Atsuko Maeda, Tony Leung & Shota Matsuda To Star In New Big Budget Movie

Atsuko Maeda, Tony Leung & Shota Matsuda have been cast in leading roles for the upcoming Japanese movie "1905", a film about the imperialism, globalization and its affects on Japan at the beginning of the 1900s.

The movie is being directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, known around the world for his horror movies. His new project however will be completely different. "1905" will be a grand, large scale, period piece production.

The movie is set in Yokohama, Japan in 1905. Imperialism has been a driving force in global politics, threatening Asian countries such as Japan and China. As the Qing Dynasty in China was falling, many Chinese people went to Japan to study how they modernized.

In the movie, Tony Leung plays a loan shark named Yan Yun Long who goes to Japan to collect money from 5 Chinese men. Shota Matsuda plays Tamotsu Kato, a ultranationalist who can grew up in Hong Kong and is ordered to force the 5 to repatriate. The two work together to find the 5 men. Atsuko Maeda plays Miyako Onishi, a woman who prepares Yan's meals while in Japan who isn't afraid to speak her mind and can be difficult to deal with.

"I was surprised by the large scale of the movie and its incredible cast, but the moment I received the script and realized that I would be able to meet Director Kurosawa, I just felt extremely happy...I'm very excited to be able to work in one of his movies," Maeda shared.

Tony Leung also shared his thoughts on working with the director. "I've always admired Director Kurosawa's work. I'm very excited to get to work with him. I'll treasure the experience and enjoy every moment," he said.

Although the movie will be a Japanese production, 90% of the lines will be in Chinese. While Leung is Chinese and knows the language already, Maeda and Matsuda will be undergoing intense training in the language in order to speak fluently and deliver their lines with impact.

Filming for "1905" is scheduled to begin in November. The movie is scheduled to be released at the end of 2013 in Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong.