Gackt to star alongside Josh Hartnett (and Demi Moore) in Hollywood film, Bunraku
(English online sources: Tokyograph, MTV/ Photo from Gackt and Dears)
*Demi Moore is in brackets because her participation is not yet confirmed.*
Oh my goodness Gackt looks so small standing beside Josh Hartnett! But he looked so big to me on Hey!Hey!Hey! Big as in tall, slim, lithe, but still, towering over the Downtown duo (though come to think of it that shouldn’t be too tough). And the colours from this photo are so lovely <3, fits my idea of fantasy-jappy-new-sci-fi-world-etcetc. (At first glance, Josh Hartnett looked a bit like Leo DiCap to me, but whatever.) Everyone’s breaking into Hollywood these days! (Thought I should mention also that I found it strange none of the jap news websites I went to reported on this, and only Tokyograph did. HMM. As well as other online forums.)
Anyway the following is a synthesis of the two articles I’ve quoted above. Musician Gackt will act in his first Hollywood film. The movie, titled “Bunraku,” is an action film written and directed by Guy Moshe, starring Josh Hartnett and Demi Moore.
The film is named after a type of traditional Japanese puppet theater, but the universe it is set in also draws inspiration from origami, video games, and other sources. Hartnett plays a drifter on a quest for revenge. Gackt will play his companion, a samurai named Yoshi.
This is Gackt’s first movie role since he starred with hyde in the 2003 film “Moon Child.”
Filming began in Romania during the middle of this month. The movie is scheduled to hit U.S. theaters in 2009, but no release information for Japan has been announced yet.
From Josh Hartnett’s MTV interview:
“Some of the scenes are gonna be more Michel Gondry-like I guess,” he said, citing some degree of influence by the “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” visionary. “But a lot of them will be green screen as well.”
“[The script] has a lot of fight sequences in it, but it’s more about these crazy characters,” Hartnett explained. “Like my character, he’s a gypsy and he’s coming into town and he’s got something to prove — and no one really knows what he’s about.”
During his attempts to describe the defiantly indescribable look of “Bunraku,” Hartnett kept hearkening back to that groundbreaking Frank Miller film he lent himself to several years ago. “It’s not fantasy. Well, I mean, it’s fantasy in that it’s not reality, but it’s not ‘Narnia,’ ” he said. “It’s a film that, I don’t know how to stick it into a genre, but I would say it’s more a film like ‘Sin City’ than anything else.”
Filed under: Gackt, Hollywood, japanese | 26 Comments
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OMGGGG GACKT SAMAAAAAAAAAA
wah lao eh josh harnett must be frickin tall. isnt gackt quite tall? i remembered the first time i saw josh harnett i fell in love with him because he looked so good. (that was during pearl harbour times) but i dont think so anymore… he has lost all his youth. lol.
but. the movie sounds weird? or lame, i couldnt really make sense of it.
I LET MY FRIEND LISTEN TO GACKTS SONG AND SHE SAID HE SOUNDED LIKE A AH PEK SINGING KARAOKE TTTTT_____TTTTTTT
IS IT JUST ME OR DID YOU GET 2000 HITS IN A DAY? sorry im spamming your comments
Gackt = 5’11”
Josh Hartnett = 6’3″
amazing news, and yes, i also thought that … “I thought Gakuchi was tall, but Josh…” OMG!
both look soooo cool in that pic… you know, is the kidn of pic you never expect to see, but someday, you actually see it
Oh my gosh…this whole Asian celeb wave is starting!…Steadily, but still it’s a lot more than the past. Usually only historical and martial arts movies of ancient China, feudal or WWII Japan, Korea, Thailand, etc… were only prevelant in the U.S.A., but now I guess there seems to be a bigger appreciation and interest towards modern Asian pop culture…especially since movies like Kill Bill, Speed Racer, Dragon Ball and possibly Akira coming out under American production. And of course anime has taken over Saturday morning cartoons. AND also Asian actors making slightly bigger cameos…hopefully Daniel Henney’s role in the next X-Men will be good. And I can’t forget the musicians who are trying out the US market: Rain, Se7en, Utada Hikaru (again) and whatever other Korean artists that JYP is introducing. Man, I don’t know whether to be excited, irritated, worried or happy about this whole wave.
OMFG! Gackt in a hollywood film!? I thought America was still too racist for that! I’m so thankful they’ve changed their ways for my favorite J-rock star to be able to be in an American flick!
yaya! i’m pretty excited! But handbanana here in america we have lots of different races in movies. but i think i understand the gist of what u were saying…
I couldn’t let handbanana’s comment stand. Racist?
