Ken Watanabe

Ken Watanabe Offered Role of The Colonel in AKIRA

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: November 22nd, 2011 at 6:03 pm

Although Gary Oldman recently confirmed that he had been approached to play The Colonel in Jaume Collet-Serra’s Akira, we’re now hearing from Twitch that the role has been offered to Ken Watanabe (Inception). While this move should silence some of the critics who claimed the production was “white-washing” the cast, the deal is still in the offer stage and nothing has been confirmed. However, since the studio was testing actors for the role of Tetsuo earlier this week, we may have some confirmed casting news for you soon.

Akira, the adaptation of the 1980s manga by Katsuhiro Otomo and the 1988 classic anime film by the same name, has Garret Hedlund (TRON: Legacy) and Kristen Stewart in talks to play Kaneda and Kei respectively. Hit the jump for more on the project.

INCEPTION Blu-ray Review

by Andre Dellamorte    Posted: December 16th, 2010 at 3:24 pm

Christopher Nolan’s Inception came across as the man’s payout for having directed The Dark Knight, a film that grossed a billion dollars worldwide, recharged the franchise, and is inarguably one of the best superhero movies ever made. His follow-up brought in Leonardo Di Caprio to play Cobb, who works as an “extractor.” His profession is corporate espionage, stealing secrets from successful men through their dreams. Structured in some ways like a heist film (in others like a Bond movie), Cobb is given a “one last mission” situation where instead of stealing, he has to give someone an idea in their dreams. This situation will allow him to finally go home to his family. Supported by the likes of Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Ken Watanabe and Dileep Rao, he’s got a team to take on the hardest job he’s ever done. My review of the Inception Blu-ray follows after the jump.

INCEPTION Review

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: July 16th, 2010 at 2:22 am

“True inspiration is impossible to fake,” explains a character in Christopher Nolan’s existentialist heist film Inception.  If that’s the case, then Inception is one of the most honest films ever made.  Nolan has crafted a movie that’s beyond brilliant and layered both narratively and thematically.  It requires the audience to take in a collection of rules, exceptions, locations, jobs, and abilities in order to understand the text, let alone the fascinating subtext.  Nolan’s magnum opus is the first major blockbuster in over a decade that’s demanded intense viewer concentration, raised thoughtful and complex ideas, and wrapped everything all in a breathlessly exciting action film.  Inception may be complicated, but simply put it’s one of the best movies of the year.

INCEPTION Press Conference Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Marion Cotillard, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Ken Watanabe, Christopher Nolan, Hans Zimmer and Emma Thomas

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: July 12th, 2010 at 3:48 pm

A few weeks ago, Warner Bros. held a press conference with the cast and filmmakers of Inception.  Included on the lineup were Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Marion Cotillard, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Ken Watanabe, Director Christopher Nolan, Composer Hans Zimmer and Producer Emma Thomas.  While I hate posting press conferences as they’re usually dry and boring, with this all-star group and the fact that its Inception (which is awesome, btw), I’ve decided to make an exception.  So if you’re curious what they had to say about making the movie, hit the jump.  I’ve provided both the full transcript and the audio:

4 Movie Clips from Christopher Nolan’s INCEPTION

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: July 7th, 2010 at 8:52 am

Warner Bros. has finally released four movie clips from Christopher Nolan’s Inception and you can watch them all after the jump.  Now that the embargo has lifted, I can tell you I loved the movie and if you haven’t bought a ticket to see it opening weekend…do not wait.  But your tickets today.  That’s because everyone is going to be talking about Inception when it opens and rather than have it spoiled, go and see it for yourself.

