Hiroyuki Sanada News

Hiro will appear in Tokyo Film Festival event today

It is already 10/22 in Japan, and fans are anticipating anxiously to meet HIM in person at the midnight event "The World of Hiroyuki Sanada", as a part of Tokyo International Film Festival.  

TIFF webpage (Japanese)

TIFF webpage (English)

There will be a conference starting on midnight.  There, in addition to Hiro, Tadanobu Asano (main actor of Oscar winner "Mongol"), actress Mieko Harada, another actor Toshiaki Karasawa and the moderator Masaya Kawai (a movie producer) will be on stage to hold a discussion.

Following the conference, two movies - fans' choice "The City of Your Final Destination" and Hiro's own choice "Byoin e Iko ("Let's Go To The Hospital") - will be screened.

Our fellow Japanese fans are storming the place.  We are eagerly waiting for their report!!!

Misty

"The City of Your Final Destination" and "Byoin" will be shown at TIFF

As I previously reported, there will be a special "all-night" event featuring Sanada-san at Tokyo International Film Festival in late October.  There, one of Hiro's films were supposed to be chosen by fan vote and would be screened, and the fans voted the most for "The City of Your Final Destination"!!

Another one to be screened is "Byoin e Iko" (Let's go to the hospital) by Director Yojiro Takita.  It is dubbed as "Sanada-san's selection".  Yojiro Takita just won the Oscar Foreign Language Film this year with "Departures", and he is one of the frequent collaborator for him.  I believe it was the first Takita's film that Hiro was in, so it may be a "tribute" to Takita by Hiro, for his big international success.  (Other films are:  "Byoin e Iko II", "We are not Alone", "Shinjuku zame", and "Onmyoji".)

TIFF "World of Hiroyuki Sanada" (Japanese version) *English page does not contain any detailed info about the films

TIFF info page (English)   see "Director's Angle/Actor's Angle"

TIFF event info page (English)

"The City of Your Final Destination" (2007)

"Byoin e Iko"  (1990) 

Hiro's list of works

As far as I know, "The City" has not been shown officially anywhere, so it probably will be "world premiere" of this film.

Hiro himself is scheduled to appear in this event.

I mean, WOW!!  This James Ivory film is NOT know at all among public, so the fans "in the know" certainly all voted for this one.  I wish I were there to see it!!

Misty

"The City" new photos and more info arrive

Akira and RinRin report in their blogs that the new photos of the scenes from "The City of Your Final Destination" appear on Merchant Ivory Website.

Merchant Ivory Website

Sanada-san is on a horse in the photo.  It says "Coming Soon 2009".  Hope it comes really soon.

Michi

"City" to be premiered at Berlin on Feb. 12!!

Chi over at RinRin's Japanese blog informed that the great news just appeared on Peter Cameron's official Website.

"The City of Your Final Destination", where Sanada-san plays Pete, the lover of the main character played by Anthony Hopkins, will be premiered in Berlin Film Festival on February 12.

See Peter Cameron Website

I browse through the Berlin Festival site but could not find the official information about it.  If anyone have any further info, please let us know.  Also, if someone in Berlin reads this entry, please watch out to the local press to see if Sanada-san will be at the festival!!

Hiro as Pete

Thank you Chi, and RinRin, for letting us know!!

Misty

"The City" premiere in early 2009?

Reiko just sent me a piece of rumor.

A post appeared on IMDB bulletin board says that James Ivory's "The City of Your Final Destination", in which Sanada-san plays Pete (a gay partner of the main character played by Anthony Hopkins), will premiere in early 2009.

The following is the board post by everdene:

Merchant Ivory has finally straightened out their financing and legal
issues, the film has been bonded and filming is complete. Jorge Drexler
("The Motorcycle Diaries") is composing the score. The film will most likely
premiere at Sundance (January) or the Berlin Film Festival (February)

Reiko thinks that if that is true, the commercial showing will be maybe in summer of 2009 or so.

Let's keep our fingers crossed!!

Michi

"CITY" release date - April 2008

Hi, Folks!

Long time no see... as there have been no new news from Sanada-san lately.

Today, at least a small piece of new info came from RinRin.  IMDb posts the release date of "City Of Your Final Destination" in the U.S. as April 23, 2008.

IMDb

I could not find any other news backing up this date, so if any of you find anything, please let me know.

Misty

"CITY" finally has a distributor

I have not been following this topic too much, but anyway, reiko just broght a good news about "The City of Your Final Desination".  They finally have a distributor, HYDE PARK, and is listed as 2007 theatrical release.  Reiko says it will most likely will be limited showing in arthouse theaters, but it will come out this year, anyway!!  For further information about the ditribution/production trouble of "The City", please see SHIN forum, CYFD thread.

久しぶりに日本の皆さんにお知らせできることがありましたので、日本語でお知らせします！
「The City of Your Final Destiation」は、ここしばらくプロデューサーが代わったり、配給会社がつかなかったり、給料払えとアンソニー・ホプキンスが訴えたという話が出たりしており、「本当に出来上がるんだろーか？？」と心配されていましたが、今日レイコさんから来た連絡によると、ようやく正式に配給会社がつき、アメリカでは年内に上映される見通しが立ったそうです。配給会社はHYDE PARK。レイコさんの推測では、おそらく来年のオスカー向けラインアップが出揃う年末頃に大都市だけの限定公開になるか、またはどこかの映画祭でまず上映されるかも、とのことです。Rush Hour 3と違い、低予算の芸術映画のため、DVDになるまでは見られない人も多いと思われます。（レイコさんによると、James Ivory監督の映画はギャラが少ないことで昔から有名で、俳優もそれを覚悟の上で、名誉として出るというタイプの監督さんだそうです。）

Misty

OK, folks, here is Pete!

I found a link (from a Japanese chat site) to a page of Peter Cameron website that carries the photos of "The City of Your Final Destination" shooting, and THERE IS A PHOTO OF SANADA-SAN as PETE!!!

Peter Cameron website

Yes, FINALLY!!

He looks SO YOUNG in this photo. ENJOY!!

Misty

Tidbits from Spanish blog on "City"

We have not heard about the progress of "The City of Your Final Destination" for a long time, and many of us, including me, have started to doubt if this project will really come through.

Well, recently our dear friend Emerald found this post in a Spanish blog, including his photo in Argentina, from Japanese discussion board info.  The blog entry is dated April 14, but the original magazine article that is scanned here is saying Anthony Hopkins arrived there on December 23 of last year, and it doesn't say when was this picture taken, so I assume it is from some time ago. 

And with the amazing teamwork of folks over at SHIN forum, it was  translated into English!!

Original Spanish blog
SHIN discussion thread including the translation

Thank you, Emerald, Elin and Rachel!!!  It is amazing to see the fans from different parts of the world working to share the information about our Hiro!!

Speaking of different parts of the world, I also would like to say big THANK YOU to annie and Emily, for helping our Chinese speaking fans by translating these news into Chinese on their own Website!!  I remember Sanada-san had a very special feeling about working in China with Chinese people in "The Promise", so I am so happy to see his hard work is appreciated by Chinese fans, and his hope to "build a bridge" is realized little by little in their hearts!!

Misty