Actor Naoto Takenaka to direct Japanese zom-com 'Yamagata Scream'

Actor Naoto Takenaka [Ping Pong, Azumi, Swing Girls, The Great Yokai War] will direct and act in a horror comedy entitled Yamagata Scream. This will be his sixth venture into directing and his first comedy. Takenaka is also involved in scripting the film with writer Yasushi Akimoto. The report also says that he will try to avoid the using CG effects as much as possible. The movie's projected release date is in 2009 and overseas production companies have already expressed interest in distribution.

The story is set in a village in the Yamagata prefecture, inspired by tales of the ochimusha of the Taira clan. The ochimusha were warriors who, after being defeated in battle, fled to remote areas of Japan and established small towns to live in. In the film, a businessman and a high school girl arrive in the village and accidentally unearth one of the Taira graves, awakening the zombies of the ochimusha. Takenaka will play the "zombie general."