Kaz Kiriya's 'Goemon' Casting news and details
We're more than a little tickled that Kaz Kiriya is finally following up Casshern and though filming wrapped up only last month details have still been slim about the project, until now. What we can tell you is that we now know who some of the cast are. Eguchi Yosuke is the lead, the legendary 16th-century bandit Ishikawa Goemon. The legend of Goemon has him portrayed like Robin Hood, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, battling against a corrupt ruler. However, despite the legend Kiriya intends for his project to be a modernization of the legendary tale...
Kiriya's Goemon, who works for a military commander, has an unusual appearance. His hairstyle resembles modern fashion, rather than the traditional chonmage style, and his outfit is a combination of kimono, Western armor, and long boots.
The supporting cast and pots of boiling oil after the jump...
Moving on. The supporting actors will be Takao Osawa, playing the role of the ninja Kirigakure Saizo, another popular fictional ninja whose name means 'hidden mist' and the character was associated with fog and illusion magic. Ryoko Hirosue plays the heroine Chacha. In the film, both of these characters are childhood friends of Goemon. Another famous ninja in children's stories, Sarutobi Sasuke, will be portrayed as Goemon's follower and is played by comedian Gori. The name Sarutobi means 'monkey jump' and the character is known for his monkey-like agility. Sounds perfect for a comedian don't it?
You still with me? And it looks like Kiriya will be giving his unique vision to his interpretation of these characters and his story. He is sticking with what he knows and did really well with that same highly stylized design and filmmaking approach from Casshern. Filming took place from late August to late November, and much of it seems to have been shot in front of a greenscreen so that the backgrounds can be done with CG. The report said that the CG processing will take a whole year, twice as long as Casshern.
The setting is said to feature Western-style architecture, unlike the original time period. It appears that the whole story has been somewhat modernized... Kiriya stated that from the outset, he has been creating the film with global audiences in mind.
Having said that, I would assume then that contrary to the legend of Goemon Kiriya won't be boiling his hero, and his family, in large cauldron's of hot oil. We are expecting a release in 2009.
