max Original led by Ansel Elgort and Ken Watanabe was renewed for a second go-round last June, after airing its first season in April. It’s loosely inspired by a non-fiction, firsthand account of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police beat by American journalist Jake Adelstein (Elgort) and captures his daily descent into the neon-soaked underbelly of Tokyo in the late ’90s, where nothing and...

Takayuki Suzuki has joined “Tokyo Vice” Season 2 at HBO Max in a recurring role, Variety has learned exclusively.

The drama series debuted in April 2022 and was renewed for a second season in June. It is inspired by Jake Adelstein’s memoir of the same name. Ansel Elgort stars as Adelstein, an American living in Japan who becomes a reporter covering the Tokyo Metropolitan police beat.

Suzuki will star in the series as Masahito Ohno. Described as “a brilliant and charming architect, Ohno is a client at the hostess club at the heart of season two. Slowly he’s pulled into the underworld that lies behind the club, and finds himself faced with a terrible choice.”

This will be the second American television role of Suzuki’s career. He previously appeared in one episode of the Apple sci-fi series “Invasion.” He is known for his roles in Japanese shows like “Gommenne...

Exclusive: Aoi Takeya will make his television debut in the HBO Max series Tokyo Vice‘s second season.

He will portray the character of Jason Oki, a Japanese-American member of the US Foreign Service who gets pulled into Jake Adelstein (Ansel Elgort) and his colleagues’ hunt to uncover the secrets of yakuza crime lord Shinzo Tozawa (Ayumi Tanida).

Tokyo Vice is loosely inspired by American journalist Jake Adelstein’s nonfiction firsthand account of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police beat. The crime drama, filmed on location in Tokyo, captures Adelstein’s daily descent into the neon-soaked underbelly of Tokyo in the late ‘90s, where nothing and no one is truly what or who they seem.

Ken Watanabe plays Hiroto Katagiri, a detective in the organized crime division of the Tokyo Police Department who is also a father figure to Jake throughout the series as he helps guide him along the thin and...

Welcome to My Favorite Moment! In a new week-long series IndieWire spoke to the actors behind just a few of our favorite television performances of the year about how the onscreen moment they are most proud of came together.

[Editor’s Note: The following interview contains spoilers for “Tokyo Vice” through Season 1, Episode 8, “Yoshino.”]

Before Ken Watanabe signed on for “Tokyo Vice,” he didn’t know how Season 1 would end. Even now, with the finale readily available in the United States but yet to air in his home country of Japan, the actor behind “incorruptible” detective Hiroto Katagiri hasn’t seen the climactic episode, including his shattering warehouse showdown.

Still, he loves that scene, and he feels the pain of viewers left hanging by its life-or-death cliffhanger.

“I read the script just before shooting, and [I said] ‘Is this the end? Is this the end of the episode?'” Watanabe said in a recent Zoom interview. “It’s like a trap laid by J.T. Rogers.

Former "Batwoman" actress Ruby Rose stars in the new action thriller "The Doorman", co-starring Jean Reno ("Leon The Professional") directed by Ryuhei Kitamura:

"...a former female 'Marine' turned doorman (Rose)...

"...battles mercenaries intent on destroying her apartment building...

"...to retrieve precious artwork hidden in the walls..."

Cast also includes Louis Mandylor, Rupert Evans, Aksel Hennie, David Sakurai, Philip Whitchurch, Julian Feder, Hideaki Itô, Jamie Satterthwaite, Kíla Lord Cassidy and Dan Cade.

Click the images to enlarge...

Former "Batwoman" actress Ruby Rose stars in the new action thriller "The Doorman", co-starring Jean Reno ("Leon The Professional"), directed by Ryuhei Kitamura:

"...a former female 'Marine' turned doorman (Rose)...

"...battles mercenaries intent on destroying her apartment building...

"...to retrieve precious artwork hidden in the walls..."

Cast also includes Louis Mandylor, Rupert Evans, Aksel Hennie, David Sakurai, Philip Whitchurch, Julian Feder, Hideaki Itô, Jamie Satterthwaite, Kíla Lord Cassidy and Dan Cade.

Click the images to enlarge...

