[caption id="attachment_152605" align="aligncenter" width="314" caption="Matsuda Shota"][/caption]

Actor Matsuda Shota will be starring in "Hard Romantic-er", the movie adaptation of director Gu Su Yeon's semi-autobiographical novel. The film is set in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi prefecture (the hometown of Matsuda's father, Matsuda Yusaku) and Kokura, Fukuoka prefecture.

Matsuda will play the main character Gu, a high school dropout and second-generation Korean in Japan. His days are spent being entrusted with unwelcome baggage by a gangster (played by Maki Kurodo)� he has known since he was a child and being pestered by a local police detective (Watabe Atsuro). Gu is entangled in the violence surrounding his blood and his roots.

After reading the script, Matsuda had the idea of dying his hair blonde and pulling it back to play his character. He commented, "This movie will be able to express things suited to Toei (the film's production company). I am having fun everyday jumping into the world of director Gu Su Yeon. Please look forward to its completion."

The cast also includes Nagayama Kento, Maki Yoko, Watanabe Dai, and Nakamura Shido.

Filming started on April 29th and will end later this month. "Hard Romantic-er" is planned for release in Spring 2012.

Source + Photo: Eiga