live action movie

It has been confirmed that the popular music manga, BECK, will have a a live action movie adaptation.  Tsutsumi Yukihiko is going to direct while Mizushima Hiro is set to play the leading role in the movie.

beck is a 34-volume manga by Harold Sakuishi that ran from 2000-2008. The manga tells the sotry of a group of Japanese teenagers who form a rock band.  The series was later adapated inot a 26-episode anime that was aired from october 2004 to March 2005.

Unlike the manga and anime series, the movie will focus on Minami "Ray" Ryusuke instead of the series lead protragonist, Tanaka "Koyuki" Yukio.  Minami is to be played by Mizushima Hiro while the role of Koyuki is to be played by Takeru Sato.  Mizushima is probably best known for his role as Namba Minami in the 2007 live action drama, Hanazakari no Kimitachi e.  He also recently portrayed Shibata Rihito in another drama, Mei-chan no Shitsuji (as seen in the magazine cover photo on the right).

30 original songs are going to be written for the movie.  The actors are going to perform the songs themselves with real instruments.  To ensure the realistic portrayal, Mizushima and the rest of the cast is to undergo rigorous training for a month.

The movie will start filming in July with a movie release date around fall 2010.

SOURCES:
Tokyograph
DramaWiki

The popular anime film, Blood: the Last Vampire, is set to release a live action movie in May. The film is being produced by Bill Kong, producer of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon & Hero, and to be directed by Chris Nahoon. The movie is to be primarily filmed in English rather than in Japanese just like the original animated film.

The movie will be set in 1948 Japan shortly after World War II during the American occupation of Japan. The plot follows the story of Saya, a half human-half vampire who is part of a covert government agency that hunts and destroys vampires and other demons. Korean actress Jun Ji Hyun, known for her wildly successful movie, My Sassy Girl, will be portraying the title character.

Japanese actress Koyuki will be playing Onigen, the high ranking vampire that Saya will fight. Koyuki is best remembered for role as Iwaya Sumire in Kimi wa Petto opposite Matsumoto Jun, and as Taka in the Tom Cruise blockbuster, The Last Samurai.

The live action movie will be the 6th installment to the franchise which includes the full length anime film, a one-volume manga, three Japanese light novels, a video game and an anime series, Blood+, which is set in an alternate universe.

The film is scheduled to premier in Japan under the title Last Blood on May 29, 2009 to be followed by a UK and France showing in June. Universal Pictures have reportedly gotten the rights for a US release but no release date has been confirmed as of yet.

SOURCES:
Wikipedia
Internet Movie Database (IMDB)