JAPAN: Hollywood stars, Leonardo Dicaprio and Will Smith, arrive in Tokyo to promote separate films

Two major Hollywood stars nearly crossed paths at Tokyo's Narita International airport when they both arrived on Wednesday (January 17) to promote their respective films. First to be greeted by loyal and screaming Japanese fans was Leonardo DiCaprio, whose film "The Departed" is opening in Japan. The film's director, Martin Scorsese, received a Golden Globe award for best film director on Monday (January 15). Hundreds fans queued for hours in the airport's arrival lobby to get a glimpse of DiCaprio. "He himself is the great art work. And he is too great for me to say what is good or bad about him," said one DiCaprio fan of the actor. "The Departed" - a crime thriller that is a strong contender for an Oscar nomination later this month - is a Hollywood remake of the hit Hong Kong movie "Infernal Affairs" - which also was very popular in Japan. While the movie is likely to have few problems in Japan, in neighbouring China, government sources said official censors have not approved the release of the movie due to mention of a Chinese plan to buy military equipment in the plot. Actor Will Smith also arrived in Japan on Wednesday, shaking hands with enthusiatic fans. Smith is in Tokyo to promote another Oscar contending film "the Pursuit of Happyness". The film is based on the memoirs of Chris Gardner, a father who struggled to raise his son in poverty during the recession-hit 1980s before hitting it big as a self-made millionaire and CEO of a Chicago-based brokerage firm. "The Departed" opens throughout Japan on Saturday (January 20). "The Pursuit of Happyness" will open the following Saturday (January 27).

ITN Source | January 25, 2007

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