AAA's Nishijima to star in new Sion Sono film

[Tokyograph News]

21-year-old Takahiro Nishijima, a member of the music group AAA, has been given a starring role in Sion Sono's latest work, "Ai no Mukidashi." Nishijima has acted on stage and in a television drama, but he has never appeared in a movie before. He is also the first AAA member to star in a film.

The story is an original script by Sono. Nishijima plays Yu, a young man with a penchant for peeping. He lives with his father, a Catholic priest (Atsuro Watabe). By chance, he meets a woman named Yoko (Hikari Mitsushima) and falls in love with her, but she and her family have become involved in a new religious cult. As a result, Yu ends up in a conflict against that cult.

The role is said to be a difficult one, but Nishijima commented that he is looking forward to it as a learning experience.

Filming is set to begin this month, with a target release date in early summer 2008. Sono is aiming to take "Ai no Mukidashi" to festivals next year, including Cannes and Venice.

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