Sega's Yakuza goes from game to movie
Toshihiro Nagoshi walks with a swagger and dresses like a Japanese film star. A few years ago he was the Monkey Ball man; now he's the poster boy of Ryu Ga Gotoku (known in the West as Yakuza), and has achieved a Mizuguchi-like omnipresence within the Japanese game industry and media.
The reward for all his hard work is this, the movie of his massively successful Ryu Ga Gotoku games. (More than 500,000 units of Ryu Ga Gotoku 2 have been sold in Japan since the PS2 game's December release.)
Takashi Miike, who is reportedly one of Quentin Tarantino's favourite directors, has guided the production of Ryu Ga Gotoku: The Movie. Miike has previously directed flicks such as Ichi the Killer (a story of anarchic violence), The Guys from Paradise (a heartwarmer), and The Happiness of the Katakuris (a black comedy). Along with an A-list cast, Miike gives this game-to-movie transition more pedigree than most. Not that we have anything against Bob Hoskins...
Ryu Ga Gotoku: The Movie will be showing at cinemas across Japan from March 3. Click through to see the movie's official Japanese website, which now features a (very promising) preview clip.
