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One of the golden rules of the Japanese entertainment industry is that the audience always comes last.
Fans of the "Odoru Daisosasen" (Bayside Shakedown) police comedy-drama series were disappointed to hear that the latest movie installment, due to hit theaters this July, will be arriving without mainstay Miki Mizuno. The actress, who played police sergeant Yukino Kashiwagi in the original TV series and its lucrative big-screen outings, has been replaced this time around by Yuki Uchida ("Cat’s Eye").
According to a report by Cyzo magazine, Mizuno effectively got herself blacklisted when she parted company with talent agency Burning Productions in 2005, incurring the wrath of president Ikuo Suho. The latter apparently used his influence to ensure that the actress didn’t get a look-in with the latest film; her replacement, naturally, is herself represented by Burning.
This is far from the only example of talent agencies meddling in the movie world. Earlier in the year, Cyzo reported that Johnny’s Jimusho had been interfering in the production of the forthcoming "Space Battleship Yamato" adaptation. When SMAP star Takuya Kimura was cast in the lead role, the agency apparently demanded that the focus of the film be shifted from SFX-heavy space battles to Kimutaku-heavy human drama.
Well, at least they’ll be happy with the movie—even if nobody else is.
This story originally appeared in Metropolis magazine (www.metropolis.co.jp)
© Japan Today
9 Comments
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SilverStar
Good on Miki for doing what she felt was the right thing by parting company with the meddling talent agency. She is one of the few non-wimpy Japanese actresses who can get physical and kick butt.
thepro
The entertainment industry in this country is about on the same level as the yakuza
Kwaabish
This is pretty old news...
tkoind2
Same as everything in Japan. Consumers come last, subscribers come last, heck everyone except the "in" people come last.
But then again that goes a long way towards explaining the dismal content that Japan produces. Since the powers that be only seem to love sticky cute, sappy sentimental or predictably tragic story lines for drama and brain rotting talento shows for everything else.
Thank goodness other countries produce meaningful and interesting content, or my TV would never be used at all.
bigfujiyama
Burning Productions is owned by the Goto-gumi, the group that Jake Adelstein came up against in Tokyo Vice. As he states in the book, they are one of the nastiest yakuza clans out there.
smithinjapan
So long as Japan never wonders why its shows/movies are seen either as purely comical or just plain stupid; you don't pee on your consumers and expect them to lap it up.
as_the_crow_flies
You do if you've got a big plastic hammer to whop them a good clout over the head with first. Ritual humiliation is the name of the game here, after all.
Aotan
once again shows how unbelievably immature the japanese can be.
LostinNagoya
That's not different from what happens in Hollywood: Celine Dion was not supposed to sink (pun intented) Titanic's main theme. Kate Winslet and Di Caprio also were not even in the list when production started. To be honest, this happens in every area. How many times someone you know, or even yourself, was not boycotted in your workplace due to misty reasons?