Tsuyoshi Kusanagi to star in 'Chugakusei Maruyama'

On July 6th, it was announced that SMAP�fs Kusanagi Tsuyoshi will star in Kudo Kankuro�fs new movie, �eChugakusei Maruyama�e.

It�fs already been four years since scriptwriter and actor Kudo directed his last movie �eShonen Merikensack�e, but now he�fs back with another original story written by himself.

�eChugakusei Maruayam�f is a family drama in Kudo�fs unique style. A young junior high school student �gMaruyama�h with a lewd mind meets a mysterious single father (Kusanagi), who recently moved to the same multi-unit apartment complex. It�fs a story about the personal growth of Maruyama and how he discovers the things that are truly important in life.

The young junior student will be portrayed by Hiraoka Takuma, who played the fourth son �gShiro�h in the TV drama �e11 Nin mo Iru!�e, for which Kudo provided the script. His parents will be played by Nakamura Toru and Sakai Maki. Filming began on June 13th.

The filming is scheduled to finish on July 25th, and the whole production will be done sometime in December.

�eChugakusei Maruayam�f will open in cinemas nationwide in 2013.

Tsuyoshi Kusanagi completes 100km Marathon

On July 22nd, SMAP�fs Kusanagi Tsuyoshi successfully completed a 100km (62 mile) marathon for this year�fs Fuji TV annual summer program, �gFNS 27-hour TV�g. About 1km away from the goal, fellow SMAP members Kimura Takuya and Inagaki Goro showed up to cheer for Kusanagi and ran alongside him in drizzling rain. Kusanagi reached the TV station in Odaiba, Tokyo after 8pm and exchanged warm embraces with program host Tamori. Kusanagi commented, �gI almost cried at around 96km. I was on the verge of giving up,�h to which Tamori responded, �gYou did a really good job.�h

It�fs been 23 years since Tamori last hosted �gFNS 27-hour TV�h and this year�fs 27 hour TV marathon was held in collaboration with �gWaratte Iitomo!�g, which will be celebrating its 30th anniversary this October. Kusanagi is a regular on �gWaratte Iitomo!�h since 1995 and volunteered to run the customary 100km marathon for Tamori. Despite his busy schedule, Kusanagi had been training for the marathon for the last two months.

Kusanagi set out from the Odaiba TV station at about 7pm on July 21st. He made good progress and reached the halfway point 11 hours later at around 6am on the 22nd. However, at the 65km mark, Kusanagi�fs knee started acting up and he had to put in his utmost to continue the marathon.

Source: Oricon

^ 62 miles???

Whoa.

Tsuyoshi Kusanagi to star in Fuji TV 2017 Winter drama

Kusanagi Tsuyoshi will be starring in the new FujiTV / Kansai TV Winter 2017 drama "Uso no Sensou" (The war of lies) which will be shown in January next year in the Tuesdays 9pm timeslot. Filming is set to begin from the middle of next month to March 2017 and this is Kusanagi's first solo project since the disbanding of SMAP on 31 Dec.

"Uso no Sensou" is the second installment in the revenge series following the first part "Zeni no Sensou" also featuring Kusanagi which was shown in winter this year and achieved an average rating of 13.4%. It was said that the offer for this drama was made before SMAP's disband announcement in August this year. The same crew will be responsible for the new drama which is an original story featuring Kusanagi in the lead role of Ichinose Koichi who is a fraudster out for revenge as his father killed his mother and younger brother before committing suicide when he was 9 years old. However, the truth was that this was an engineered murder and Koichi had seen the culprit. Despite so, the police did not believe his words and let the real murderer get off scott free. 30 years later, he meets the murderer overseas and pledges to take revenge for all those who were responsible for his family's death. He will also be caught in a love triangle with his female fraudster partner and a doctor who is the daughter of a large company's president who happens to be one of the people he wants to take revenge on.

With regard to playing a fraudster, Kusanagi commented that he is the type not good at lying as it will show on his face so he thinks that this is a chance for him to get better at lying. Of course, not all lies are bad as some are made with good intentions. As this is a story about taking revenge, he hopes that viewers will be able to get some stress relief through this fast-paced drama where the evil gets punished.

Sources: Nikkansports / Sanspo / Yomiuri Hochi

Tsuyoshi Kusanagi to star in movie 'Typhoon Family'

Tsuyoshi Kusanagi is starring in the movie 'Typhoon Family'.

Also in the cast are Hirofumi Arai, Machiko Ono, Tomoya Nakamura, Megumi, and Tatsuya Fuji.

The story is about four siblings, played by Kusanagi, Arai, Megumi, and Nakamura who hold a fake funeral for their missing parents so they can divide up the estate. The parents robbed a bank 10 years earlier and then disappeared.

'Typhoon Family' will open in June in Japan.

Source: Oricon

Tsuyoshi Kusanagi marries non-celebrity woman

Tsuyoshi Kusanagi has married a non-celebrity woman.

On December 30, Kusanagi announced thru his agency, "I hope to continue working with the same mindset, and do my best everyday to gain everybody's support. Although I am making this announcement under these circumstances, I pray that the spread of the novel coronavirus will come to an end as soon as possible."

Goro Inagaki, who works together with Kusanagi under Atarashii Chizu, commented, "As good companions, let's continue making our dreams come true with our fans!" Also, Shingo Katori said, "Tsuyopon, congratulations! I'm surprised! Let's continue doing our best!"

Source: natalie