Another Decade with Takashi Miike is a series of essays on the 2010s films of the Japanese maverick, following Notebook's earlier survey of Miike's first decade of the 21st century.If movie history is defined as much by absences as by the films that actually get made, then one of the critical lacunae of 2010s cinema is the relative lack of movies about mass shootings. Random killings in highly populated public spaces mark one of the most distressing issues in contemporary American life, as these atrocities became more and more common over the last decade. This may not be as much of a concern in other countries, which have greater safeguards to keep people from access to assault weapons, but it should be alarming to anyone. How horrible it must be to die as part of some sick person’s fantasy—horrible, in part, because of its uncanny resemblance to...

It’s the tail end of the twenty-first century and Earth has nearly overstayed its welcome with dwindling resources and over-population. Scientists believe they can release the CO2 pockets underneath Mars’ surface and move the Red Planet from -50 degrees Celsius into a human-friendly temperature and atmosphere. So mankind sends rockets of moss and cockroaches to commence the process, a half-century passing before a team of colonists can finally journey forth. Everything should be ready for this hand-selected group under Ko Honda’s (Shun Oguri) supervision: go to Mars, kill the cockroaches, and return home with stories of our salvation via a new frontier. It sounds so simple and yet no one is prepared for what they’ll find because no one but Honda and the Japanese government know the truth.

That itself is a wild premise ripe for science fiction fun, but manga creators Yû Sasuga and Kenichi Tachibana are hardly finished.

"You demon!" Shout Factory has debuted the official trailer for the upcoming Us release of Takashi Miike's Over Your Dead Body, a film he made in-between Shield of Straw and Yakuza Apocalypse (which just premiered at Cannes). This film premiered in Japan in 2014 and is just getting a release early in 2016, but if you're into trippy supernatural Japanese horror, give this a look. The story involves an actress and her lover cast in a play, caught between reality and fantasy on stage. It's apparently described as a "mixture of high and low art" reminiscent of Miike's Audition. Ko Shibasaki stars, with Hitomi Katayama, Hideaki Itô and Ebizô Ichikawa. The doll in this looks crazy creepy, as they do, but I'm not so sure about the rest of it. Here's the official Us trailer for Takashi Miike's film Over Your Dead Body, from ScreamFactoryTV: A beautiful actress (Kô Shibasaki...

Earlier this week, we gave you details on first wave of special experiences and events taking place at the 2015 Stanley Film Festival. We now have details on their impressive slate of features, short films, and additional special events, including screenings of The Final Girls, Deathgasm, Stung, The Invitation, and We Are Still Here.

We're teaming up with the festival for live coverage and special opportunities for Daily Dead readers, so be sure to check back all month for contests, features, and more.

"April 2, 2014 (Denver, Co) - The Stanley Film Festival (Sff) produced by the Denver Film Society (Dfs) and presented by Chiller, announced today its Closing Night film, Festival lineup and the 2015 Master of Horror. The Festival will close out with The Final Girls. The film, directed by Todd Strauss-Schulson, is the story of a young woman grieving the loss of her mother, a famous scream queen from the 1980s,...

Stars: Takayuki Yamada, Howard Harris, Fumi Nikaidô, Shôta Sometani, Hideaki Itô, Ruth Sundell, Mitsuru Fukikoshi, Rio Kanno, Yukito Nishii, Ken’ichi Takitô, Daniel Genalo, Noriko Nakagoshi, Erina Mizuno, Fujiko Kojima, Kento Hayashi | Written and Directed by Takashi Miike

I learnt from watching Audition that you never take Takashi Miike movies at face value, he won’t let you. That movie was my introduction into the twisted world of the director, and this is the reason he has quickly become one of my favourites. From horror to gangsters, historical and even school movies like Crows Zero he shows a flexibility and an ability to bring fun to his work, while also masterfully handling the extremes. Lesson of Evil is a movie that risks coming across as boring especially in the first half when it is setting the scene for the violence to come. Whether you find it dull or the characters interest you,...