Gackt has thousands of fans in America.
Did you see the turnout for the SKIN debut in LA last summer? If his PR department “sold” him over here…he would be HUGE in America as well as Asia in no time.
I’ll admit it, I’m a Mom with a 10 year old son. I have a wonderful husband who used to be an F-14 driver in the Navy. He’s tall, dark and handsome and built solid like your typical American male and even so, I absolutely adore Gackt!!!
Racist? Pu-lease!! If I wasn’t married, I would be dreaming of names for green-eyed, blonde, Nihon babies…We love him in America too! Japanese girls are very very lucky to have him. Thank goodness iTunes carries some of his music. If it weren’t for YouTube, I would never have “discovered” him. All he needs is the right press campaign and he’s golden. Perhaps he really doesn’t care. He’s got it all anyway. Can’t wait to see the movie.
YEAH GO GACKT!! YOU WILL TOTALLY PWN THIS MOVIE!! TAKE THE SPOTLIGHT!! YOU DESERVE IT!!
Victoria Kirkland, pardon me, but handbanana does have a point. I don’t think they’re referring to each individual American being racist against Japanese people or anything, but that in the US media, Asians aren’t as common -I guess you’d say- as other actors. Like you said, if it weren’t for YouTube you never would have found out who Gackt was. Yes, Gackt has thousands of fans and he is quite famous, but until this happened, Gackt is pretty much unknown to majority of the country.
The only other Japanese singer that I am aware of that has been in a Hollywood movie, is Ninomiya Kazunari from Arashi and he was in “Letters from Iwo Jima”.
The point is that I guess it’s just rare to have someone who is a star in Japan actually make an appearance in an American film.
I’m not racist or anything, but pretty much all American films have Caucasian people as the lead characters so having someone like Gackt be a leading character is just amazing.
So in conclusion… YOU ROCK THAT MOVIE GACKT!!!
(If I was rambling, going in circles, or just not make any sense at all, I’m sorry.)
GACKUTOO! *sqwuuuuueeeeee*
This is amazingly awesome! I’m so thrilled, I actually sqeeled when my friend told me about this’^^ How embarassing. And Gackt does look short, but who am I to say anything, I’m only 5’2″ . . . Now if onlt Mana would start talking, he could have been with Gackto. Eh, ah well.
This is more than a dream come true already! (@)-“- A rose for the Samurai ❤
does any one know if he [gackt] will be speaking English or Japanese in this film?
Gackt really briliant man, unbelieveable!!!!
Josh is 6’3!! And Gackt I think is 5’10??
rofl, i’m so pumped up to watch the movie! but its in next year AND i’m in taiwan… DAMMIT DX
that’s friggin giant XD
rofl, btw Gackt is about 180 cm, and he says he’s still growing *__* so that makes josh harttnet…. even taller than 180
So, this makes the count to. . . I don’t even know. Rain was in “Speed Racer last year. Now Gackt is bumpin’ fists with Josh Hartnett?! OMG, now if only Hyde and a few other Japanese, Korean and Chinese/Taiwanese singers/acters starting coming to Hollywood to do movies; WE COULD START A REBELLION!!!! MWA HA HA HA!
I was surprised when I saw this team-up I honestly thought it was something made up. Gackt-san in an American movie? Most people don’t realize his song was in FFVII Dirge of Ceberus and most of the square-enix charries are designed after him. Also, he had his one game in American called Bujingai. I love Gackt-san voice although I don’t understand Japanese.
Thats surprising. Gackt. The Gackt in a american movie. I 1st noticed gackts fame and music after dirge of ceberes listening to “Redemption” and “Longing” then just was hungry for more of his music. Now almost all his albums including “Jesus” is in my ipod. Hope he becomes as famous as jet-li. Jetli at 1st appeared at asian movies. Once people got to know him in america he appeared in american movies. Jet-li can fight but gackts handsome. Can sing. Dance. Speak in english. And Takes the face of any type of character. Hes truly perfect
AAAAAA I LOVE GACKT SOOO MUUUCCHHHHH!!!!!
I cant wait for this movie!
Gackt better not get any speaking parts, or else this movie is DOOMED. **Hoping Gackt has learned some acting skillz since Moonchild**
Actually…it is not because Gackt is short ,
but because Josh Hartnett is ”big” (big is dif. ten tall ;D)
Where can i find bunraku? ive been waiting for it to come out but i can never find it!
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