SAKAMOTO SCORES AGAIN
Celebrated composer Sakamoto Ryuichi (“The Last Emperor,” “Minamata”) has been tapped to provide the score of “Monster,” the previously announced upcoming film by Japan’s Kore-eda Hirokazu (“Shoplifters”). The film has been in post-production since November last year, but only now is the cast being unveiled. It includes Ando Sakura (“Shoplifters”,) Nagayama Eita (“Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai”) and Tanaka Yuko (“Backwater”). Two children actors Kurokawa Soya and Hiiragi Hinataare were also revealed. The film, handled jointly by Toho and Gaga, is set for a June 2, 2023 release, making it a favorite for selection at the Cannes festival in May.
CLOSE ENCOUNTER
Lukas Dhont’s “Close” added to its awards haul with the announcement that it had earned two more prizes at China’s Silk Road International Film Festival. The festival in Xi’an concluded on Tuesday with prizes for best film and best film going to the Belgium-France-Netherlands co-production. The best screenplay award went to Zhang Lu for “Yanagawa.”
GLORY GOES GLOBAL
“The Glory,” the latest Korean original series from Netflix ranked third on the streamer’s global chart for non-English-language series. In the week from Dec 26, 2022 – Jan. 1, 2023, the revenge drama notched 25.1 million viewing hours. The show launched midway through that week, on Dec. 30, and according to a separate analysis by Flix Patrol, the show was the fifth most watched show on Netflix on that day. The series, about a woman who seeks elaborate and delayed revenge on her bullying former classmates, runs to a total of 16 episodes. Eight are now available, the other eight will upload in March.
