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On February 15th, the press was invited to visit director Ninagawa Mika and actress Sawajiri Erika on the set of her comeback movie, “Helter Skelter“.

“Helter Skelter” is based on Okazaki Kyoko’s award-winning manga about a woman named ‘Ririko’ (Sawajiri), who received cosmetic surgery on her entire body, thus allowing her to become a shining top star in the entertainment industry. Eventually, however, her body starts to deteriorate due to the procedure’s after-effects. During this time, ‘Ririko’ causes many incidents one right after another, drawing people around her into the fray.

The press were invited to watch the crew shoot the first meeting of ‘Ririko’ and her junior ‘Yoshikawa Kozue’ (played by Mizuhara Kiko). The atmosphere was full of nervous tension, but Momoi Kaori (who plays the manager of their agency) suddenly whipped out one ad-lib line after another, causing everyone on set to burst out with laughter.

In one scene, Sawajiri reclined on a couch and pressed Momoi with questions about something. Donning an expression of resentment, Momoi muttered, “Mama will cry herself to sleep today.” This line wasn’t in the script, and so Ninagawa had to shout “Cut!“, but she couldn’t hold back her laughter while doing so.


Director Ninagawa commented, “There are so many serious dramas that it’s a nice surprise to see how naturally we are able to interact with each other. I was overly serious when I was filming ‘Sakuran‘, so maybe that’s a sign that I have surprisingly become more mature myself.”

Ninagawa revealed that she’s been planning to do this movie for seven years. “I’ve never been so persistent about anything before. This is the only project that caught me and never let me go anymore. I really made a triumphant pose when I heard that I can finally turn it into a movie.”

Her passion can be found in every detail of “Helter Skelter”, especially in the design of that one room. From the chandelier to the various artworks, many of the props are from her private property. Moreover, the room was full of countless portraits of ‘Ririko’, which were all taken by Ninagawa herself. Having such a devoted director, it’s also a given that all of the actors, especially Sawajiri, felt that they could trust her in everything she does.

“Helter Skelter” is going to open in Japan on July 14th.

You can check out more snapshots from the unique set below!


Source: eiga.com
             Tokyohive.com...

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It’s been announced that Okazaki Kyoko’s manga, “Helter Skelter“, will get a live-action adaptation starring Sawajiri Erika.

The manga received the 8th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize (Grand Prize) in 2004, and possesses a fairly intense story. “Helter Skelter” revolves around the protagonist, ‘Ririko’ (played by Sawajiri), who received cosmetic surgery on her entire body, thus allowing her to become a shining top star in the entertainment industry. Eventually, however, her body starts to deteriorate due to the after-effects of the procedures. During this time, ‘Ririko’ causes many incidents one right after another, drawing people around her into the fray.

The movie will be directed by Ninagawa Mika, and marks her second project after 2007’s “Sakuran“. According to Ninagawa, it took over 7 years for this movie adaptation to unfold.

“I have wanted to make the ‘Helter Skelter’ movie even before I made ‘Sakuran’,” she said. “I have never waited for something this long in my entire life, and I am really excited that I will be able to start filming this finally.”

Ninagawa also revealed that she aspired to cast Sawajiri particularly for this movie. “I can’t think of anyone else who could play this character, a character that possesses both the astonishing fragility and the impudent toughness of a woman, other than Sawajiri Erika, who kept receiving cheers and boos in turns.”

Sawajiri herself commented, “I was shocked by the original work, and have wished to play ‘Ririko’ for a very long time.  ’Ririko’ is a worthwhile role; people around me even say that this would suit me well.  I can’t wait to see how I would be infected in the Mika world. Since it will be the work where I’ll be starring alongside great cast members and working with  first-class staff members,  I would like to face this challenge and work the movie with them. I’m fired up enough.  I, Sawajiri, will make a serious effort as an actress.”

Aside from Sawajiri, Omori Nao, Terajima Shinobu, Mizuhara Kiko, Suzuki Anne, Terajima Susumu, Aikawa Sho, Kubozuka Yosuke, Harada Mieko, and Momoi Kaori will also appear in the movie.

“Helter Skelter” is scheduled to be released on July 14th.

Source: Tokyohive...

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Actress Sawajiri Erika has channeled the classic beauty of Audrey Hepburn for the February issue of popular fashion magazine ‘sweet‘.

Sawajiri will soon make her comeback as an actress in the BeeTV mobile drama “L et M: Watashi ga Anata wo Aisuru Riyuu, Sono Hoka no Monogatari“, where  she plays the roles of two women who couldn’t be any more different. Her two love interests will be played by Murakami Jun and Nakamura Aoi. Moreover, all the outfits she’s going to don in the drama were produced by the two magazines, ‘sweet‘ and ‘GLAMOROUS‘.

It was this collaboration between the drama and the magazine that lead to this special feature with the title, ‘Turning into former famous actresses‘. Sawajiri doesn’t just transform into Audrey Hepburn — she also borrows looks from Brigitte Bardot, Jane Birkin, Edie Sedgwick, and more.

She commented, “This pictorial is already one of my favorites. I had a couple of names in mind when thinking of former famous actresses and I was really happy when it turned out that the editorial department thought of exactly the same names.”

She revealed that she particularly enjoyed the picture of herself as Brigitte Bardot.

“The pose, the hair, the make-up, the outfit, everything just matched perfectly! The Edie Sedgwick picture is one of my personal favorites. Overall, I think the pictorial has a great balance,” she said.

The February issue of ’sweet’ will be released on January 12th, while the first episode of the mobile drama will become available on February 1st.

Source: Written by me for TokyoHive...

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The Livedoor News website reported on Thursday that actress Erika Sawajiri (SHINOBI - Heart Under Blade, 1 Liter of Tears drama series) will star in a live-action film adaptation of Kyoko Okazaki's Helter Skelter psychological manga. This movie will mark Sawajiri's first leading role in a Japanese wide release film in about four years.

The story centers on Ririko, a model who underwent extensive plastic surgery to attain her beauty. The clinic who performed Ririko's surgeries goes under investigation for questionable business practices, and Ririko's body starts to deteriorate. As the model's prominence in the entertainment industry begins to falter, so does her sanity.

The photographer Mika Ninagawa (Sakuran) will direct and Asmik-Ace Entertainment and Shochiku will distribute the adaptation. The film's production team is still casting other roles in the film.

Source: Livedoor News...