Lesson of the Evil

Written by Takashi Miike

Directed by Takashi Miike

Japan, 2012

Few things in life are as shocking or unsettling as the betrayal of someone in whom one’s profound trust was invested. Close friends and relatives are two prime examples, but so are figures, such as priests (who have been caught in the spotlight for very un-Christian acts in recent years) and teachers. Just as school boards put their trust in an employee to educate, so to do the students put their trust in the teacher as a beacon of knowledge and even guidance. A teacher that has anything but the well being of the students is a frightening idea, one that infamous director Takashi Miike takes to an extreme in Lesson of the Evil.

Seiji Hasumi (Hideaki Itô) is a teacher like no other at Shinko Academy. Having been under its employment for just over a year,...

Lesson of the Evil Trailer. Takashi Miike‘s Lesson of the Evil (2012) teaser trailer stars Hideaki Itô, Jab, Takayuki Yamada, Shôta Sometani, and Fumi Nikaidô. Lesson of the Evil‘s plot synopsis: an adaptation of Yusuke Kishi’s novel Aku No Kyoten, ”A popular high school teacher concocts an extreme plan to deal with the rise of bullying and [...]

The post Lesson Of The Evil (2012) Teaser Trailer: Takashi Miike, Hideaki Itô appeared first on Film-Book.com.

Continue reading: Lesson Of The Evil (2012) Teaser Trailer: Takashi Miike, Hideaki Itô...

When did movies about teachers start getting so dark? DreadCentral reports that genre director and icon Takashi Miike has signed on to direct Aku no Kyoten (translated to Lesson of the Evil), an adaptation of the 2010 graphic novel by Yusuke Kishi.

The movie will star Hideaki Itô (lead of Miike‘s Sukiyaki Western Django) as the beloved and charming teacher Seiji Hasumi, who uses his outgoing outward appearance to mask his sociopathic and psychotic tendencies. The darkness inside Hasumi manifests itself in the murder of his students, which he considers “mercy killings,” as the students are dealing with bad parents as well as constant bullying. That, sadly, sounds far more proactive than what actual teachers and school faculties do to combat those problems. Filming is set to start in April, with a hope to premiere the film at this year’s Venice International Film Festival in August, before a planned theatrical release in November.

First Look Studios recently released the latest kick ass movie poster for the upcoming western “Sukiyaki Western Django” by director Takashi Miike and starring Hideaki Ito, Masanobu Ando, Koichi Sato (The Guardian) and Quentin Tarantino (Inglorious Bastards, Grindhouse, Reservoir Dogs) as Ringo. Look for “Sukiyaki Western Django” on DVD from First Look Studios soon. Synopsis: Set during “The Genpei Wars” at the end of the 1100s, the Minamoto and Taira gangs face off in a town named Yuda, while a deadly gunman (Ito Hideaki) comes to the aid of the townsfolk. Stay tuned to Shockya.com for the latest “Sukiyaki Western Django” movie news and posters.

Now with even more Typhoons - the official site for Warner Japan’s new big budget disaster movie 252: Signal of life has been updated with a full length theatrical trailer. As trails go it’s looking great - right up until the point where the J-pop power (sheesh) ballad kicks in?! Directed by Nobuo Mizuta and starring Hideaki Ito and Masaaki Uchino, the film is due out in Japan December 6th. On site, click on the button directly under the "252" logo for the trailer. Synopsis: A few weeks after a gigantic earthquake strike Tokyo, the temperature of the Pacific Ocean suddenly increased and causes the largest typhoon ever seen in Japan to head towards Tokyo with devastating force....

Now with even more Typhoons - the official site for Warner Japan’s new big budget disaster movie 252: Signal of life has been updated with a full length theatrical trailer. As trails go it’s looking great - right up until the point where the J-pop power (sheesh) ballad kicks in?! Directed by Nobuo Mizuta and starring Hideaki Ito and Masaaki Uchino, the film is due out in Japan December 6th. On site, click on the button directly under the "252" logo for the trailer. Synopsis: A few weeks after a gigantic earthquake strike Tokyo, the temperature of the Pacific Ocean suddenly increased and causes the largest typhoon ever seen in Japan to head towards Tokyo with devastating force....

Sukiyaki Western Django

Starring Hideaki Ito, Yusuke Iseya, and Koichi Sato

Directed by Takashi Miike

Rated R

It's on the undercard of age-old arguments, not nearly the main event attraction of chicken or the egg, science vs. religion, or boxers or briefs. But the debate of style or substance can hit us right between the eyes if we're not careful.

