Best known for penning the LDH-produced HiGH&LOW franchise of late, screenwriter Kei Watanabe now takes to his own directorial debut with a sleight of hand tale in Three Nobunagas, telling of an assassinated feudal lord’s servant who captures three men – each claiming to be Oda Nobunaga.
Director Takashi Miike is well on his way with another potential hit with his next film, Yakuza Apocalypse. Marking the acclaimed director’s latest “rampage back to the basics” with a script by Yoshitaki Yamaguchi, the film sets lead actor Hayato Ichihara as a gangster caught in the nightmare of his life when he finds out his boss is a vampire.
The film also stars Yayan Ruhian, best known for his memorable performances in Gareth Evans’ recent hits, The Raid and The Raid 2. “Miike is the first director I’ve worked with since Gareth Evans,” said Ruhian in a recent set report from Screendaily’s own Jason Gray. “Miike is very good with a unique character. Whatever I do, I make it fun for myself. I like Japan. I am making new friends.” Miike also clarified a bit more about the film’s setup and direction in the same report, adding “My aim is not to shoot an all-out action film. It’s not action per se that I’m interested in but what comes out of the struggle between the main characters”.
This week, Twitchfilm provided a bit more info from the production, including a brand new synopsis and first official below:
Akira (Hayato Ichihara) admires Genyo Kamiura who is the most powerful yakuza. Genyo Kamiura has been targeted numerous times, but has never died. He is called the invincible person.
Because of Genyo Kamiura, Akira enters the world of the yakuza. His yakuza colleagues treats him like an idiot, Akira can’t even get tattoos because of his sensitive skin. Akira becomes disappointed in the yakuza world, because it’s not like what he say in the movies. Especially, in terms of loyalty and charity depicted of the yakuza.
An assassin is then sent to take out Genyo Kamiura. The killers know that Genyo Kamiura is a vampire.
Yakuza Apocalypse is produced by Shinjiro Nishimura and is Miike’s latest return to the set with Ichihara since working on the 2008 film, God’s Puzzle. The film has since wrapped principal photography before being shopped at Cannes by Japanese distributor, Nikkatsu, and is now in post-production for release next year.
Ruhian is also set to star with Chilean action hero Marko Zaror in, One Good Thing, directed by Killers co-helmer Kimo Stamboel from a script by Twitchfilm founder and editor Todd Brown.
Attendees of the New York Asian Film Festival will likely find themselves in front of Ichi The Killer and 13 Assassins helmer Takashi Miike‘s latest manga-based action comedy, The Mole Song: Undercover Agent Reiji this summer. But for those who follow his work in hopes of him returning to darker, more violent movies, as of last month, fans are bound to get exactly that.
Following initial reports in April of the film’s principal photography kickoff on April 17 for his latest action horror production, Yakuza Apocalypse: The Great War Of The Underworld, reports are now saying that Indonesian action star Yayan Ruhian has joined the cast of the new film, now set for a 2015 release. Based on an original screenplay by Yoshitaka Yamaguchi, Ruhian will be joining lead actor Hayato Ichihara who plays Kageyama, a yakuza subordinate forced to take on a group of deadly international assassins and avenge his boss, who turns him into a vampire before perishing.
“Goodbye to tediously boring Japanese films,” Miike said. “No one wanted this to happen, but I am making a rampage back to the basics!”.
The film marks Miike’s latest return to the set with Ichihara since working on the 2008 film, God’s Puzzle. In addition, the film is also being shopped at Cannes this month by Japanese distributor, Nikkatsu, who already share respective studio and distributor credits with PT. Merantau Films and XYZ Films for the latest ‘Mo Brothers’ horror thriller, Killers; The latter two companies also share film territory with Ruhian‘s credited appearances and action choreography work in Gareth Evans’s 2009 hit, Merantau, followed by The Raid and The Raid 2.
Ruhian is also set to star in XYZ Films’s next project, One Good Thing, written by Twitchfilm founder and editor Todd Brown for Stamboel to direct with Chilean martial arts action hero, Marko Zaror starring, who just wrapped up filming for Ernesto Diaz Espinoza’s new hitman thriller, Redeemer. Ruhian recently aided in choreography with Evans who is serving as action director for Tjahjanto’s latest production, The Night Comes For Us, and is expected to do the same for upcoming American remake of The Raid.
Stay tuned for more info.
H/T: Screendaily
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