It's been so long since the Shunji Iwai / Ryuhei Kitamura collaboration Bandage was first announced that I'd about given up hope of ever seeing it happen. The story of friends trying to make it in the world of 1990's era Japanese indie rock the film is to be directed by Versus helmer Kitamura from a script by indie arthouse darling Iwai - who has strangely opted to refer to himself as 'Aminosan' for this project. The combination seems an odd one on the surface - Kitamura's films are all noise and bluster while Iwai's are all about the subtle nuances - but it could very well pay off large. Kitamura's got the swagger and style needed to pull off a rock and roll picture and in Iwai he gets two things he has long needed: a decent script writer and a collaborator with enough clout that he'll be forced to listen to outside opinions.
Anyway, I digress. Since this project was first announced in 2005, Kitamura has gone on to shoot the forgettable and hugely self indulgent Lovedeath and packed up for Hollywood to adapt Clive Barker's Midnight Meat Train. Since Hollywood has long been Kitamura's stated goal the common belief had been that once he arrived there that would mark the end of his Japanese work but apparently that is not the case. Midnight Meat Train now in the can, Bandage has apparently been revived and now has a full cast attached. Hiroki Nariyama, Karina, Maho Nonami, Erika Okuda, Shun Shioya, Tomohisa Yuge, Hiroko Konishi, Reiko Suho, Takahisa Takeyama, Gen Hongo and Norikatsu Nagano will star.
*EXPLODE!* Shunji Iwai! mellllllllllt~~~
superbly-exciting!! thanks, Toddbot!
Wow! This is the last thing I ever expected to hear about, I too thought it was pretty much dead, can't wait!
I was kinda hoping Iwai would take charge and direct this himself.
"Midnight Meat Train now in the can"
And that's why Lionsgate was absolutely correct in wanting to change this particular title for the US release. The smartass remarks literally write themselves.
Kitamura and Iwai is... interesting. If anyone ever needed their worst instincts moderated by an external influence it's Ryuhei Kitamura, the director who thought people wanted long, subpar martial arts sequences padding out the final GODZILLA movie. What idiocy.