The thing is, it's usually style over substance in the argument, because if a movie has enough substance, the style doesn't matter as much. But when the story seems to serve the visuals, then you wonder if you're watching or just seeing.

Moulin Rouge! is a great example of style triumphing over substance, and the recent Max Payne a veritable case study in having too little substance to support the vision.

Enter Sukiyaki Western Django, which you can expect to be unconventional from the title alone. Director Takashi Miike has...

Last weekends #1 indie film at the box office, Sukiyaki Western Django, will be opening in La on September 12th. In preparation of next Fridays release we have exclusive clip from Takashi Miike's latest over at Bdtv. The battle scene is pretty bloody and a man gets bent backwards, in half! Set during "The Genpei Wars" at the end of the 1100s, the Minamoto and Taira gangs face off in a town named Yuda, while a deadly gunman (Ito Hideaki) comes to the aid of the townsfolk. Hideaki Ito, Koichi Sato, Yusuke Iseya, Teruyuki Kagawa, Masanobu Ando and Quentin Tarantino all star.

Hideaki Ito in Sukiyaki Western Django

Photo: First Look Pictures I can't say I expected a lot from Sukiyaki Western Django, but with the ultra-violent auteur Takashi Miike directing a spaghetti western with all the elements of Sergio Leone, Sam Peckinpah and Akria Kurosawa in tow with an element of the absurd holding together a mish-mash of William Shakespeare there was no way I was going to miss it. Unfortunately this film won't knock your socks off, but it will definitely find its way into the unique catalog of films filed away in your brain. Miike is best known for such films as Audition and Ichi the Killer along with his flair for blood and gore. As someone not at all knowledgeable when it comes to Miike's body of work I won't be able to compare this to anything on those terms, but it's not really necessary. This isn't a...

By Neil Pedley

This week's new films include the Western going Eastern, a couple of exotic music docs, Cinderella stories for girls and for boys and Vin Diesel attempting to walk, chew gum and shoot people -- all at the same time.

"Babylon A.D."

Second chances all around in this stylish cyberpunk romp that sees "La Haine" director Mathieu Kassovitz take another bite at the mainstream cherry after stumbling with his last detour into Hollywood, the Halle Berry clunker "Gothika." Vin Diesel, who passed on "Hitman" for this, also gets another shot at a potential franchise after eliciting a collective yawn with his Neo-lite performance in "The Chronicles of Riddick." After a troubled shoot fraught with budget overruns and uncooperative weather, Diesel has the bigger challenge on his hands as Toorop, a mercenary charged with trying to save the world with a snowboard while escorting a genetically altered young woman...

First Look released the latest kick ass movie trailer for the upcoming western “Sukiyaki Western Django” by director Takashi Miike and starring Hideaki Ito, Masanobu Ando, Koichi Sato (The Guardian) and Quentin Tarantino (Inglorious Bastards, Grindhouse) as Ringo. Look for “Sukiyaki Western Django” in theaters on August 29, 2008. Synopsis: Set during “The Genpei Wars” at the end of the 1100s, the Minamoto and Taira gangs face off in a town named Yuda, while a deadly gunman (Ito Hideaki) comes to the aid of the townsfolk. Stay tuned to Toxic Shock TV for the latest “Sukiyaki Western Django” movie news and trailers.

• Takashi Miike is a filmmaker who needs no introduction. Japan’s preeminent maestro of extreme cinema, his penchant for sacrificing sacred cows is rivaled only by his prolific output. Having never met a genre he didn’t like, it’s of little surprise that he would eventually try his hand at the spaghetti western. Sukiyaki Western Django is a grand genre mashup of Japanese and American iconography – a bushido western. A nameless gunman (Hideaki Ito) rides into a dilapidated dust-bowl town and gets caught up in a Yojimbo-esque turf-war between two rival clans. Of course, not all is as it appears as characters come out of the woodwork with hidden motivations – not the least of which our anonymous hero and his skeleton riddled closet. The cast is packed with familiar faces, including Quentin Tarantino in full camp mode (does he know any other gear?). Crafted with the sweep of Leone,

...