"Beethoven Fabrication" 8 actors including Shota Sometani and Katsuhisa Namase announced at once, starring Yuki Yamada

Eight new cast members have been announced for the movie "Beethoven Fabrication" (directed by Kazuaki Seki, to be released on September 12th), which is written by comedian Bakarhythm and stars actor Yuki Yamada and Arata Furuta. The eight are featured alongside Schindler and Beethoven in the poster visual that was also released.

This is a live-action film adaptation of Shiho Kagehara's historical non-fiction book "Beethoven Fabrication: A Famous Producer Lies" (Kawade Bunko). The film was shot in a virtual production using cutting-edge technology, with a 3DCG background displayed on a large LED display and the subject photographed in front of it, recreating the world of 19th century Vienna without leaving Japan. The film also makes generous use of Beethoven's masterpieces.

The theme of the film is the scandal of Schindler, Beethoven's secretary and posthumous biography writer, who significantly altered Beethoven's conversation book after he lost his hearing. The story follows the faithful secretary Schindler, played by Yamada, who is driven by a sense of duty to protect his idol, played by Furuta, and struggles to turn Beethoven, played by Furuta, from a "vulgar, dirty old man (truth)" into a "divine genius musician (lie)" after his death.

Shota Sometani, who is currently appearing in the NHK Taiga drama "UNBOUND (Berabou)," plays Sayer, an American music journalist who has suspicions about Schindler, and Katsuhisa Namase, who appeared as a "benshi" in the recently concluded Fuji TV series "A Calm Sea and Beautiful Days with You," shows his presence in the role of Breuning, an old friend who was present at Beethoven's final moments.

Maeda Oshiro, who appeared in "The Hot Spot" (2025), written by Bakarhythm, will play Beethoven's beloved nephew Karl, and Nomaguchi Toru, who appeared in "Brush Up Life" (2023) and "The Hot Spot" (2025), will play Umlauf, who supported Beethoven as assistant conductor at the premiere of "Symphony No. 9."

In addition, Kamio Fuju will play Holz, Beethoven's beloved secretary in his later years, Fuju Kamio Yukiyoshi will play Johann, Beethoven's younger brother who dislikes Schindler, Kote Shinya will play Spanzig, the concertmaster at the premiere of the Ninth, and Endo Kenichi Endo will play Wegeler, Beethoven's trusted friend with whom Schindler asked to collaborate on writing a biography.

The second Teaser trailer, released at the same time, begins with Beethoven as a genius musician beloved by the people, contrasting with his public image as he hurls eggs at his secretary Schindler while hurling abusive language at him. It also shows the protagonist Schindler revealing his biased views, saying, "He must remain a hero," and those around him being shocked by Schindler's twisted words and actions, one after another, saying, "He's a bit crazy," "He's a fanatic," and "He's scary." Schindler's twisted love for Beethoven eventually gets out of control... and so the story unfolds.

The full comments from the eight cast members are as follows:

◇Comment from Shota Sometani (role of Alexander Wheelock Thayer)

When I received the call inviting me to 19th century Vienna, I leaned forward and exclaimed, "No way!", and when I heard I would be playing the role of Sayer, I was like, "What the heck?". When I opened the script by my favorite Bakarhythm, I couldn't stop grinning at the lovable and human portrayals of historical figures, like those whose photos are hanging up in a music room. Director Seki's new and challenging filming method made me so excited that I thought this was something that could only be expressed in film. This mysterious world view makes the magnificent historical non-fiction played out by the fascinating characters of this work feel familiar. I hope you will watch it on the big screen in the theater and listen to it with surround speakers!

◇Comment from Fuju Kamio(role of Karl Holtz)

I was really interested in the subject matter and the script. I only had a few days to film, but the set was modern and unlike anything I'd ever seen before, so I enjoyed participating. I also felt that they put a lot of effort into the costumes and hairstyles. I was also happy to be able to work with Yuki Yamada and Furuta Arata again after a long time. I'm sure there will be lots of new discoveries in this film, so please look forward to it.

◇Comment from Oshiro Maeda (role of Carl van Beethoven)

I was excited to work with such a wonderful cast, including Yuki-san and Furuta-san. It was also my first time shooting in a world created by virtual production, so I was looking forward to seeing how it would turn out. Furuta-san told me all kinds of stories on set, and it was especially fun to hear some crazy and shocking stories, such as the one he told when he was a personality on ANN (All Night Nippon) lol. It was very interesting to see Beethoven and his family depicted through Schindler, and I felt that this was a Beethoven story that had never been told before.

◇Comment from Yukiyoshi Ozawa (role of Nikolaus Johann van Beethoven)

When I got the offer, I was confused because Bakarihythm wrote the script, it was about Beethoven, and my role was Beethoven's younger brother (laughs). The script was interesting, of course, but I honestly couldn't imagine whether I could visualize the world of Bakari Beethoven. However, when I entered the shooting site, all my worries were blown away. The beauty of the European visuals and Arata Furuta's Beethoven looked just like Beethoven. The new Bakari world is in full swing! Please look forward to it.

◇Comment from Katsuhisa Namase (voice of Stefan von Breuning)

I played the role of a close friend who was with Beethoven at the end, so I played the role with the intention of watching over my good friend Furuta. Bakarhythm's script is very attractive in both the lines and the expressions, and it has many antennas spread out, so I think it has turned out to be very interesting. Please go see it at the theater.

◇Comment from Shinya Kote (voice of Ignaz Spanzig)

When I got the offer, I was a little worried about how well I could play Spangzig, who was "a close friend of Beethoven's who taught him the violin, even though he was younger than him," but when I looked into it more closely, I found that "he got too fat in his later years and could no longer play the violin," so I thought, "Oh, they hired him because of his personality" (laughs). On set, I practiced the violin, Nomaguchi conducted, and Ozawa played the guitar as a hobby, so we were surrounded by music every day (laughs), but it was comfortable being surrounded by mostly older men. I hope you enjoy the extremes of the intense performance scenes and the relaxed conversation scenes!

◇Comment from Toru Nomaguchi (voice of Michael Umlauf)

I only knew about Beethoven from reading manga, but it scares me to think that he may have been a fabricated character by Schindler. However, the Beethoven created by Arata Furuta with Bakarhythm's script is an annoying but lovable person. I'm sure you'll like him more than the Beethoven you know.

◇ Kenichi Endo(role of Franz Gerhard Wegeler)

Beethoven. I was 17 years old when I was first captivated by his Symphony No. 3, the Eroica. It was a shock. I was moved to tears by Beethoven's world of pain and joy. And now, I was approached about this production. I want to do it because it's about Beethoven, who I love, but... I'm told I'll be playing a German character. It might be one thing if it was a stage play, but it's a movie. What does that mean??? But with the script by Bakarhythm and director Seki, I'm sure those two could do something. And then the day of filming came. It all just came together without me even noticing! It's a fun production!