• Report Entertainment Film Ken Watanabe didn’t think a kabuki movie would work Despite the actor’s reservations, the nearly three-hour-long Kokuho has become Japan’s top-grossing live-action film. • Despite the actor’s reservations, the nearly three-hour-long Kokuho has become Japan’s top-grossing live-action film. • Link Share Gift A three-hour-long period drama about kabuki, a centuries-old form of Japanese theater, doesn’t exactly sound like box office gold. • But that’s exactly what happened withKokuho. • Director Lee Sang-il’s adaptation of the Shuichi Yoshida novel of the same name was a surprise hit last year, becoming Japan’s top-grossing live-action film domestically. • But star Ken Watanabe - a veteran actor known for Hollywood movies likeInceptionandDetective Pikachu- initially didn’t think it was a good idea.
Article Summaries:
- A three-hour-long period drama about kabuki, a centuries-old form of Japanese theater, doesn’t exactly sound like box office gold. But that’s exactly what happened with Kokuho. Director Lee Sang-il’s adaptation of the Shuichi Yoshida novel of the same name was a surprise hit last year, becoming Japan’s top-grossing live-action film domestically. But star Ken Watanabe - a veteran actor known for Hollywood movies like Inception and Detective Pikachu - initially didn’t think it was a good idea. He loved the novel, but worried that the art form wouldn’t translate well to film. Ken Watanabe didn’t
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