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THE LAST SAMURAI BABE COMES BACK A-BITING
Japanese actress Koyuki is best remembered as a samurai's wife in the Tom Cruise flick "The Last Samurai" in 2004. Then, there was talk of her pursuing a
Hollywood career like her Japanese co-stars Ken Watanabe and Hiroyuki Sanada, but it didn't happen. Now, things may start to change.
Quiet for some time now, Koyuki, 31, re-emerged recently to star in the manga-adapted English action-thriller "Blood: The Last Vampire". It is widely touted as Korean
babe Jeon Ji Hyun's Hollywood debut.
Koyuki's role? A 300-year-old vampire that is the biggest enemy of Ji Hyun's vampire-slayer role. Sponichi Annex reported that Koyuki's character is not included in
the original manga, but was added specially to challenge the vampire hunter.
The two babes will reportedly fight each other in a climatic battle scene, and interestingly, there was also talk of rivalry between them on the set. Sina.com reported that
Koyuki arrived in Yunnan, China, for filming in June with an entourage of more than 10, including assistants and an interpreter, whereas JiHyun had only seven people with her.
Not to be outdone, Ji Hyun (or perhaps her manager) immediately called for backup, so another team of assistants flew in from Korea two days later to show others
who the leading lady is.
But, in front of the media, the two beauties heaped praises on each other.
Koyuki told Chinese reporters that the main reason she joined the film is to get a chance to work with Ji Hyun, who responded that she is happy to work with Koyuki
after seeing how beautiful and stylish she was in "The Last Samurai".
Incidentally, the duo have many things in common - both started out modelling before crossing over to act, and both are popular with product advertisers.
Koyuki added that she found the filming experience interesting as she got to do action scenes and listen to all the languages they used on the set - director Chris Nahon
is French and male lead Xu Qifeng, who plays JiHyun's first love, is a Mandarin-speaking newbie from China.
Koyuki's enthusiasm is understandable, as the movie marks her first acting project in two years.
Apart from endorsing products on TV, the statuesque beauty has kept a low profile in Japan due to management company problems, Sunday Mainichi had reported
earlier this year.
TAKE CONTROL
A showbiz source said she was 'quietly trying to break away from her handlers and take her career into her own hands'.
Another movie source added that it took so long because her old and new agencies 'couldn't come to terms with the conditions of the handover'.
Only in July were the terms finalised and Koyuki joined the newly-started movies arm of Japanese music giant Avex Trax, which manages mega J-pop acts like Ayumi
Hamasaki and Kumi Koda.
"Blood: The Last Vampire" is Koyuki's first project, and there is now talk that she might join the cast of Hong Kong director John Woo's highly-anticipated epic
"Battle Of The Red Cliff".
Sounds like she will get her second bite at international fame, after missing the boat once with "The Last Samurai".
source: Electric New Paper
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