Bayside Shakedown II in the works, to open next July

[Don Brown]

(From Sankei Sports)
A sequel to hit TV series and movie "Bayside Shakedown (Odoru Daisousasen) 
is currently in production and is slated to open on July 19th of next year, 
announced Fuji TV from their headquarters in Odaiba, Tokyo this Thursday.  
Star of the TV series and movie, Oda Yuji (34), and director Motohiro 
Katsuyuki (Space Travellers, Satorare) will return.  The title is "Odoru 
Daisousasen THE MOVIE2 Rainbow Bridge wo Fuusa Seyo!" (loose translation: 
Bayside Shakedown THE MOVIE 2: Blockade the Rainbow Bridge!).  Also 
returning are core cast members Fukatsu Eri, Yanagiba Toshiro, Kitamura 
Souichirou, Ikariya Chousuke and Mizuno Miki.
"Bayside Shakedown" gained widespread popularity by differing from the 
usual TV cop drama format,  instead portraying the police as a corporation 
with a focus on power struggles inside the station, relations with the 
"head office" - police headquarters, and a humanistic treatment of its 
characters.?10 versions of the show were screened including regular series 
and specials, and the film version released in 1998 was a huge hit that 
still ranks at number 5 in Japan's all-time box office rankings, with 
10,100,000,000 yen in takings and 6,930,000 admissions.  Filming for the 
sequel is scheduled to begin in March next year and wrap in May.  
News of the sequel's production was announced yesterday by Fuji TV 
programming director Kameyama Chihiro in a video message on the official 
homepage of the TV series, www.odoru.com.  Previously, around 20,000 fans 
who had registered on the site were notified by mail of the start of a 
"countdown".  Consequently, the official site received over 300,000 hits 
after the message "XX days until an important announcement" appeared on the 
site on November 16th, showing the dedication of the series' fan base. 
For the original story and a look at the teaser poster for the film, which 
looks more like an advertisement for the new Bond movie, click on the link 
below:
http://www.sanspo.com/geino/top/gt200211/gt2002112201.html
Don Brown

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