First, one word about Johnny’s information policy: IT SUCKS. Okay, that’s two words, but you get the point.
This isn’t an announcement, it’s a report of something that has already happened, and I really would have loved to know about this beforehand. I’m sure I would have found a way to make this 200km trip. That’s right, only 200km. Because the world premiere of Shintaro‘s upcoming movie Snow Prince ~ Kinjirareta koi no melody didn’t take place in Japan or the United States. It happened right here in Europe. *cries*
Yes, Shintaro travelled to Europe this past weekend to attend the first public screening of his movie in Antwerp, Belgium. As you may or may not know the movie is based on the fairy tale Dog of Flanders, and Antwerp is the capital of Flanders, so I guess that makes sense. And since 12-year-old boys shouldn’t travel halfway around the world all on their own Shintaro was accompanied by a 15-year-old guardian by the name of Nakayama Yuma. What’sですよ！Did I miss something here? Did Yuma play the dog in Snow Prince or something? Are Shintaro and Yuma an item now? Well, apparently the two share a really good relationship, so that when Yuma said “When you do the screening of the movie I want to come too” Shintaro‘s reply was “Sure!“. Aww. ♥
The screening of Snow Prince took place at a local cinema in Antwerp in front of 225 local school kids who afterwards queued up to give Shintaro handshakes and high fives and to receive his autograph in return. Later on a press conference was held at Antwerp’s Cathedral of Our Lady in front of Rubens‘ masterpiece painting The Elevation of the Cross, which plays an important role in the climax of the original Dog of Flanders story. “Having studied Christ and the Middle Ages in school it’s delightful to see this picture from so close“, Shintaro (who had been told not to touch it) said, adding “To be interviewed in such a place will be a memory of a lifetime“.
To top it all Shintaro was being awarded the honor of “Friendship Ambassador” by Piet Jonkers of the National Tourist Bureau. And since Johnny’s boys can’t do anything nowadays that doesn’t involve any food Shintaro said: “Belgian waffles are crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. Delicious!”
Bless him.
So yeah, the Snow Prince season has begun, and as you may have noticed I moved the Snow Prince clock with the link to the official website from the bottom of the sidebar menu to the top of it. It’ll stay there until the movie premieres in Japan in December. So if Snow Prince doesn’t become a box office hit it won’t be my fault.
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