Despite Film Success Masahiro Nakai Has Stopped Receiving Video Offers

The broadcast and distribution of that classic movie has been canceled

On February 14, WOWOW announced on its official website that it would halt the broadcast and streaming of the 2008 film “I Want to Be a Shellfish,” starring former talent Masahiro Nakai (52).

On WOWOW’s official site, the reason was explained as follows: “Based on our guidelines and other factors, we have been broadcasting and streaming ‘I Want to Be a Shellfish’ (2008) until now. However, considering various opinions from customers and the current situation, we have decided to cancel future broadcasts and streaming. We apologize for the sudden change.” The scheduled broadcast for the 21st will be replaced by another work.

“On January 27, from 4:00 PM, Fuji TV held a roughly 10-and-a-half-hour ‘redo press conference,’ but coincidentally, from 2:30 PM to 5:00 PM on the same day, WOWOW was airing the same film. As a result, it became a hot topic online, with comments such as ‘Nakai must really want to become a shellfish right now’ and ‘WOWOW is really pushing it.'”

The film was also broadcast on February 2 at 1:40 AM. While WOWOW does not have to worry about the preferences of commercial sponsors like terrestrial TV, ignoring the opinions of its paying viewers could negatively affect its subscriber numbers, so they likely decided to stop broadcasting and streaming it,” said a source from the TV industry.

Nakai made his CD debut as a member of SMAP in 1991 and began gaining prominence in variety shows outside of his main career. As an actor, he had his first leading role in a series in the 1995 drama adaptation of the popular comic “Aji Ichimonme” (TV Asahi).

Since then, he starred in dramas such as the “Naniwa Kin’yudo” series (Fuji TV, 1996–2015), “Legendary Teacher,” co-starring with Downtown’s Hitoshi Matsumoto (61) (NTV, 2000), “Shiroi Kage” (TBS, 2001), “Suna no Utsuwa” (TBS, 2004), “ATARU” (TBS, 2012), and the film “Mohouhan” (2002).

“Among his leading roles, ‘I Want to Be a Shellfish’ was the directorial debut of TBS’s Katsuo Fukuzawa, known for hit series like ‘Hanzawa Naoki’ and ‘VIVAN.’ Fukuzawa, a renowned director, demanded uncompromising dedication to character portrayal. Nakai lost 10 kilograms for the film, shaved his head for the role, and delivered a heartfelt performance that moved audiences. It was a work that significantly elevated Nakai’s standing as an actor,” said a source from the film industry.

His last movie was a hit

However, after the 2013 release of “ATARU THE FIRST LOVE & THE LAST KILL” and the 2015 special drama “Shin Naniwa Kin’yudo,” these ended up being Nakai’s last works as an actor. Although he also appeared in the 2016 film “Te wo Tsunaide KaerouyoShangri-La no Mukou de,” it was a special cameo in a script written by Masayuki Imai, who had co-starred with him in “Aji Ichimonme” and passed away in 2015.

The “ATARU” film earned a respectable 1.85 billion yen at the box office, but no sequels to the drama were produced afterward. After SMAP disbanded at the end of 2016, Nakai no longer sang, danced, or acted, instead devoting himself to his career as a host. It’s said that other factors beyond Nakai’s wishes also contributed to his nearly ten-year hiatus from acting.

“At the time, SMAP’s chief manager, who had full control over the group, was dissatisfied with the box office results of ‘ATARU,’ which caused friction with TBS. This led other companies to hesitate in offering Nakai new acting roles, and before long, time passed, and he ended up retiring from acting. Additionally, Nakai himself, as he got older and his physical stamina waned, reportedly confided in those around him that he found the long hours required for filming increasingly tiresome,” said a source from the film industry.

At present, if fans wish to watch Nakai’s performances, their only options are to subscribe to certain paid streaming services or rent his films from video rental shops. For fans of the many wonderful works Nakai has left behind, it is undoubtedly a sad situation.

 

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