Popular idol Minami Akina (19) is slated to star in the latest "Ju-on" film. The cheerful Minami has frequently been in commercials, gravure, and TV variety shows, but her first starring role has turned out to be in a horror movie.

Past "Ju-on" films have starred big name actresses such as Kuriyama Chiaki (24), Okina Megumi (29), and Sakai Noriko (38). The series has gained fame not just in Japan, but also internationally. In 2004, director Shimizu Takashi remade the first theatrical "Ju-on" film as "The Grudge" for American release, and it became the first Japanese-directed picture to hold #1 at the box office for two consecutive weeks.

Shimizu, who wrote and directed the previous films, is supervising the new project, titled "Ju-on: Shiroi Roujo." There were several candidates for director, but in the end, Miyake Ryota (of the "Honto ni Atta Kowai Hanashi" series) was chosen to take the helm. The movie is scheduled to open in theaters this June.

The excited Minami commented, "I was too scared after reading the script, so I told my manager I didn't think I could do it. But since it was the leading role for the 'Ju-on' series, I thought that I had to do it by any means necessary."

The plot of the movie hasn't been fully released yet, but Minami plays a high school girl with a strong sense for the supernatural, whose friend died in a murder case during her elementary school days.

Copy & Pasted from Tokyograph
Source: Sponichi