Interest

Auditions Open to Be GACKT's Leading Lady in Upcoming Film

The Japanese singer and actor Gackt will play the leading role in an upcoming film, Kāranukan. It will be set in his native Ryūkyū Islands. Gackt's character, Hikaru Ōyama, is a photographer graced with "beauty, knowledge and strength" on a photo shoot in the Yaeyama Islands far to the south of mainland Japan. One day, a sunbeam blinds him while he's taking a model's picture by a waterfall -- and the next thing he knows, she's gone! He spends four years searching for her, all while immersing himself into the Ryūkyūs' scenic wonders and unique culture, and finds himself falling in love with the illusive beauty.

The film is currently holding auditions for the runaway woman, Mami Ishigaki. The producers seek a woman ages 18 to 25 with the "wild beauty" appropriate to the scenery of the Ryūkyūs. Applications are handled by mail and can be downloaded from the film's official site; questions include body measurements and a resume of entertainment work. The audition closes on February 29.

Kāranukan (which means "river god" in local languages) is directed by Yasuhiro Hamano and will be set in the Yaeyama Islands and Yanbaru, the wild northern part of Okinawa. Gackt says that he hopes that "as an Okinawan, I will show the great nature of Okinawa and the Yaeyamas to everyone through this movie." Hamano hopes that the film will "sing the beauty of love between a beautiful man and a beautiful woman in the epic scenery of Okinawa and in the workings of its deep, artistic culture." It is scheduled to release in 2017.

Gackt has also starred in anime such as New Fist of the North Star (Seiji), Sket Dance (Dante) and Shiki (Mr. Kirishiki). He has also starred in TV Asahi's Entertainer Rating Check celebrity game show, which has caused him so much stress that his hair started to fall out.

[Via Kāranukan official site, Crank-In!!, GACKT official site]