Actor Joe Odagiri appeared at the completion preview event for the movie "On the Summer Sand," in which he starred and co-produced, held in Tokyo on June 18. He was frequently booed by his co-stars for the things he said, and said with a wry smile, "I never thought I'd be hated this much..."
Odagiri began by saying, "It's scorching hot. It's already summer. There are some rumors that the rainy season is over, but..." When his co-star pointed out, "You're only talking about the weather," he apologized with a wry smile, saying, "When we're not thinking about anything, we end up talking about the weather. I'm sorry."
The film is a screenplay by Director Tamada based on a play by Masataka Matsuda. Set in a rainless summer in Nagasaki, the film follows Osamu Koura (Odagiri), whose life has stopped due to the sense of loss he feels after losing his son, and whose wife has abandoned him. He begins living with his niece Yuko (Akari Takaishi), who was left behind by his sister, and finds a small bud of hope.
On this day, he shared a story that touched his heart, which is related to the film, which depicts a ray of hope that seeps into a heart as dry as summer sand. Odagiri held up a flip with "Touched my heart" written on it, and replied to an episode about his co-star, "It was Hikari Mitsushima's story that touched my heart." When he was booed again with "That's not fair!", he said, "Are you really that put off by this?" and in his final greeting, he appealed, "I never thought I would be hated this much for this stage greeting. But I and the film are two different things, so I hope you will love the film."
Takaishi, Takako Matsu, Mitsushima, Naotaro Moriyama, Fumiya Takahashi, Ken Mitsuishi, and director Tamada also appeared at the event.
