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VIFF 2014: Japanese star Satoshi Tsumabukigrew from Vancouver Asahi experiences
by CRAIG TAKEUCHI on SEP 29, 2014 at 9:08PM
Actor Tsumabuki Satoshi (right) besideVancouver Asahi director director Ishii Yuya
CRAIG TAKEUCHI
TWO OF JAPAN'S hottest celebrities broughtsome of their star power to the Vancouver International Film Festival worldpremiere of the much-anticipated Japan-Canada coproduction The Vancouver Asahi(Bankuba no Asahi).
Prior to the screening, a press conferencewas held at the Centre for Performing Arts in downtown Vancouver with director Ishii Yuya, actorsTsumabuki Satoshi and Kamenashi Kazuya, and producer Inaba Naoto.
Hordes of fans screamed in the rainoutdoors, and it's no wonder.
Tsumabuki Satoshi not only has an extensivelist of film and TV credits (not to mention awards), he's also singer andbassist for the band Basking Life.
In The Vancouver Asahi, Tsumabuki plays thecentral role of Reji "Reggie" Kasahara, a low-key son and labourer in1930s Vancouver who is reluctantly thrust into the role of leader of theVancouver Asahi baseball team. The team rose to fame first within the JapaneseCanadian community and then won over mainstream Vancouver with their incredible rise topopularity and overcoming racial barriers.
The film tells the story of their successesas well as their numerous struggles on and off the field.
Tsumabuki said in Japanese that when hebegan working on his character, he didn't have a clear vision of who Reji was.After speaking with director Ishii and friends, and as they were shooting, hebegan to create the person called Reji who tried to live as fully as possiblein the social conditions of the time (where racism was prevalent and oftenovert).
Since Tsumabuki had never seen Vancouver before and thefilm was set in a foreign country, he said it was somewhat difficult to playthe role. However, he felt that the Asahi Team gave people hope for the futureand the inspiration to live at a time when living itself was a hardship.
He expressed admiration for Nikkei (peopleof Japanese descent) immigrants, saying his impression was that the Japanesepeople in those days were really, really strong and that their strength came tothe fore.
While he acknowledged having only one yearof baseball experience prior to the film, his character learns to play baseballas the movie progresses, which paralleled his experience in real life.
His character played short stop, which hefound to be a very challenging position. Nonetheless, he practised before andduring the shoot with the other cast members in order to improve hisperformance.
When asked if he has any regrets aboutchoosing his particular profession, he said he enjoys playing differentcharacters and that he learns a great deal from such experiences.
The Vancouver Asahi has certainly proven tobe one such example.
http://www.straight.com/movies/739176/viff-2014-japanese-star-satoshi-tsumabuki-grew-vancouver-asahi-experiences
VIFF 2014: VancouverAsahi's Kazuya Kamenashi on baseball, Nikkei, and shaving body hair
by CRAIG TAKEUCHI on SEP 29, 2014 at 9:54PM
Kamenashi Kazuya (right) beside hisVancouver Asahi costar Tsumabuki Satoshi
CRAIG TAKEUCHI
KAMENASHI KAZUYA IS certainly one of <st1:country-region w:st="on">Japan's hotteststars. How can you tell?
Well, if the fact that he was met withthrongs of screaming fans, who had camped in the rain outside the Centre forPerforming Arts in downtown Vancouver for several hours before the VancouverAsahi world premiere to catch a glimpse of their idol, wasn't a big enoughhint, there's this fact: the man simply exudes star-power cool.
After all, his multifaceted career includesbeing a singer-songwriter, an actor, a TV personality, a producer, a radiohost, and a model. He's also a member of the J-Pop group KAT-TUN as well asShuji to Akira. Not too shabby, to say the least.
Now he's got one more item to add to hislist: portraying a baseball player on screen.
A touch more chilled-out than his costarTsumabuki Satoshi, who plays the lead role in the ensemble historical dramaabout a legendary Japanese Canadian baseball team from Vancouver in the 1930s,Kamenashi shared the stage at the Vancouver Asahi press conference withTsumabuki, director Ishii Yuya, and producer Naoto Inaba.
In the film, the 28-year-old actor playsRoi "Roy" Naganishi. Kamenashi said in Japanese that after talking todirector Ishii and other cast members, he played his character as being veryclosed-up at the beginning. As he becomes more engrossed in the game, he said Roy becomes more openwith his heart as he becomes a part of the team and is more accepted.
Working on the project helped Kamenashiunderstand the differences in cultures between the two nations and about howJapanese Canadian people lived in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Canada.
He expressed appreciation for being able tolearn about how Japanese Canadians remained strong in spite of the difficultiesthey faced at a time when they were discriminated against.
The film was shot on open sets in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Japan that re-created scenes of Vancouver. Even though the film was set in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Canada, whatwas very Japanese to Kamenashi was that the cast and crew ate miso soup betweenshoots on very cold days.
Compared to Tsumabuki, who only had oneyear of baseball experience prior to the film, Kamenashi brought extensiveexperience to the project. He said he played baseball from grades 1 to 9. He'salso provided sports coverage for baseball games. For the film, he said theystudied archival film footage from the 1930s to learn how they played the gameback then for historical accuracy.
When asked if he had any regrets about hiscareer, he said that when he was young, each character he played was fresh andfun but as he grew older, it became difficult to approach characters in thesame fresh way. Consequently, he had to grow as an actor in order to meet thatchallenge.
He related the story of how he had to playan evil spirit for a particular project. For the character, he had to shave offall his body hair. He said that the shaving part wasn't all that bad but whenthe hair started to grow back, it made him itchy all over (arousing audiencelaughter).
Luckily, he didn't have to go through anyitchy experiences for The Vancouver Asahi. Instead, it sounds like he, not hishair, grew in new and interesting ways from what he learned.
http://www.straight.com/movies/739186/viff-2014-vancouver-asahis-kazuya-kamenashi-baseball-nikkei-and-shaving-body-hair
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VIFF 2014: Vancouver Asahi premiere features Japanese stars and special Nikkei guest
by CRAIG TAKEUCHI on SEP 30, 2014 at 4:55 PM
Left to right: Vancouver Asahi stars Kamenashi Kazuya and Tsumabuki Satoshi with director Ishii Yuya on the red carpet at the world premiere of The Vancouver Asahi in Vancouver, B.C.
CRAIG TAKEUCHI
VANCOUVER'S WET WEATHER didn't deter fans from creating a mob scene at the Centre for Performing Arts in downtown Vancouver on September 29. Moviegoers started lining up hours prior to the world premiere of the dramatic feature The Vancouver Asahi at the Vancouver International Film Festival.
Attendees were trying to catch sight of the film's two stars, Tsumabuki Satoshi and Kamenashi Kazuya, who have extensive followings across Asia and around the world.
Their collective star power threatened to overshadow the story itself—to be honest, it did—but VIFF programmers and the filmmakers spoke about the significance of the film.
"Once upon a time in Vancouver, there was a Japanese baseball team," VIFF Dragons and Tigers programmer Tony Rayns said at the premiere. "This was in the 1930 and a lot of people have forgotten about it. It's kind of a vanished history in some sense and tonight's film brings it back in a very beautiful way. It's not a documentary. It does take a few dramatic liberties with the facts….I think it captures the spirit of a certain moment in Vancouver history, and particularly the history of the Japanese in Vancouver."
A press conference was held prior to the screening, attended by the two stars as well as director Ishii Yuya and producer Inaba Naoto.
Director Ishii first came to the festival seven years ago with his film Bare-Assed Japan, which he made as a graduation project from film school.
His films Mitsuko Delivers and The Great Passage have also previously screened at VIFF.
Ishii said in Japanese at the press conference that he previously didn't know about Japanese Canadian history and that neither do most Japanese people.
He said he wanted the film to show how the Nikkei people persevered, survived, and rose above the challenges they faced at the time. He emphasized that he sought to avoid depicting them as victims of history.
Although the story is set in the 1930s, he said it was not too difficult to recreate the time period, and that he finds it more fun to create something unfamiliar. He also pointed out that the theme of the film is a universal one that even modern people can relate to.
Inaba said that he was attracted to the story of the team and how these people lived in such difficult times but still made the best of it. He also pointed out how it was the Asahi team that bridged the gap between the two nations of <st1:country-region w:st="on">Canada and <st1:country-region w:st="on">Japan), not statesmen or powerful people.
Inaba said that although they had hoped to make the film in Vancouver, it was impossible for them to do so (he didn't explain why). They recreated Vancouver in the 1930s on an open set in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Japan. For their research, they talked to several sources here in Vancouver, including the last surviving Asahi baseball player Kaye Kamanishi, Nikkei National Museum staff, and those who lived in Poweru Gai (the Powell Street neighbourhood where the Japanese Canadian community was concentrated).
Before the screening, the cast and crew made a few brief speeches.
Of course, there was plenty of screaming from the packed house as Tsumabuki and Kamenashi hit the stage. Both stars spoke in English. (Tsumabuki also spoke in Japanese).
Kaye Kamanishi also made a special appearance on stage. He spoke in Japanese and said that the story of the film is based on an interview he had with the director. He added that he was very honoured and grateful to have this film made.
See the video below for their speeches.
Vancouver Asahi world premiere in Vancouver
http://www.straight.com/movies/739661/viff-2014-vancouver-asahi-premiere-features-japanese-stars-and-special-nikkei-guest
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Actor Tsumabuki Satoshi smiles as he and fellow actor Kamenashi Kazuya at the Centre in Vancouver British Columbia, September 29, 2014
Actor Kamenashi Kazuya arrives on the red carpet at the Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia, September 29, 2014
Actors Tsumabuki Satoshi (L) and Kamenashi Kazuya arrive on the red carpet at The Centre in Vancouver British Columbia, September 29, 2014
Actors Tsumabuki Satoshi and Kamenashi Kazuya (L) arrive on the red carpet at the Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia, September 29, 2014
Actors Tsumabuki Satoshi and Kamenashi Kazuya (L) join director Ishii Yuya (R) on the red carpet at the Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia, September 29, 2014
Actor Kamenashi Kazuya
Tony Rayns (VIFF Dragons & Tigers Programmer) (L) introduces (L to R) director Yuya Ishii, actors Tsumabuki Satoshi, Kamenashi Kazuya, and producer Naoto Inaba
Pandemonium at Vancouver Asahi premiere
There was a mob scene as the stars of The Vancouver Asahi strolled the red carpet at the Centre on Monday (September 28).
The Straight's Craig Takeuchi was there to scream along with the rest of the fans, although he got to attend the media conference inside with actors Kamenashi Kazuya and Tsumabuki Satoshi(where he continued to scream).
Takeuchi-san promises more on Vancouver Asahiin the coming days.
http://www.straight.com/blogra/739506/pandemonium-vancouver-asahi-premiere
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Kamenashi Kazuya, Tsumabuki Satoshi Heat Up Vancouver Red Carpet (PHOTOS)Vancouver got a dose of Japanese star power this week as a huge crowd (of mostly girls) welcomed the stars of "The Vancouver Asahi," which premiered at the Vancouver International Film Festival.
Actors Kamenashi Kazuya and Tsumabuki Satoshi walked the red carpet Monday in front of hundreds of screaming fans at the Centre for Performing Arts. So many people were trying to get photos of the stars that video interviews were cancelled, according to reports.
"The Vancouver Asahi" is a Japan-Canada co-production that tells the story of a baseball team in the 1930s that dealt with racism and prejudice. The film unfolds against world events of the Depression and Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, followed by the mass internment of Japanese Canadians.
Satoshi — a film and TV actor, and the singer and bassist for Basking Life — plays the lead role as the team's leader and shortstop, while Kazuya, 28, is the team's ace pitcher.
Kazuya — an actor, model, singer-songwriter, and member of the popular J-pop group KAT-TUN — played baseball as a child and provided sports coverage for baseball games, according to The Georgia Straight.
The actors were joined by Yuya Ishii, the film's director, and Kaye Kaminishi, the remaining team member from the original Vancouver Asahi baseball team, at a press conference before the screening.
Kazuya said he had to shave off all his body hair for the role, which wasn't bad compared to the itchiness of the hair growing back, he said to laughter from the audience.
"The Vancouver Asahi" plays at VIFF again on Oct. 4, 9, and 10.
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/09/30/kamenashi-kazuya-tsumabuki-satoshi-vancouver-asahi_n_5909854.html?utm_hp_ref=tw
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The Vancouver Asahi at VIFF
Revisiting Powell Street’s field of dreams at the Vancouver International Film Festival
This past summer, even as protest tents were sprouting up across Vancouver’s Oppenheimer Park, post-production was wrapping up on a new fact-based film that features that same park in a starring role. The big-budget film, The Vancouver Asahi (Vancouver no Asahi), highlights the exploits of the Asahi baseball team that ruled the Pacific Northwest amateur leagues for a number of years. Based out of the Powell Street neighbourhood, the team won five straight championships between 1937 to 1941, beating bigger, stronger teams with a brand of baseball that came to be known as “brain ball.”
According to Grace Eiko Thomson, who served as one of the Canadian advisors on the film, the Japan-Canada coproduction takes a semi-fictional approach, focusing on the championship years when the team appeared unbeatable. The Vancouver Asahi features a number of fictional players including shortstop Reji (Satoshi Tsumabuki), a 2nd generation Japanese immigrant who works at a sawmill in Vancouver. The team's ace pitcher is Roi (Kazuya Kamenashi), who works in a fishery. Kei (Ryo Katsuji), Reji’s co-worker, is the team's 2nd baseman. Tom (Yusuke Kamiji) is the catcher and works at a tofu shop. Frank (Sosuke Ikematsu) works at a hotel.
Thomson, who curated Levelling the Playing Field: Legacy of Vancouver's Asahi Baseball Team for the Nikkei National Museum, notes that Mr. Norio Goto, the author of the Japanese book Vancouver Asahi Monogatari (currently being translated into English), saw the film and enjoyed it, despite the fact that it plays somewhat loosely with the facts, a charge that is inevitably leveled against any film based on real events.
The Vancouver Asahi, which has its world premiere at the Vancouver International Film Festival on September 29, is directed by Ishii Yuya, whose films Bare-assed Japan and Mitsuko Delivers have previously screened at VIFF. Although some location work was done in Vancouver, most of the film was shot in Japan. Powell Street and Oppenheimer Park circa 1940s were faithfully recreated on a sound stage in Ashikaga, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan and the mainly nisei (second generation) baseball players are played by Japanese actors.
The story of the Asahi baseball team is a compelling one on many levels. While the dynasty-in-the making was stopped by the abrupt dispersal of the team (along with the rest of the Japanese Canadian community) following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the legend and legacy of the Asahi continues to grow. In recent years, films and books have paid tribute to a team that fought racism and discrimination while winning fans across generations and races. The team was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003 and the BC Sports Hall of Fame in 2005. The team was designated an Event of National Historic Significance in 2008, with a plaque unveiled in Oppenheimer Park on September 18, 2011, the 70th anniversary of the Asahi's last game.
The Vancouver Asahi (Vancouver no Asahi) will have its world premiere at a special gala presentation at VIFF.
Showtimes
September 29, 6:30pm Centre for Performing Arts
October 4, 2:30pm Centre for Performing Arts
October 9, 3:30pm, at the Centre for Performing Arts (added)
October 10, 1:00pm Vancouver Playhouse
www.viff.org
http://jccabulletin-geppo.ca/the-vancouver-asahi-at-viff/
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The Rising Sun of Vancouver Tells An Inspirational Japanese-Canadian Story
The feature film Vancouver Asahi, which means Rising Sun of Vancouver, had a red carpet World Premiere At VIFF Monday Night. The film releases in Japan on December 20.
Starring Satoshi Tsumabuki as Reggie, the Captain of team Asahi and Kamenashi Kazuya as Roy, the pitcher for team Asahi.
Excitement levels were over the top with fans pushing to see their favourite actors on the red carpet. Not only did the two main actors sit with the audience to watch the film but the last surviving member of team Asahi, Kaye Kaminishi sat beside them.
Vancouver Asahi, directed by Yuya Ishii is based between the era of when the first Japanese landed in Canada till the pearl harbour bombing.
An inspirational film telling the story of the Japanese that first came to Canada and how they struggle against racism; working for half the wages but twice as hard, just to be accused of stealing jobs. The young Japanese- Canadians had their own way of fighting back though, through the good sport of baseball because it was all about the game, not whether you were white or Japanese.
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官方FB有很多照片
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10153140118618943.1073741836.127330463942&type=1
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