Thank you Yaven!
http://www.tokyohive.com/2012/02/matsuda-shota-and-sasaki-nozomi-attend-stage-greeting-for-afro-tanaka/
On February 18th, actor Matsuda Shota and actress Sasaki Nozomi attended the first stage greeting for the upcoming movie, “Afro Tanaka“, at Shinjuku Piccadilly.
The afro Matsuda had to wear became a topic of great amusement at the stage greeting, especially after Sasaki revealed, “Matsuda-san would put on his afro and make strange movements, so I couldn’t help but laugh every time. I also got to wear the afro myself, and Matsuda told me, ‘It suits you’. I don’t know if I should be happy or not…”
Matsuda laughed as he replied, “The power of the afro is great.”
This movie is based on a gag manga by Noritsuke Masaharu, currently serialized in the manga magazine, “Big Comic Spirits“. Its story revolves around Tanaka Hiroshi (Matsuda), who struggles to find a girlfriend after his high school friends start to get married.
The manga’s comedic flair found its way to the set of the movie. Matsuda revealed, “Right before we started shooting, the director made us play a strange game. When we arrived, he told us, ‘Get into your underwear!’” He added, “That made no sense at all.”
In response, director Matsui Daigo explained, “Because of that, we were able to become so close. We got in a circle and introduced our characters…”
As for his vision for the movie, the director said, “I aimed to make a movie thatwould be loved by both fans and people who don’t know the manga. I had the support of Shota-kun and the rest of the cast.”
The stage greeting was also attended by co-stars Tsutsumishita Atsushi, Takana Kei, Endo Kaname, Komakine Ryusuke, and Hara Mikie.