Takeshi Kaneshiro Lost in Thought

Perhaps he's contemplating his beauty?


This could take all night.

In fact, he should probably lie down. Carrying around all that Beauty can be exhausting.


Speaking of Takeshi...

Whatever happened to that Emporio Armani campaign he was supposed to be in these past couple of months? It was a big deal that he was joining David Beckham as advertising's latest [insert celebratory trumpets] Underwear Man -- first Asian and all that.

But here's the pressing question that has me lost in thought. Why, despite his international profile, do none of his movies open in America? The last time he graced US screens was five whole years ago when the international hit The House of Flying Daggers opened. Since then Takeshi has appeared in one strange Oscar submission from Hong Kong Perhaps Love (2005) and a crime drama Confessions of Pain (2006) with an even higher profile co-star Tony Leung Chiu-Wai. He followed that up with a Brad Pitt/Meet Joe Black-like star turn in Accuracy of Death (2007) and another crime drama K-2 (2008).

Finally he was part of the orgy of Asian film stars fighting it out in not one, not two, but three action blockbuster spectacles: The Warlords (2007) and the John Woo directed double Red Cliff (2008) and Red Cliff II (2009). None of these films ever saw the inside of US theaters (outside of your festivals or errant one offs) !?!?! Me no understand.

Asian action flicks like Crouching Tiger ($128) and Hero ($53) once made considerable bank in the US. I'm assuming that distributors got gun swordshy with the comparatively low takes for Curse of the Golden Flower ($6) and Flying Daggers ($11). Or maybe it was the non success of the Oscar submission The Promise (which did not crack a million at the US box office) that did it. Though if it was the latter that's a rather unfair comparison point since The Promise had no stars as famous as Kaneshiro, Leung, Li, Cheung or Ziyi to advertise and not many high profile critical champions either.

If you're a Takeshi fan you basically have to settle for DVDs, pirated or otherwise. No big screens for you! Somebody splash some cold water on US distributors and wake them back up.

Or just throw it on Takeshi.


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