Isao Yukisada brings his dream project "Parade" to the screen

by Chris MaGee

Isao Yukisada, the man behind the maudlin mega-hit "Crying Out Love at the Center of the World", is finally bringing one of his dream film projects to fruition. Since 2002 the 40-year-old director (above left) has wanted to adapt Shuichi Yoshida's novel "Parade" (above right) to the big screen and now with the help of "Death Note" and "Battle Royale's" Tatsuya Fujiwara that is going to happen. Fujiwara will be heading up an ensemble cast that also includes Karina, Shihori Kanjiya, Keisuke Koide, and Kento Hayashi who will be playing a group of young men and women who are all sharing a 2LDK (two bedrooms, living room, dining room, and kitchen) apartment. The strange thing is that even though they live in such close quarters Fujiwara's character Naoki, a young man who works at a film distributor, doesn't really know his roommates: Miki, an illustrator, Kotomi, a NEET (Not currently engaged in Employment, Education or Training), and Ryosuke, a college student. The lives of these four change when a string of disturbing crimes takes place in their neighbourhood and Miki takes in a male prostitute, Satoru (played by Hayashi) to keep him safe.

Yukisada felt a special affinity for "Parade", which won the Yamamoto Shugoro Prize, due to the fact that both he and its author are the same age and both hail from Kyūshū. Both men became friends while Yukisada was penning the script for this film adaptation. Principal photography on "Parade" began last week and will got until mid-next month. A theatrical release is scheduled for sometime in 2010. Thanks to Tokyograph for the details on this.