While everyone who reads Collider knows we love to post movie clips before a movie comes out, this is one of those days I’m telling you to NOT watch the clips.  That’s because the less you know, the more you’ll enjoy the movie.  But if you can’t wait…I knew a decent amount before I saw it, but I was still sitting on the edge of my seat throughout the entire film as some of the visuals are jaw dropping.  More after the jump:

INCEPTION Video Roundup: Christopher Nolan On Set Interview, 6 Minutes of B-Roll (Behind the Scenes Footage), Video Featurette

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: June 25th, 2010 at 7:48 pm

With Christopher Nolan’s Inception junketing this weekend here in Los Angeles, Warner Bros. has released the floodgates of promotional material over the past 24 hours. Yesterday we posted a ton of new images and today the studio has released the EPK (electronic press kit), which includes an on set interview with director Christopher Nolan, 6 minutes of B-Roll (Behind the Scenes Footage), and a featurette that was released a few weeks ago that you may have missed.

What’s really great about the B-Roll is it features some great behind the scenes footage from the set.  As you watch, you’ll see how they did the special effects practically and not with CGI.  It’s some very cool stuff.  While I don’t think the video will spoil the movie, if you’re trying to stay spoil free, I guess you’d want to watch this stuff later.  But if you don’t mind learning a bit more about the world of Inception, hit the jump:

Ken Watanbe to Possibly Make Directorial Debut with World War II Drama 442ND

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: June 1st, 2010 at 12:02 pm

Oscar-nominated actor Ken Watanabe (The Last Samurai) may make his directorial debut with the World War II film 442nd.  According to Pajiba, the film centers on “the true story of an American-Japanese military unit assembled during World War II and sent on virtual suicide missions in the European theater. For their efforts against the Nazis, that unit went on to become the most decorated unit in American military history.”  That’s an impressive story, particularly because I don’t think many people know that we even had an American-Japanese military unit during World War II.

Watanabe starred in Clint Eastwood’s Letters from Iwo Jima, which was about the American invasion of the island told from the Japanese perspective.  He was the only good thing about that movie.  442nd sounds like a great story and if Watanbe’s directing is as good as his acting, I’d love to see him take a shot at this fascinating story.  Watanabe will next be seen in Christopher Nolan’s Inception, which hits theaters on July 16th.

SHANGHAI International Trailer Staring John Cusack, Chow Yun-Fat, Gong Li, and Ken Watanbe

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 26th, 2010 at 2:00 pm

After sitting on the shelf for over two years, the period crime-thriller Shanghai finally has a trailer.  For most of it, I was wondering why the flick was kept from theaters for so long.  It has tight premise, exotic locale, solid actors, and a nice look to it.  Then the trailer had the courtesy to give away almost the entire flick and what appears to be the ending looks stupid beyond all reason.  So if you want to see a film that you’ll like for maybe two-thirds of it and then check out due because of the climax, Shanghai looks like the movie for you.

Shanghai stars John Cusack, Chow Yun-Fat, Gong Li, and Ken Watanabe. Hit the jump to check out the trailer and the synopsis.  The film is set to be released in China on June 17th and sometime in the US this September.

7 New Character Posters for Christopher Nolan’s INCEPTION!

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: May 24th, 2010 at 10:23 am

With Christopher Nolan’s Inception getting released July 16, Warner Bros. has really started amping up the promotion of the movie.  Over the last week I’ve started seeing posters all around Los Angeles and they’ve also started airing TV spots and they’ve finally released the full synopsis.  While I was hoping to make it into a theater knowing very little, when you’ve spent a small fortune making a movie, you’ve got to sell the film to audiences and that requires showing people footage.

Anyway, Warner Bros. usually releases character posters for most of their movies and they’ve done it again for Inception as our partners at Omelete have just premiered 7 posters!  I’ve grabbed a few of them and thrown them after the jump but to see all 7 go to Omelete.  All the posters are very cool and they each tell you a bit about the movie.

UK TV Spot for Christopher Nolan’s INCEPTION

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 21st, 2010 at 9:07 am

A UK TV spot for Christopher Nolan’s Inception has just gone online.  Like the trailer, I believe this TV spot gives away too much cool imagery.  I hope that there’s just so much of it in the movie that this is just a taste of some mind-bending visuals we’re going to get.

