Takayuki Yamada, who has starred in everything from commercial actioners (“Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure”) and arthouse dramas (“The Devil’s Path”) to the popular “Ushijima the Loan Shark” series, is to star in a new Netflix original show, “Naked Director.” The drama series focuses on notorious 1980s porn director, Toru Muranishi.
The series is based on Nobuhiro Motohashi’s book of reportage about Muranishi’s life and career in bubble-era Japan “Zenra Kantoku Muranishi Toru Den.” The series features Yamada as the scapegrace hero, a seven-time convicted criminal and self-described “king of porn.” Masaharu Take, whose credits include the 2014 festival-favorite boxing drama “100 Yen Love,” will serve as the director.
“For years people have been asking me if I’d like to direct, but my reply was always ‘only if I find the right project,” Yamada said. “Now I’ve found a nicer answer: ‘Yamada will be a porn director’.” The series is scheduled to stream worldwide on Netflix in 2019.
Japan was one of the first non-English territories for Netflix to expand into. It has backed numerous shows in the territory, including “Jimmy” which opened the Okinawa International Film Festival in 2017. Two Netflix-backed productions – Alfonso Cuaron’s “Roma” and animated “Devilman Crybaby” – play at this week’s Tokyo International Film Festival.