Subaru Ballet Manga Adapted into Live-Action Movie
Warner Bros. Japan announced that it is producing a joint Japanese/Chinese film adaptation of Masahito Soda's Subaru manga about a budding ballerina. Actress and model Meisa Kuroki (Vexille's titular character, Crows Zero's Ruka) has already been filming on location in Shanghai with director Lee Chi-Ngai since October 28, after an earlier Tokyo shoot in September. The film's partners are planning a simultaneous 2009 opening throughout Asia, and are also hoping for releases in Europe and America.
The manga centers on Subaru (Kuroki) and her twin brother, both of whom love ballet and constantly visit ballet classes to watch the dancers. One day, the brother is bed-stricken by a brain tumor. While visiting her brother in the hospital, Subaru meets a formerly famous ballerina (Kaori Momoi) who was forced to give up dancing due to her declining physical condition. The former ballerina agrees to train Subaru to perhaps achieve her own ballet dreams.
The manga's 11 volumes have sold 1.8 million copies in Japan. The manga has yet to be released in North America, although it has been publishing in France, Germany, and Spain. Kuroki has been training for three hours nearly every day since June for her role, while Momoi is already a trained ballerina since she spent three years studying abroad at London's Royal Ballet School when she was 12.
Source: Sankei Sports via Ultimatum
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