Hit the jump to check out the TV spot and along with the film’s official synopsis.  Inception stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Cillian Murphy, Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe, and Michael Caine.  The film opens on July 16th.

Full Theatrical Trailer for Christopher Nolan’s INCEPTION

by Andrew Robinson    Posted: May 10th, 2010 at 11:32 am

The full theatrical trailer for Christopher Nolan’s new film, Inception, was released online today.  The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Ken Watanabe, Michael Caine, Tom Berenger, Cillian Murphy, Tom Hardy and Marion Cotillard.

Since the teaser trailer was released, almost a year ago, we were all enticed.  Then, the first trailer was released at the end of last year and we started to put together a few pieces of the puzzle.  Now here comes the latest theatrical trailer, which debuted last Friday inside the film’s online game.  After seeing this trailer, there’s no mystery left as to what the film is about.

Hit the jump to see the trailer.  Inception hits theaters on July 16th.

8 Movie Clips from CIRQUE DU FREAK: THE VAMPIRE’S ASSISTANT

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: October 2nd, 2009 at 4:05 pm

Opening October 23rd is “Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant”. The movie is helmed by Paul Weitz and it’s his adaptation of “The Saga of Darren Shan”, a very popular book series by Darren Shan. Since the movie couldn’t combine all twelve books, they’ve taken the first three and used that as the story. Obviously if the film is successful, they’ll use the rest of the series to make more movies. Anyway, Universal has given us 8 clips from the film and a featurette called “A Look Inside” and they’re after the jump. I’ve also posted the synopsis for those not familiar with the books.

Christopher Nolan’s INCEPTION Will be Shown in IMAX. But it Wasn’t Shot in IMAX. Fuck.

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: October 1st, 2009 at 1:59 pm

IMAX has just announced that Christopher Nolan’s latest film “Inception” will be released next year in IMAX. Great news, right? Unfortunately, the news could be better and here’s why: since the film was shot using conventional 35mm cameras and not using the actual IMAX cameras, the IMAX release is going to be using the IMAX DMR technology to blow up the image to fill the screen. So while it’ll still look good, it won’t be the oh my god quality that was “The Dark Knight”. Look, I’m still extremely excited to see “Inception” in IMAX, I just wish at least part of it was shot using real IMAX cameras. Anyway, we’ve been sent a press release and it’s after the jump. It’s filled with the usual stuff that says how excited everyone is to be working together.

Unofficial Behind the Scenes Filming of Christopher Nolan’s New Movie INCEPTION Starring Leonardo DiCaprio

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: September 21st, 2009 at 1:57 pm

I know you’re excited about Christopher Nolan’s upcoming movie, “Inception” because you saw the trailer, and now you’re hooked.  Also, that “Dark Knight” movie probably didn’t hurt.  But “Inception” is a project with its plot so under wraps that it feels weird to see set photos.  It’s far weirder to see the actual filming as some LA citizens did today and taped.  As far as I can tell from these brief clips of hand-held footage, “Inception” does not have positive commentary on commuting by car in Los Angeles as we see men shooting at cars and cars chasing each other.  Oh, and a train rolls through a city street.  And I’m talking about a tram or a monorail car.  It’s a real, cargo-hauling train.  You should just hit the jump now.  Trust me.

Naming Names for the Characters of Christopher Nolan’s INCEPTION

by Jackson Bishop    Posted: August 19th, 2009 at 8:40 pm

For a film directed by one of the most talented young directors in Hollywood, with one of the highest grossing pictures of all time under his belt, and sporting an incredibly talented cast, not very much is known about Christopher Nolan’s “Inception”. What we do know is that it’s a “scifi action film set within the architecture of the mind,” and that it’s cast includes the considerable skills of Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon Levitt, Ellen Page, Cillian Murphy, Marion Cotillard, and Michael Caine, just to name a few. You may also recall the recent set photos that found their way online. Now we can add a list of character names for a few of the actors to the short list of info. Hit the jump to learn more.

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