SPECIAL ACTORS Press Notes and Photos From Shochiku

Photo courtesy of Shochiku. ©Shochiku Broadcasting Co., Ltd.

Source: Shochiku Co., Ltd. Official Site: special-actors.jp (Japan)

A SCIFI JAPAN EXCLUSIVE

Theatrical poster, courtesy of Shochiku. ©Shochiku Broadcasting Co., Ltd.

Shochiku has provided information and large, high-res photos from the new comedy SPECIAL ACTORS (??????????, Supesharu Akut?zu), the second feature film from ONE CUT OF THE DEAD director Shinichiro Ueda. Ueda has taken a concept he has been incubating for many years and cast 15 unknown actors for this multiple protagonist movie. The seventh project produced under Shochiku Broadcasting`s original film banner, SPECIAL ACTORS leads the viewer down a mysterious road where nothing is what it appears to be... STORY Real actors acting fake...? Fake actors acting real...? Kazuto (Kazuhito Osawa) is not a typical actor...actually, he`s not an actor at all! He`s just a timid young guy who regularly faints from stress, hopelessly impressed with the psychic strength of the hero from the B-movie RESCUEMAN. Kazuto`s younger brother invites him to the Special Actors talent agency, a "perform any job using acting" service. Somehow, Kazuto ends up being a key `player` in a real life drama in which a young woman, Rina, has been brainwashed. She is about to transfer ownership of the family inn to the heartless "Rice Ball" cult! Her sister, Yumi, desperately asks the Special Actors to help. A complex plan is devised, and everything depends upon...Kazuto!? The aspiring actors gives it their all as they play their roles on the ultimate stage of everyday life. Just when you think you understand who is who and what is what, there comes an unbelievable twist!

Photo courtesy of Shochiku. ©Shochiku Broadcasting Co., Ltd.

CREDITS Japanese Theatrical Release: October 18, 2019 (Nationwide Roadshow) Running Time: 109 Minutes Cast Kazuhito Osawa Hiroki Kono Takuya Fuji Staff Director: Shinichiro Ueda Screenplay: Shinichiro Ueda Producers: Satoshi Hashidate, Hitoshi Ono Planning: Seigou Fukada Cinematography: Tsuyoshi Sone Sound Recording: Chinsui Son Editor: Shinichiro Ueda Lighting: Kohei Honma Art Director: Hiroshi Akimoto Costumes: Reiko Baba Hair and Makeup: Shihomi Mochizuki Assistant Directors: Miyuki Fukuda, Kazunori Yamashita Action Director: HAYATE Music: Nobuhiro Suzuki, Sho Ito Production Company: Shochiku Broadcasting Production Cooperation: PANPOCOPINA Distributor (Japan): Shochiku ©Shochiku Broadcasting Co., Ltd.

About Shochiku Co., Ltd.

Shochiku traces its origins to 1895 when Takejiro Otani presented his first stage play. They also produced the first color motion picture in Japan, and have expanded into TV dramas, video contents, Kabuki presentation, theater operations, and real estate. The company has become a symbol of enduring tradition as the exclusive promoter of the Kabuki theater in Japan as well as widely known as the creator of the world’s longest-running feature film series, TORA-SAN. The company is making all possible efforts to develop business in various fields, including multimedia and co-productions, across generation, national, and cultural borders.